Archive for the ‘interviews’ Category

Covering Letters

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

All too often I see covering letters sent in to accompany applicant CVs that are really poorly written anc contain loads of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.  It’s almost as though people have spent all of their time working on a CV and then simply thown together the rest of their application.  Aside from being sloppy, this is pretty disrespectful.

The thing you should alwayes remember when putting in an application for a job – any job – is that you are asking another person to trust you to do a good job, and to be a good use of their money.  Do you think that you would be trusted with any position if you cannot be trusted to spell check your initial letter?

When you are applying for a job with any company, here are some great tips to consider when writing your covering letter:

#1 Personalise the greeting – at least know who you are applying for a job with

#2 Be Brief – No one wants to read your life story – they hardly know who you are.  Your covering letter needs to be no more than a side of A4 long.  It also needs to be no less than a full side of A4.  Look like you’ve put some effort into your application – especially if you have!

#3 Say why you want the job – Your CV gives the facts, the covering letter says who you are

#4 Spell check the letter – show some attention to detail

#5 Get a friend to read over the covering letter – You might feel like a bit of an idiot getting a friend to read over the letter, but it will give you a different perspective, and help you put together something appropriate.

#6 Be yourself – It can be tricky to put across your real personality within a short letter, but try and do that.  Once you have written the letter, read back over it, nd try and give it some personality.  There is a lot of competition for jobs right now, and you want to stand out.  Be Yourself.

#6 Spell Check it Again – There is no (and I mean no) excuse for having any errors in your CV or covering letter.

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9 Handy CV Tips

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

Whether you are looking for a promotion or your first job, having a compelling CV is essential if you want to impress a potential employer.  Having a Curriculum Vitae that really sells your skills and promotes you as a person can make a huge difference to your chances of getting a job.

You need to remember that any job that you find attractive enough to apply for will also attract the attention of other people.  Some of them, shock horror, might be better qualified, or have more experience than you – however this does not necessarily mean that they will get the job in front of you.  If they present a CV that does not emphasise how great they are compared to you, then they might not even get an interview.

Here we have 9 handy tips to help you improve your CV and boost your chances of getting a new job!

1 – Short is Sweet

Keep your CV to a maximum of two sheets of A4 – an employer wants to know enough, not everything.  Also, you might have used your IT and Microsoft Office Skills every day in each job, but you don’t need to list them every time.

2 – Keep it pretty

Take a good look at your CV – would you like to receive it.  There’s no need to get silly with rich backgrounds, and manic fonts.  Simple is best, but it needs to be well spaced, clean, and interesting to look at.

3 – Stick to the facts

Does the employer really care whether you loved your previous job?  No, they want to know what you did, and how you did it.  You can communicate your enthusiasm for filing and making cups of tea when you get the interview.

4 – Accuracy is Everything

Spell check, proof read, spell check again, and read it aloud.  Then get someone else to do the same.  Would you employ a person who can’t spell.

5 – So be Honest

Don’t forget, an employer isn’t going to give you a great job with fantastic pay without checking you out.  They will contact your referees, and if they can’t back up what you are claiming, then you are not going to get very far.

6 – Keep it Relevant

You might have plenty of experience looking after cats, but if you’re going for a web design job, then it isn’t going to impress the boss.  Keep your experience on topic, and adapt your CV for different opportunities.

7 – Sell Yourself

Put a bit of life into the CV.  Stick to the facts yes, but add a little bit of colour too – your statement should impress, and also give a little idea about who you are.

8 – Keep it in order

Put the most recent jobs and qualifications at the top. They are the ones that your potential employer wants to read first

9 – Remember the Covering Letter

You should always send a covering letter along with your CV.  This should always be unique to the job you are applying for, and include a few points from your CV.

Bonus Tip!

Whether you are actively looking for a job now, or simply want to keep your options open, don’t forget to add your new CV to jobatwit – upload your CV now, and promote it to thousands of employers via Twitter!

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How to Sell Yourself in an Interview

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

You might be the best qualified candidate for any position, and you might have the best CV possible, however unless you are able to project just how great you are, then you are always going to struggle to get the best jobs.

The best opportunity that you have in an interview to sell yourself is when the recruiter asks you to “tell me about yourself”.  Aside from enthusiasm and honesty, you need to stick to the point and be concise, using opportunities to talk about strengths at any point.

Your Education

Talk about your highest academic qualification, and also any additional courses that you have subsequently taken from work. If the qualification is relevant to the job, show where the parallels are.

Personal

You don’t need to talk about your marriage or kids, simply give some historic information about yourself and your interests – again, tying them into the job that you are applying for.  Talk about positive events where you have demonstrated your abilities.

Your Career to Date

<>Although this will be covered later in the interview, it should also be part of the “tell me about yourself” stage.  Prepare a couple of bullet points in your mind about how quickly you were promoted or took on any additional responsibilities.

Why you are applying

Having a conversation about where you are in your career provides the perfect opportunity to segue into why you have applied to move on.  The secret here is to show enthusiasm for the position by showing that you already have the skills, and are ready for the challenge without coming across in a negative way as though you are boasting, as this might be considered a negative quality.

Other things

Over the course of the rest of the interview you need to structure answers to be as positive as possible about your career to date and future ambitions.  Here are a few other tips:

Get to the interview location 10-15 minutes and relax yourself.  This demonstrates your ability to perform under pressure.
Research the company and learn the names of key individuals.  This underlines your enthusiasm and interest in the job.
Be positive in your answers and attitude.  Again, this demonstrates enthusiasm
Always listen to the whole of a question before you answer.  Sometimes there will be a bit tacked onto the end.
Think before you speak, and think before you stop speaking.
Carry a couple of copies of your CV or portfolio.  Being prepared with a copy to refer to if a specific question is asked is a good thing.
Let the interviewer bring up the subject of salary – you don’t want to come across as being mercenary.
  • Get to the interview location 10-15 minutes and relax yourself.  This demonstrates your ability to perform under pressure.
  • Research the company and learn the names of key individuals.  This underlines your enthusiasm and interest in the job.
  • Be positive in your answers and attitude.  Again, this demonstrates enthusiasm
  • Always listen to the whole of a question before you answer.  Sometimes there will be a bit tacked onto the end.
  • Think before you speak, and think before you stop speaking.
  • Carry a couple of copies of your CV or portfolio.  Being prepared with a copy to refer to if a specific question is asked is a good thing.
  • Let the interviewer bring up the subject of salary – you don’t want to come across as being mercenary.

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4 Ways to Calm Your Nerves Before an Interview…

Sunday, September 27th, 2009

…and one way not to

For many people, a job interview is a fairly traumatic experience, and the anxiety that they feel both before and during the interview can have a big impact on their performance, and ultimately act against them getting the job.

While every employer expects a little bit of nervousness during an interview, it can be a little bit off putting to have the candidate apologise for their nerves every two minutes, and use it as an excuse.  For me, one of the main qualities I look for in my staff is the ability to work well under pressure.  If a candidate comes into an interview and can’t handle the pressure, it doesn’t bode well, and I’m pretty unlikely to take them on.

It doesn’t need to be like this though, and there are a number of things that you can do to keep calm in an interview.

1: Arrive Early

If you are a nervy person, then it is important to minimise the number of opportunities that you have to get anxious.  Plan your journey to the interview in advance and take traffic into account – make sure you arrive 15 minutes early so you can freshen up – but don’t turn up at the office until around 5 minutes before your interview, otherwise you’ll have to spend a lot of time waiting around for the interviewer – and that is time when you will end up allowing your nerves to get to you.

2: Be Positive

If you’ve been invited for an interview, then you are half way to getting the job.  I don’t waste time on people who don’t have any promise, and neither does anyone else.  It’s not professional to get people in to laugh at them, and I’ve never heard of it happening.  If you have been invited to talk, treat this as a positive, and let it feed your confidence.

3: Take a Deep Breath

There are loads of relaxation techniques and many of them actually work.  One that definitely does is a deep breath.  Go to a quiet place, close your eyes, and take a deep breath in.  Then hold it. For at least half a minute.  Breathe out and open your eyes, you’ll naturally reduce your heart rate, and this will make you feel calmer.

4: Wear an Anti Perspirant

Anxiety tends to feed itself and make you more nervous.  When some people start to sweat they become very self conscious and this feeds back on itself to make you feel even worse.  A good anti perspirant will reduce the sweat and make you feel less self conscious, and take your mind of your nerves, allowing you to perform better.

One thing not to do…

Whatever you do, if you are going for an interview, don’t have a drink beforehand to settle your nerves.  There is no point turning up to the interview half cut, and there is no point lying to yourself that the interviewer can’t tell that you’ve had a drink.  They can.  Slurred speech, drifting answers to questions, and even falling asleep (it has happened) will not give the best possible account of you.  If you need to have a drink, stick to water.

The main thing is to be positive, and to remember why you want the job, that way you’ll be more positive.

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5 Great Interview Questions

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Candidates can rehearse heir interview techniques and spend a lot of time on their CV to ensure that they turn up for their interview as well prepared as possible.  This can lead to problems for recruiters, as in some cases, a candidate who looks great in the interview turns out to be a disappointment.  Leading employers who look for a little bit more from their staff tend to ask questions that appear to be nonsense on the surface, but actually test the candidate’s ability to think and act under pressure.

When you ask these questions, you are not looking for a specific answer, it is all about how the candidate answers and structures their answer.  The questions are designed to unsettle the candidate and reveal their inner workings.

1 How many bubbles does it take to fill a bus?

2 How do they get the coating so smooth on an M&M?

3 How would you weigh the atmosphere?

4 What advice would you give yourself ten years ago?

5 Which animal most closely reflects your personality?

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7 Tips for Writing a Great Cover Letter

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

You put together the best possible CV, had all the right experience and qualifications that the job required, and yet you didn’t even get called in for an interview?

The chances are that your covering letter sucked, and the recruiter took one look at the few lines of misspelled words and hit delete rather than opened the CV and found out about all you had to offer.

The fact is, a covering letter is a chance to really sell yourself, and introduce your CV.  A chance to explain to the recruiter about what a great candidate you are, and how you are perfect for the role that they are advertising.  If you don’t put the effort in, and wow the recruiter, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage, and with the job market being at its most competitive for years, you want to make the absolute most of everything that you have to boost your chances.

Check out our 5 Tips for writing a great cover letter to help with your next job application.

1. Bespoke is Best

There is no point in using the same letter for every job you apply for.  Use the letter to tie your experience into the specific job that is being offered, and make your interest in the business clear.

2. Be Enthusiastic

…But not too enthusiastic.  You don’t want to come across as annoying, but you should at least explain why you are applying.  Think about using phrases like “Keen to work for a leading company” or “eager to learn more”

3. Be Unique

While a CV is a pretty formal piece of writing, your covering letter gives you an opportunity to express a little bit more of your personality.  By making your letter memorable, you will already have a better chance of getting an interview.

4. Put Some Effort In

If you’re applying for a bar job, the chances are that you won’t have to write a great covering letter – or even have to submit a CV for that matter, however if you are looking for something a little bit more demanding – and well paid – you should put in the work to get it.  If a job is worth applying for, put some effort into your application, and you’ll be more likely to be considered for it.

5. Be Brief

You don’t want to bore someone before you get into the interview.  Actually, you don’t want to bore them after you get into the interview either.  Keep the letter short, to the point, and positive.  Remember that the purpose is to sell you, not tell your life story.

6.  Be yourself

Make sure you remember that the letter is selling the real you.  If you get the job you will have to fulfil the promise that you put into the letter, so make sure it represents you accurately.

7. spel chek

If you want credibility, use your spell checker.  Mistakes will make you look like an idiot, and you’ll be more likely to be a joke than a serious candidate.

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Quick Tips for Interview Success

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

Getting an interview for a new job is only one step in the process, and for many people, the actual interview itself is a really stressful event.  It’s pretty easy to get carried away with nerves, and ruin your chances of getting a job, so check out our quick tips for improving your interview skills.

Tip 1 – Be On Time

If you are desperately keen to mess up your chances of getting a job, then turn up for your interview late.  I’ve had candidates turn up twenty minutes late for an interview and then not apologised.  They didn’t get the job.  Plan your route to the venue, and gauge how long it takes.  Then set off with enough time to give you fifteen minutes of contingency before the time of the interview.  That will let you relax and prevent any added stress.

Tip 2 – Look Smart

OK, these days you’re probably not going to need to wear a suit for work every day, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t dress appropriately.  Have a shave, definitely shower, and check that your fingernails are clean.  if you turn up looking like you don’t care, the chances are that your interviewer won’t either, and you can kiss good bye to the job.

Tip 3  – Be Prepared

Read through your CV, as many questions will be asked about it.  You really should know the details of the company you have applied to, so visit their website and read up on their board and mission statement.   If you have been asked to prepare a presentation, then do that, and then rehearse it.  I’ve had people turn up and say that they thought that they would just talk.  Not a problem if they knew what they were talking about, but in the event they came across as idiots.

Tip 4 – Be Keen

Ask questions, show interest, give answers that show a bit of thought.  Easy.

Tip 5 – Get Something Out Of It

Honestly, no-one gets every job that they apply for, but it doesn’t mean that it’s a complete loss to you.  Provided you aren’t a complete arse about being rejected, no employer is going to have a problem giving you with  feedback about where you were good and where you weren’t so good.  Take the opportunity of getting advice, and it will help you next time.

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