Candidates
Some helpful hints, tips and ways of preparing yourself for a new job
How to create
a great CV
We know that getting an interview can be the hardest part of the search.
After all, if you’re not interviewed then how can your future employer really know how great you are?
Your CV is the starting point. Here are a few key steps to create the right version of your CV:
Your CV is mainly a tool to get you the interview, so avoid over stuffing it with too much boring information.
There are no rules as to how long your CV should be despite what some experts say.
One page is too long if it bores the interviewer; three pages is great but only if it contains really relevant information to the reader.
Your CV should show you the candidate as a problem solver in your current role.
Your CV should mainly list your personal career achievements blended with your skills, so use ‘I’ did and not ‘we’ did.
Your CV should tease the interviewer to want to know more about you and to meet you in person.
A well crafted CV says you are serious about developing your career by making a contribution to their organisation.
Recruiters & interviewers often screen out candidates with poor CV’s so it’s worth making it interesting.
The above is only a sample of the key steps. The best investment you can make is to spend time getting your CV sharp and up to date.
Impress at the
first interview
It’s a fact of life that it’s not always the best candidate that gets the job…it’s the candidate that comes across the best! If you are not comfortable selling yourself, you may not land the job you deserve.
The good news is that Think Selection are here to help.
We will pass on our experience gained from conducting hundreds of interviews, and help you to understand the core key interview principles as you prepare.
You’ll rarely be appointed on just one interview. However, most interviewers will often have a front runner after the 1st meeting.
The interview officially starts when you walk into the building, first impressions are lasting, so treat the most junior person you meet with the same respect as the interviewer.
Interviewers don’t like making selection mistakes, so will often take the candidate who is less risky. Your job is to help the interviewer remove that risk.
Interview questions are rarely that different from interview to interview. With some preparation, you can anticipate the likely questions and so know how best to respond.
Interviewers will only ever ask 3 questions (called super questions), if you know what these are, you can anticipate most questions in advance.
Excellent interview preparation is the No.1 reason for interview success (YouGov report).
Knowing your CV is vital and be prepared to explain all the gaps and moves (or lack of moves) in your CV.
Fully understand the full scope of the Job Description for the role you’re being interviewed for.
Don’t wait for the interview to find out things about the role and organisation. You’re supposed to know…no excuses for not doing proper research!
If you haven’t had a recent interview, get some practice in. Some of the best candidates are the poorest at being interviewed.
The above is only a sample of the key steps.
The best investment you can make is to spend time getting your CV sharp and up to date.
Don’t hold up
your career
In a slow market or climate of uncertainty, don’t put your career on hold. There are still so many ways to progress, even in the short term.
To really progress in your chosen career in publishing, you’ll need to stretch yourself and that may mean going elsewhere to achieve that.
Working hard will only take you so far. To get you noticed and add value to your organisation, you’ll need to also continually upgrade your thinking.
But as we all know, that’s easier said than done especially in a changing publishing and wider world.
We encourage our candidates to continually adapt to change rather than fight it and keep on adapting throughout your career. We have found from our experience that embracing personal development helps encourage candidates to be much better prepared in advance to take up and make the best of career opportunities as they come up.
Our industry needs motivated, well matched and prepared candidates which makes their recruitment selection process easier. Candidates benefit as you also make the best of publishing job opportunities when they come up.
The next step is to register with Think Selection today to find your ideal next career move.
Coping with change
A slower world market has for most publishers had an effect on the number of new job opportunities coming in. And for most of us, it can add to the pressure as publishers continue to trim their staffing costs and adjust their business models to cope with a changing trading climate.
Some experts advise employees to keep their head down and profile up as the best way to stay in the game.
We take a different approach. Surely, we don’t just want to survive, but actually thrive.
Here are a few tips to consider to give yourself an advantage:
Take a keener interest in how the Company is doing across all departments.
Think more like the Company MD or CEO. Do you have ideas that could bring in extra revenue?
What do you see as obvious ways that the Company can save money and costs? Look around you.
Don’t keep discoveries to yourself, share them, but confidently take credit for them!
If morale is not as high as it could be, ask how can you personally do something to help improve the atmosphere around the workplace. Every little bit counts.
Consider coming in a little earlier each day to sharpen your productivity. These things tend to get noticed.
As Recruiters we know that employers hire the person with a great attitude.
They also won’t want to let the person with a great attitude go.
Take stock of your general attitude, are you becoming negative or are you giving out positive vibes?
Ask yourself how you can help your customers further increase their sales or save costs.
Can you share best practice elsewhere that your customer can use today?
Start to network more. Perhaps meet your counterpart at another Company or an ex colleague and share ideas that don’t conflict.
Dust off your CV and update it with your recent achievements so you can be ready to take advantage of new opportunities when they come up.
This can also help you see what you bring to the Company and can increase your feelings of self-worth.