Insider tips?

cavework

Don't wait to be asked just throw it into the conversation.

Wellery82

I worked in recruitment for a number of years, both agency and in an in house capacity.

A few tips i would say at application are -

• Make it tailored and relevant to the job. Ask a friend or family member to look at your CV and explain what you actually do in your job. If they can't do it then the reader at the other end won't be able to understand either. Make it explicitly clear what you actually did yourself, what systems, how often, what you did etc.
• Make it look professional and smart - Use clear bullet points, make it look professional, spell check it keep it within 2 pages
• Make sure you explain anything strange - ie if it looks a backwards step, if you are relocating, if you have had a large career break etc, make sure it is all in the cover letter.

At interview a few tips to make you look more enthusiastic -

• Have more research done on the company and ask more questions
• Be more friendly and upbeat than everyone else
• Look smarter than everyone else
• Prepare examples to generic interview questions "tell me a time when you went the extra mile/showed excellent customer service/ worked well in a team etc"
• Tell them how much you want the job
• Be yourself, don't try and mask your character too much, if they feel the real you it can go a long way

All the best!

DCFC79

Emmzi wrote: »

it's a real gamble NOT researching it though

im not saying to not do it, i was emphasising that ive done teh research and not been asked what i know

Wellery82

DCFC79 wrote: »

ive done the old find some information about the company and ive not been asked for what i know about them

I think you can always get this information in however. The key to an interview is you being in control of it - getting across the points you want to get across.

If you go into any interview have a think what your strengths are for the job, and the areas that may be of concern to them. Then try and work out how you can play on your strengths and reassure them about your weaknesses in the interview - chances are the questions may not directly be asked but you can get the points across.

For example if you want to show you are very enthusiastic you can show this by the research you have made. They might not ask what do you know about the company, but may ask why have you chose this role, why have you left your old job, what are your strenghts etc. That is a chance to link the answer in with some part of research you have done on their company.

Likewise it may be that you haven't worked in that industry before and are worried what they think. They probably won't ask about that but you can try and tailor your answers to show examples when you have been flexible, picked up skills quickly etc

Think about how you want to be seen - hard working, enthusiastic, great customer service, great organisational skills etc - and think of some examples of ways you can show this prior to the interview. Chances are you can elaborate on a lot of answers to whatever they ask to get these points across. If not you can ask questions yourself that lead you into conversation on topics you want to cover. If you have put in the research for example don't be shy about asking something about it at the end "when i was researching your company i was interested to see xxx and wanted to understand a bit more...."

cavework

Quote..
The key to an interview is you being in control of it - getting across the points you want to get across.

Try to remember that the person interviewing you is just that .. another person
a person who has in all probability also had to attend interviews as an applicant in the past.
Just be yourself and not some text book copy of the 'perfect interviewee'.
Most of all SMILE , don't look as if you are about to be executed. Some interviewers feel as uncomfortable doing their job as you might feel when attending the interview

SuzieSue

Jimavfc82 wrote: »

• Make sure you explain anything strange - ie if it looks a backwards step, if you are relocating, if you have had a large career break etc, make sure it is all in the cover letter.

/QUOTE]


This is really important. As someone who has spent the last couple of days going through CV after CV, there is nothing more annoying than having to guess why someone has done something or why there is an unexplained gap on the CV.

Misshomme

Jimavfc82 wrote: »

I worked in recruitment for a number of years, both agency and in an in house capacity.

A few tips i would say at application are -

• Make it tailored and relevant to the job. Ask a friend or family member to look at your CV and explain what you actually do in your job. If they can't do it then the reader at the other end won't be able to understand either. Make it explicitly clear what you actually did yourself, what systems, how often, what you did etc.
• Make it look professional and smart - Use clear bullet points, make it look professional, spell check it keep it within 2 pages
• Make sure you explain anything strange - ie if it looks a backwards step, if you are relocating, if you have had a large career break etc, make sure it is all in the cover letter.

At interview a few tips to make you look more enthusiastic -

• Have more research done on the company and ask more questions
• Be more friendly and upbeat than everyone else
• Look smarter than everyone else
• Prepare examples to generic interview questions "tell me a time when you went the extra mile/showed excellent customer service/ worked well in a team etc"
• Tell them how much you want the job
• Be yourself, don't try and mask your character too much, if they feel the real you it can go a long way

All the best!

Fantastic! Thank you so much. I applied for a job this morning before I saw your post and mentioned that I am relocating in my covering letter. It sounds like I've done the right thing. I've tailored my previous job descriptions to fit in with the job requirements.

I usually do all the things you've written here, but I need to be a bit more "bubbly". I'm like that naturally, but I want to come across as professional and not ditzy so I worry too much about that.

Misshomme

SuzieSue wrote: »

Jimavfc82 wrote: »

• Make sure you explain anything strange - ie if it looks a backwards step, if you are relocating, if you have had a large career break etc, make sure it is all in the cover letter.

/QUOTE]


This is really important. As someone who has spent the last couple of days going through CV after CV, there is nothing more annoying than having to guess why someone has done something or why there is an unexplained gap on the CV.

You inspired me to start this thread because although I usually include a covering letter, you made me wonder what other things people look for when going through the selection process. I applied for a job earlier today and mentioned that I'm relocating in my covering letter. I hope they read the covering letter otherwise it looks like I'm travelling 100 miles to work everyday lol.

mickey54

Emmzi wrote: »

it's a real gamble NOT researching it though

It's also a gamble when you research the company - ask the relevant questions, and you still don't get the job.!!

I had an interview many years ago - and requested feedback. The main interviewer responded that I asked questions that they could not answer - and they thought they were being interviewed.

Hindsight is great - I eventually obtained a job where they like people asking questions at interview, shows that they have initiative once employed.

annie123

Hermia wrote: »

1) I always ask the receptionist etc what they thought of the candidates. That's good I want to avoid those candidates who are charming to the interview staff, but can barely be bothered to be friendly to any more lowly staff That's not good they meet.

Future co workers may be a better phrase