Remember the old:“Hey! send us your CV and we may call you for an interview”?
It seemed simple enough. You worked hard to present the best version of yourself in a CV, nail the interview and you were with a good chance of getting the job.
But things have changed and keep changing as I write this blog.
The Irish market is in full employment, what that means is that most people that want a job have a job.
Is it then super easy to get a job? The answer is not a straight “yes”, more a “depends of a lot of factors”.
Due to the number of opportunities it is a “candidates’ market”, yes candidates “have the power”. But, yes, there is a “but”, the Irish job market is very competitive and attracts a huge amount of talent.
So, how can we prepare to access those attractive opportunities available?
What is the new style of recruiting?
Let’s see if I can share some of my findings.
Recruitment process shopping list
A recruitment process can last from a few days to a few months.
During this time, we have to go through a number of stages, they are all important as they bring us closer to that job we want.
Let’s see some of them and how can we get ready;
1-Cv Screening
You need to spend some time to adapting your cv to the job you want, that is not new. But the challenge now is to match it with your online profile. It has to match your Linked In profile. Trust me they are going to check it.
Pay attention to all details: dates, jobs. Also, your summary has to give the idea that this is really the job you want.
2-Phone call interview
This can be the next filter, they want to hear you, get a sense of your personality and also, they want to tell you about the job.
Treat this call as a proper interview, prepare and be ready with your examples, stories and achievements.
3-Video call interview
Similar of the phone interview, another filter, but now they can see you.
This is very popular now for candidates that are abroad or far away, but also common practice in the early stages.
Be professional, and aware of your surroundings (not in a messy room or with an open window by a noisy road)
4-Interview in the company (multiple)
If you get here you are getting closer, you can have many different interviews with different people or a panel,
The process can be long and tiring and different people may ask you the same questions, be polite and keep your energy until the end.
5-Presentation
This is the time to show your TED skills!
Some companies want to put you on the spot, and they may ask to present about yourself or any aspect of the job.
This is a skill that has to be practiced and mastered and that some people find terrifying
6-Role-plays
Here the company has a chance to see you performing in the role. Maybe a phone call or a meeting with a client. Be open and creative, but more important, be yourself.
The idea is to see how you think, how you react and solve a problem. They are not looking for perfection.
How do we prepare?
When working with candidates I always say: you cannot prepare every interview question, what you need to do is a lot of research and practice to gain enough confidence to say:
“Whatever the question or task they ask me to do I am ready . I know I will be fine”
This is not easy and requires time, practice and sometimes a bit of help.
What is what they really want from you?
Sometimes candidates stress about not having the right course or specific experience for a particular job.
And that may be essential for some jobs. But in general terms, companies want you to fit in, with the company culture, team, department or specific project.
They hire “YOU”, the person, your like-ability, the sense that you will stay.
They hire less for number of MBA’s you have. Those can be handy but if they don’t like you, you won’t go far.
Comments? Experiences?
Please let me know your stories or experiences, I’d love to hear from you
If you feel I can help you with your search please send me a message.
ines@letswork.today