Application Process

When you are applying for a lot of roles, keep a diary or spreadsheet of what roles and with who. I have had less hot meals than I have heard the following: – “sorry I’ve applied for so many roles I can’t remember them all – could you tell me again who you are and what job I’ve applied for” – this sometimes within 24 hours of submitting their application! What I want to hear is ‘Hi! thank you for calling me!’ or similar.

CV

If I am advertising a role in a particular suburb or area, it is because the client wants to hire locals. Therefore, give yourself a bit of an edge by putting the suburb you live in as a minimum to show that you are local to the employer.

Keep the CV what I term ‘clean’. Ensure that the font and text properties are uniform throughout the document. If you are updating an old CV and using new text and font properties, update this through the document. Also, ensure that the layout is uniform throughout the document and don’t over complicate the layout.

If there are gaps in your CV advise why. Sorry but if you have not worked in the industry for 3 years then I want to know a) why, b) what were you doing and c) is there anything you were doing which will make that gap look more palatable to a potential employer i.e. if you were working from home in an MLM business etc. put that in – it shows that you have keep yourself occupied, your brain stimulated, in the working arena and that your IT skills are not rusty.

Arrival Time

• Myth

Arrive early 15-30 minutes – nothing like putting pressure on people by sitting outside their door as they are finishing what they are doing and preparing for your arrival!

• Fact

Be on time for the interview – arrive roughly 3-5 minutes before you are due to enable the person on the Front Desk to announce you in a timely manner. If you are early keep yourself occupied outside the building by thinking about your interview questions.

Research the Company

Yes, this is a given, however, you do not need to know everything about the company – let the interviewer provide some information and enter into a discussion with the interviewer on what it is the company does and your interest in that space.

What to wear

I had a young man come in for an interview for a Technician role which was advertised as a career progression role towards management. He arrived wearing the following: –

Baseball cap turned backwards, jeans around his backside, tee-shirt and hoody, sunglasses sitting on top of the baseball cap, runners. The uniform for his age group when out with his mates.

Sorry did you not read the ad???? Now if he was interviewing for a technician’s role maybe, but even then, does he look like the type of candidate you want to hire? What is his image projecting?

As it turned out, he was an excellent candidate for the role and I chose to submit him to the client. I also provided some counseling on his appearance when he was offered a client interview. He took the feedback in good grace and sharpened up his attire considerably. Result is that he was hired for the role. He was very grateful for the feedback and even let his new employer that this had occurred.

You need to think about the image you are projecting, and does it fit in with the role you are chasing.