Having recently both recruited people as well as helped several people find suitable employment, thought I’d share some winning strategies for candidates that will almost guarantee you the job you want. This will hopefully also help wake some people up as to why they never seem to get anywhere with their careers.
Recruitment used to be exciting and fruitful, meeting lots of aspirational and energetic people who want to make a difference. The RDW businesses have needed to expand our workforce and at the same time by co-incidence my adult children and a few acquaintances have been in the jobs market, so it’s given me a great current insight into what works and what doesn’t.
People in a full-time job usually spend more awake time at work than they do with their own family. Bearing this in mind, it’s important to realise that whilst being “best buddies” at work isn’t a goal, the recruitment process’ key feature is for both the business and the person to get to know each other and have shared values.
Your Resume is a glimpse of you selling yourself in terms of suitability to the job. Out of the thousands of resumes I’ve seen, the one’s that “job hop” and show little loyalty/stability rarely make it through the initial cull of the pile.
Resume Do’s and Don’ts:
- Pick your mark. Know what you want and concentrate on doing fewer but higher quality submissions. Tailor each one to match what the ad highlights as important. Sending heaps of resumes out doesn’t work. Lost count of how many part time employees apply for a full-time job (or vice versa), and how many resumes say things like “really looking forward to a career as a refrigeration apprentice” when they are applying for an admin or store person job.
- Consider how the employer will view you. If you are either over or under qualified you can still get the job, but you need to overcome the concerns in your cover letter. “Having worked in Management for many years, I am wanting to reduce my hours/not have to manage staff etc”. “Whilst I’ve had a lot of jobs in recent years…”, “I took a few years off to raise children/care for a relative/explore Australia but am now ready get back into full time employment”.
- Be concise. Cover the main aspects of your roles without too much detail (an employer has a fair idea of your past roles anyway and will ask you the details in the interview). Max 3 pages, the reader will be fatigued reading piles of resumes, so stick to the important points. Include all your roles with start and finish month & year.
- Attention to detail is important. You know those red squiggly lines under a word – they tell you the word is spelt incorrectly… Put effort into using an easy-to-read format. Have your contact details on there. Don’t use AI but check your work and know what your resume says.
- Keep your cover letter short and relevant. Mention the company you are applying to and “regurgitate” some of the key details that the company is asking for so it looks like you are interested in and applying for THIS job, not ANY job.
Now that you have sent in your resume, make sure you answer the phone professionally, and/or call the employer back when you can talk… And I’ll let you in on a secret weapon: if you really are a good fit for the job and you actually want the job, call (or even visit) the company to follow up! My daughter followed this one tip, and despite the company receiving over 1,000 applications, she was the only one who bothered to call, and was therefore the only one they interviewed, so guess who they employed? That mirrors my experience, where even salespeople don’t have the nous to call or follow up.
The phone interview is usually a short screening process which probably filters out about half the short-listed candidates. Obviously, you need to make a good impression, with the goal to show enough interest that you get to the all-important interview.
Interview Do’s and Don’ts:
- Show up. Don’t be late, but if you are, call early to let them know.
- Dress appropriately for the role you are applying for, slightly over dressed rather than under dressed if you are unsure. This shows that you know what the role entails.
- Take a deep breath and relax. It can be daunting to meet someone new that you want to impress but remember that they are only a person too. This session is as much for you to get to know them as them to know you.
- Be prepared for what questions you’ll get. There will always be questions like “tell us about yourself”, What are your strengths and weaknesses? Plus, they’ll likely zero in on any areas of concern, so have reasonable answers as to why you left jobs, examples to back up statements you’ve made (grew sales by X% – how did you do that?). Open up, but don’t ramble on.
- Know your worth, so have a pay expectation or understanding of the minimum you can live on.
- And many a candidate has won or lost a job simply because they didn’t show enough interest. Always have some questions about the business and the role. And be happy to share what your interests are outside work, good employers want people who are driven, not couch potatoes.
- I usually finish an interview with some kind of intro to a co-worker or a walk around the business, and it helps people relax and “let their guard down”. Believe it or not, this is many times when you (and the employer) cement a positive or negative vibe as to whether you will be a fit for the job, and that both parties “walks the talk”.
Approach the process in the right way. Many resumes’ show job hopping, people continually moving sideways either for a couple of dollars more, or because of an over inflated opinion of their achievements or some “right” they feel they have missed out on. There are a great number of people promoted beyond their competency as well as some poorly managed businesses (and I’ll roast employers in our next newsletter), but if the reason for frequent changes on your resume is because of “the manager/employer”, perhaps reflect on that it might not be all of them that are the problem…
It takes pretty much 12 months for most people to settle into a role before they can provide a net positive input into the business. That’s why it’s important to go back to the very first point: pick your mark. Know what area you want to work in and stick it out so that an employer is more likely to make the investment to employ you. After all, the career path you head down is one of the most important investment and personal development decisions you’ll ever make, so approach it with that level of importance.
Words from the wise
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
“Opportunities don’t happen, you create them” – Chris Grosser
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” – Wayne Gretzky
As always, Onwards and Upwards!
Fred Carlsson
General Manager
