A useful tip is to think about the types of role you are applying for, and try putting yourself in the position of the potential employer. What skills are they going to be looking for and what aspects of your experience best match their criteria?
Talk to your recruitment consultant who will also give you a realistic appraisal of your CV and also a fair assessment of how your CV and skillset match up to other people at your level who will be applying for the role.
When you have secured an interview, preparation is absolutely key. Find out as much about the organisation and its key drivers as you can. Ask your recruitment consultant why the department is recruiting and find out as much about the department as you can, if possible try to find out as much as you can about your potential interviewer, i.e. their background, length of tenure in the organisation etc.
Remember that the better prepared you are the better equipped you will be for the interview. If it’s been a while since you have been interviewed you may want some interview tips. Or even ask your consultant to go through a mock interview with you, this will at least prepare you for the type of questions you will be asked and can be useful preparation for you in putting you into an interview mindset. It may even
help trigger a few questions you may have for your potential employer!
A company I was recruiting for recently had shortlisted a selection of candidates and before the interviews commenced we had a briefing on the CVs of the candidates. From that discussion it was clear that, in the Treasurer’s mind, there was one particular individual who stood out from the other candidates in terms of experience and qualifications. It was clear that this was the person who they thought would be most suitable for the role – yet at the end of the recruitment process that individual was unsuccessful.
I challenged the Treasurer as to why. The reason was that the successful individual (who had less relevant experience) had impressed them with their enthusiasm and also had clearly been better prepared for the interview and had actually asked my client fairly challenging questions.
The lesson to learn from this particular anecdote is that although people may well have pre-conceived ideas about what their idea of the ‘perfect candidate’ is these preconceptions are by no means prescriptive and are open to be challenged and indeed changed.
Finally, don’t be too despondent if you don’t secure the first role you interview for; most people are successful on their second or third attempt. Ensure that you ask for interview feedback and act on any of the points which arise from that and with a little perseverance you will ultimately get that new role.
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Author: Matt Mattheou is Executive Consultant at Pure Recruitment Group.
When you have secured an interview, preparation is absolutely key."
