Many of us spend the first few
days of a New Year pondering what the year has in store for us; thinking about
what elements of our lives we would like to change or improve upon and career
is often at the top of the list.
Job hunting can be a daunting
prospect; trawling through job boards and websites, tedious application processes
and never hearing back! Bear in mind the average job search takes time and
generally requires a lot of effort and activity on your part. A scary US
statistic states that it takes 24.9 weeks to get hired!
Here, one of our senior
recruiters, Lucy Hibbert, shares her top tips to help you win that prize!
Your Resume
The first step needs to be
producing a great resume. It has to be clear, concise, readable, truly
reflective of your skills and experience and most importantly relative to your
profession and the market you are targeting.
For example, if you are in a
creative profession such as Graphic Design, your resume needs to be a
reflection of your portfolio and skill set and we would expect the CV to have a
creative flair to it – that said it still needs to have all the content of a
traditional resume. Conversely, if you are in a more corporate function we
would not expect to see graphics/ pictures/ charts or animations!
 |
| Example resume |
Personally, I don’t mind a bit of
colour on a resume, for example if you use a different colour for sub-headings
it can break up the monotony of reading multiple CV’s and make yours stand out;
however, don’t make it a rainbow of colour! Think about using different sized
fonts (but always the same in one document) and bold to highlight different
sections of key areas.
Obviously, the following all
apply; spell-checking, having your work history in reverse chronical order
(most recent work experience first) and including your contact details goes
without saying! You also need to get someone to proof-read your resume,
multiple times and be open to feedback and constructive criticism. Typo’s and
errors are a pet peeve for me in a resume, especially if the role they are applying
for requires you to have strong attention to detail and/or impeccable written
skills. Even if your actual experience is strong, these errors can see you sent
to the reject folder in a flash!
Keep it concise; no one’s resume
should be more than three pages and I mean NO-ONE! Even if you have 20 years work
experience the roles from the first 10 years should be title and organisation
only. At the other end of the scale if you are a recent Grad with limited
experience, of course include extra-curricular activities and experiences
gained but do not submit a 10-page CV telling me about essays you have written
in Year 10!
You do not need to include; age,
DOB, address, photo (please don’t), referees (at this point) or hobbies (unless
remotely linked to the job/ industry).
Now let’s talk personality…… Of
course, what makes you is what makes you great! And you may be keen to give us
insight into “you” in your career statement/ objective statement at the
beginning of your resume. Again, I am not averse to this but it is a fine line
between quirky, cheesy and out right odd! So you collect Star Wars figurines –
cool if you are applying for a job in a marketing agency or tech-start up not
so cool if you are applying to clerk in a top-tier law firm. Choose your tone
carefully and again get a friend, mentor or family member to review.
Cover letters – Yes or No?
I’ll be honest, I rarely read
them and if I do it’s after I have already selected you to be screened. If you
do attach one make it short, sharp and insightful. Explain why you are
interested in the role/ organisation and address any anomalies in your career
history such as gaps in employment or work rights.
Going back to my earlier point
about personality, perhaps this is the best place for you to include this
insight…….
LinkedIn
Now that you have perfected your
resume approaching your LinkedIn profile should be a piece of cake! Make sure it
is up-to-date and that you have linked your experience to the correct
companies, with correct dates.
Always include a photo but make
sure it’s appropriate. Think smart business casual; a head shot is best and no
sunglasses or selfies! I’m not a big fan of you using your wedding photo
either! You need to look professional, approachable and normal! A smile goes a
long way and make sure it is reasonably recent.
Like all social sites, LinkedIn
works on an algorithm based on key words – therefore if your profile contains
the matching words someone is searching for it is more likely to come up in
their search. Your dream job might find you! For example, if you work in HR
make sure you also use the full words Human Resources and then think about
including variations on theme e.g. People & Culture, Talent, Performance,
ER & IR, Business Partnering etc.
Make some connections! ‘Link-In’
with people you know first; former colleagues, people you have met at
conferences/ seminars, current colleagues, tutors and friends who are in professions.
Then think about expanding your connections to people of interest in
organisations of interest. Top tip: make sure you activate your privacy
settings on LinkedIn so connections cannot see your activity. (you don’t want
your current boss to know you are on the hunt for a new role!)
Follow companies of interest and
like and share their posts. Follow LinkedIn ‘Influencers’ you are interested
in. I also recommend following a few media outlets/ publications/ distributors
as your LinkedIn ‘feed’ can be a great one-stop-shop of catching up on some
business/ industry news.
Job applications
Do your research: Before applying check the role is one you are
truly interested in and check the company is one you would like to work for.
Are they based in a location you can get to? What are their products/ services?
Can you review them on Glassdoor or Job Advisor? Look at them on LinkedIn – do
you know anyone that already works there? When we ask a candidate what they
know about our business and the answer is little to nothing, I question their
level of genuine interest.
Be honest: If you are asked to fill out a questionnaire or form, be
honest. Nine times out of 10 there is a prescriptive brief that the recruiter
is trying to meet and whilst you might still be an ‘interesting’ candidate they
will prioritise those that more closely meet this brief. If you are unable to
progress your application, as you cannot move on from a selection criteria page
as you do not meet it – do not lie! Make a note of that organisation you are
interested in and Recruiters name, if you can access it, then email their
recruitment team directly. Explain that you were disappointed not to have been
able to apply as you didn’t meet all of the selection criteria but are still
interested in an opportunity with the organisation and were wondering if there
was anything else you could be considered for. #greatcandidatebehaviour
Keep a tracker: I’m a big fan of a spreadsheet! Keep track of the
role/ company/ date you applied (and any other info you want) so that you can
follow up and remember which roles you applied for. I would also suggest saving
a copy of the ad copy/ printing it out, so you can use it for reference. There
is nothing more off putting than when you call a candidate to chat about the
role they have applied for and they say “Sorry, which role is this I have
applied for so many in the last few days I’ve forgotten.” #badcandidatebehaviour
Follow up: By all means sending a follow up email after the closing
date or a few weeks after an application is fine. Do be mindful that if you
have been informed ‘only successful candidates will be contacted’ then there is
a chance you haven’t been successful. Of course, this is disappointing if you
felt you were the right candidate for the role but pitch your email/ phone call
appropriately. Be upbeat and friendly not aggressive or challenging. Ask for
some open feedback and be open to what you might hear.
Selection &
interviews
If you are selected for a telephone interview/ 1st
interview……… congratulations!
Be prepared, have the job
advertisement to hand and if the first point of contact is a phone-call make
sure you can really talk and that you are in a quiet space where you won’t be
interrupted. Hearing a candidate whisper and be insistent they are “okay to
talk” when they are clearly at their desk or in a stairwell is not setting
yourself up for success!
Do your research, be on-time and
look the part! Check with a recruiter about the dress code if you are unsure.
Smile, try and relax (as much you can) and take your time to listen and answer
questions.
It’s inevitable that you will be
nervous and all good hiring managers/ recruiters will be sympathetic to this,
to a degree. An interview is an artificial environment so the more you prepare
the better it will go. Practise your answers to standard questions & think
of examples you can provide of certain scenarios. If you can’t answer a
question, the perfect answer is “I’m afraid I haven’t had that experience yet
but what I would do is X, Y & Z” or “I don’t know the answer to that but I
would be honest and up front and want to research and learn. I’m not afraid to
ask questions where needed”.
Have a notebook and pen (that
works) so that you can jot any interesting points down and have some pre-prepared
questions to ask at the end of the interview. If you aren’t told what the next
steps are – ask so that you know what to potentially expect & timeframes.
Offer
You get the call and are offered the job you wanted…… again
massive congratulations!
Negotiating: Be reasonable. At some point in the process you should
have been asked about your salary expectations, now is not the time to add on
an extra $20k to try your luck! If the role has grown in size in terms of
responsibility/ scope and you now think it is reasonable to negotiate on the
package, then do so, but you will need to be able to justify why.
Accepting: If you want the job it’s ok to be excited! Follow all
the instructions of documents that need to be completed and sent.
 |
| Yay!!! |
Congratulations –
can’t wait to see you on your first day at SFG! 😄
Being rejected
No-one likes being rejected and
if you really wanted the role and were genuinely excited then it can be a genuine
blow. Try to contain your emotions but it’s perfectly ok to say you are
disappointed. Ask for feedback and if you can, make some notes. Ask for more
clarification/ examples if they can be provided. Then go away and reflect. Is
there some constructive feedback there that you can take away and work on? On
reflection can you agree with any of the points made and how would you improve
for next time? Remember no-one shots the bulls-eye with the first arrow nor
without practice.
Then pick yourself up and dust
yourself down and get back out there – the right job for the right person is
out there for all of us. Happy Hunting!
