Message to candidates
- 1. JOB HUNTING DURING A PANDEMIC A MESSAGE A MESSAGE TO TO CANDIDATES CANDIDATES
- 2. DON'T JUST GIVE AN AGENCY THE GREEN LIGHT TO USE THE CV THEY FOUND ONLINE. IF YOUR CV IS NOT UP TO DATE EMPLOYERS WON’T SEE A TRUE REFLECTION OF YOUR CURRENT SKILLSET. LIKE MANY, IF YOU’VE BEEN COMPLETING ONLINE COURSES DURING LOCKDOWN MAKE SURE TO AMEND YOUR CV ACCORDINGLY. KEEP YOUR CV UPDATED
- 3. WHICHEVER INDUSTRY YOU CURRENTLY WORK IN, KEEPING UP TO DATE WITH CURRENT MARKET TRENDS AND HOT TOPICS WILL BOOST YOUR SUCCESS RATE FROM FIRST INTERVIEW TO SECOND INTERVIEW. BEING ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE PASSION ABOUT THE INDUSTRY YOU WORK IN DURING YOUR FIRST CONVERSATION WILL SHOW THE COMPANY THE VALUE YOU CAN ADD AND THAT YOU HAVE A GENUINE INTEREST IN THE INDUSTRY. KEEP EDUCATED WITH MARKET KNOWLEDGE
- 4. KEEP ON TOP OF ALL APPLICATIONS. THE MORE INFORMATION YOU CAN EXTRACT FROM YOUR AGENCY/THE COMPANY THE MORE PREPARED YOU WILL BE FOR ANY INTERVIEWS. KEEPING A FOLDER/FILE OF JOB DESCRIPTIONS, COMPANY PROFILES AND INTERVIEW NOTES WILL HELP YOU TO PREPARE FOR INTERVIEWS AND GIVE YOU EXTRA CONFIDENCE THAT YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WILL BE TALKING ABOUT WITH POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS. BE ORGANISED
- 5. BE HONEST IF YOU ARE USING AN AGENCY, MAKE SURE YOU ARE COMPLETELY HONEST WITH THEM. AN AGENCY CAN ONLY WORK ON THE INFORMATION THAT YOU’VE GIVEN THEM. MAKE SURE YOU SET REALISTIC SALARY EXPECTATIONS. NOT ONLY WITH THE AGENCY, BUT WITH YOURSELF! HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF EXACTLY THE TYPE OF ROLE YOU ARE GOING FOR, OTHERWISE YOU WILL KEEP INTERVIEWING WITH THE WRONG COMPANY!
- 6. MAKE SURE TO BE PROACTIVE WITH CHASING FOR THINGS LIKE INTERVIEWS AND FEEDBACK. IF YOU’VE BEEN TOLD ABOUT AN INTERVIEW BUT NOT YET RECEIVED ANY INFORMATION, DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHASE UP YOUR AGENCY/COMPANY FOR THE INFORMATION. MAKE SURE TO KEEP A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR AGENCY AND RECEIVE REGULAR UPDATES ON ANY CVS SENT, INTERVIEWS BOOKED AND GENERAL JOB UPDATES. CHASE
- 7. HAVING A GENERIC CV THAT YOU CAN SEND TO RELATED ROLES IS A QUICK WAY TO GET YOUR NAME NOTICED BY POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS. BUT, TAKING THE TIME TO TAILOR YOUR CV TO ADDITIONALLY, IT WILL SHOW THE COMPANY YOU’VE TAKEN THE TIME TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR MOST RELEVANT SKILLSET AND YOU ARE ADDING VALUE AT THE EARLIEST STAGE POSSIBLE. TAILOR YOUR CV
- 8. IF YOU CAN NAIL YOUR INTERVIEW PREPARATION YOU WILL FEEL A LOT MORE CONFIDENT GOING IN TO A INTERVIEW. RESEARCH THE COMPANY – LEARN ABOUT THEIR CULTURE AND VALUES, WHAT PROJECTS HAVE THEY GOT GOING ON AT THE MOMENT? IF YOU KNOW THE INTERVIEWER, QUICKLY LOOK THEM UP ON LINKEDIN! YOU MAY HAVE WORKED FOR THE SAME COMPANY IN THE PAST, HAVE SIMILAR INTERESTS OR SIMPLY KNOW SIMILAR CONNECTIONS! THIS WILL HELP YOU BUILD RAPPORT AT THE START OF YOUR INTERVIEW – CONSEQUENTLY, THE FOLLOWING CONVERSATION WILL SEEM MORE NATURAL. INTRVIEW PREPARATION
- 9. MAKE SURE YOU ARE ALWAYS ON TIME FOR INTERVIEWS. WITH THE CURRENT SITUATION, A MAJORITY OF RECRUITMENT PROCESSES WILL REVOLVE AROUND ONLINE VIDEO INTERVIEWS. IF YOU ARE SPEAKING WITH A EMPLOYER OVER TEAMS/ZOOM , MAKE SURE TO LOG ON TO THE MEETING AT LEAST 10 MINUTES BEFOREHAND. IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE OR TWO TO DO THIS, AND AT LEAST THEN YOU WILL BE THERE READY WHEN YOUR INTERVIEWER JOINS. IF YOU DO FACE ANY TECHNICAL ISSUES AND ARE UNABLE TO JOIN, AT LEAST YOU’VE SET ENOUGH TIME ASIDE TO BE ABLE TO REACH OUT AND ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. TIMINGS
- 10. IF YOU ARE UNSUCCESSFUL WITH ANY APPLICATIONS, MAKE SURE TO USE THE FEEDBACK TO YOUR ADVANTAGE. NEVER TAKE IT PERSONALLY, FEEDBACK IS A GREAT WAY TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR FUTURE APPLICATIONS. ALWAYS REFLECT ON PREVIOUS FEEDBACK WHEN GOING IN FOR AN INTERVIEW, TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE CONSTANTLY IMPROVING.MOST IMPORTANTLY, MAKE SURE YOU DO RECEIVE THE FEEDBACK! USE FEEDBACK EFFECTIVELY
- 11. IF YOU ARE UNSUCCESSFUL WITH ANY APPLICATIONS, MAKE SURE TO USE THE FEEDBACK TO YOUR ADVANTAGE. NEVER TAKE IT PERSONALLY, FEEDBACK IS A GREAT WAY TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR FUTURE APPLICATIONS. ALWAYS REFLECT ON PREVIOUS FEEDBACK WHEN GOING IN FOR AN INTERVIEW, TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE CONSTANTLY IMPROVING.MOST IMPORTANTLY, MAKE SURE YOU DO RECEIVE THE FEEDBACK! BE POSITIVE