Career Builder : The Four Pillars of Job Hunting
Your CV
Your Cover Letter
Interview
Job Skill Testing
Your CV
Your CV is probably the most important document in any job search process. Most people think that because they have a qualification, skill and experience they can sell themselves to hiring managers and ignore the CV. What they do not realize is that a CV is the first document that will attract the hiring manager to consider to shortlist them for interview. Ignoring and neglecting to provide an effective CV and resume will nullify your chances of been shortlisted. Hiring managers scan through hundreds of CVs’ looking for the exact qualifications, skills and experience required to fill the vacancy. If your CV is badly written recruiters will find it difficult to select such candidates. It must be remembered that hiring managers are also under pressure to fill vacancies and will not have time to read every CV thoroughly to understand if potential candidates fulfils the exact requirements of the post. Why make it difficult for them to select your CV? The hiring managers will only scan and select a CV that present the most concise information with the relevant and informative text that will catch his eye. Your CV can open doors for you to be selected and hopefully shortlisted for the position you have applied for.
The content of your CV and how you have arranged your career history will improve your chances of getting into the interview. Your CV should contain a flow of information that starts with your qualifications and ends with your latest employment history. Anybody who reads your CV should be able to understand your CV without meeting you or reading your cover letter. Besides, that is what happens in real life – hiring managers peruse your CV long before you are called for interview. The final decision to finally call you for interview will ultimately rest on your CV. Your CV is the only key that will get you through the door of the company you wish to work for. It is therefore advisable to keep two CV formats to meet the requirements of different employers. Those who need a summarized CV of a few pages (3-4pages) and those who need a longer and more detailed CV.
The easiest way of blowing your chances of a job opportunity is by making a poor impression with poorly presented and sloppy CV. Many applicants are usually not aware about the importance of this first stage of securing employment. They believe incorrectly that because they submitted a CV this guarantees them an interview or a job. The CV provides the employer with an overview of potential candidates for the position, and it gives the interviewer and idea of what to expect from the applicant. A good CV will improve the possibility of being granted an interview during which a good impression can be made. A good impression improves the chances of being hired.
Your CV is there to assist you to get a job. It acts as a support in search for employment and either secures you for an interview or ensures that you do not even get the opportunity to be interviewed. It markets and acts as the sales agent for you. A CV is an account of your career, and it enables you to present yourself to a prospective employer before meeting him/her on the interview day. It also provides the hiring manager with an opportunity to from opinions about you in advance. Your CV has to make an impression on the hiring manager, if it does not, you do not have a chance of being called for interview. The purpose of submitting a CV is to project a positive image about yourself by illustrating your educational qualifications, skills knowledge and experience. This will enable the hiring manager to form an impression about you. If through your CV you project a negative impression, the chances are that you will not be afforded an opportunity to attend an interview.
Your Cover Letter
The second step to actually getting a job interview is to create an attention-getting cover letter. Your cover letter is a piece of information that lets’ a potential employer know what your skills are and whether you would make a perfect fit for the available position. Your cover letter must be as detailed and informative as possible, without going beyond a one-page limit. Write a cover letter that will be attractive and draw as much attraction as possible. Remember getting noticed amongst hundreds of CV’s is the only way to get a job. Take time to compile a compelling cover letter that sells your skills.
Here are five points to include in your cover letter:
Address your cover letter to a specific person – this will show that you have done your research about the company.
Clearly indicate the position you are applying for.
Showcase your experience and how it will be helpful in the position you are applying for.
Use company “buzzwords” for instance, “Breaking New Ground” if that is the company’s buzzword.
Be enthusiastic – Your enthusiasm will be communicated to the reader of your cover letter and enhance your chances of gaining an interview. If you can take time and write a cover letter that summarises your strongest skills, you have the edge over other contenders who skip this important step.
Interview
The keys to making a brilliant impact at any interview are researching relevant information, preparing yourself mentally anticipating the questions you are likely to be asked and working out the best possible answers to these questions. Remember all interviewers are seeking answers to two fundamental questions;
Can you do the job?
Will you fit in?
Preparation for job interview is the most important part of the entire interview process. Know the position and ensure that you know something about the job you have applied for. Talk to people you know in the same job and learn about the tasks involved. Prepare answers to questions you are likely to be asked relating to the job. You should also know about the industry to which you’re applying. Find out as much as you can about the industry. More importantly than knowing the industry, is knowing something about the company to which you’re applying. Having the skills to do the job well and a strong knowledge of the company will put you above candidates who only have the skills to do the job well.
Having managed to secure an interview means that the real preparation must begin. You have the opportunity of marketing and selling yourself to your prospective employer. You have passed the first stage and now you have to negotiate your way through the second. There are a number of ways and tools you can use to find the information you need. The first is obvious; do you know someone who works at the company? Perhaps a friend or relative of yours knows someone who works at the company and can put you in touch with that person. Use this to gain an inside perspective on the company. There’s also a wealth of information at the library, newspapers and magazines about the company. Look for everything about the company. The product or services they offer the type of customers they deal with, name of company and CEO. You should make yourself familiar with the company’s size and anything else you deem important. If you think you will do well without having taken time to acquaint yourself with the company and its business, you will not succeed in landing a job. You should perform intensive research once you have secured a date and time for the interview, otherwise you may waste your time researching companies that may never call you.
It always helps to practice. The only way to measure your readiness for interview is to practice. Practicing your answers to likely questions is the key to projecting a calm and confident impression during the interview. Sit down with your best friend and have her fire questions at you. Ask her for feedback. You can also have your friend to tape you on a tape recorder or video camera. Listen to your voice is the pitch of your voice and tone pleasant, clear and distinct? Watch your eye contact, body language, do you see yourself confident or are your answers rambling and off-the-mark? Analyze the way you your answers sound on the tape recorder. On the next run-through make a conscious effort to make yourself sound more like a professional and work on your flaws before that eventful day of interview. Apply to several companies you do not have all that much interest in. If you are not successful, analyze what went wrong so that you can improve in the next one. Consider each job- hunting activity as an additional step in enriching your abilities and take criticism as an opportunity to improve yourself.
Interview Day
Having arrived for interview;
Be prepared – bring along an extra copy of your resume and reading materials in the event you have to wait a little while before the interview.
Dress appropriately – ensure that you are neat and well presented.
Be confident and project a positive attitude – the manner and confidence with which you answer questions will be carefully observed. Project an air of positive attitude and remember that the company called you because they believe you are capable of performing the job at hand.
Make eye contact – maintain eye contact as you talk about your skills and experience and let the interviewer know that you think you could do a good job.
Show enthusiasm – there is nothing that sips energy like a candidate who lacks enthusiasm. Even if the interviewer discusses your having to perform a skill that you are not familiar with, show him how eager you are to learn.
After the interview
Aside from being a recruiters test, sending a thank you letter to the person with whom you met during your interview can be a way for you to underscore your continued interest in the position and the company. Be polite and make sure to express your continued interest in the position as well as your ability to perform the duties required. Send a handwritten note and make sure to send the thank you letter immediately following the interview while your meeting is still fresh in the interviewer’s mind. It will help to put a face to the letter. Ensure that your letter is brief and emphasising your interest in the company and position.
You should not stop working on finding a new job until you have received an official offer. Even if you think the interview went great, there are no guarantees that you have the job until the company tells you so. Continue sending out resumes and scheduling more interviews. It is not wise to stake the future of your employment on one interview. Remember that finding a new job is a full-time job in itself, be prepared to work on your job search to make job offers come rolling in.
Job Testing will follow in our next session.
Justice Mandhla is the author of <a onClick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=http://www.mystudent4life.com/>What they did not teach you in school: Life Long Learning Tips to land a job straight out of school</a> and he spends a great deal of his full-time writing day researching and writing about job search strategies.
I have a Human Resource background and I am committed to long life learning.
