A Message to Candidates

1. JOB HUNTING DURING A PANDEMIC
A MESSAGE
A MESSAGE
TO
TO
CANDIDATES
CANDIDATES

2. DON'T JUST GIVE AN AGENCY THE GREEN LIGHT
TO USE THE CV THEY FOUND ONLINE.
IF YOUR CV IS NOT UP TO DATE EMPLOYERS
WON’T SEE A TRUE REFLECTION OF YOUR
CURRENT SKILLSET.
LIKE MANY, IF YOU’VE BEEN COMPLETING
ONLINE COURSES DURING LOCKDOWN MAKE
SURE TO AMEND YOUR CV ACCORDINGLY.
KEEP YOUR CV
UPDATED

3. WHICHEVER INDUSTRY YOU CURRENTLY WORK IN, KEEPING
UP TO DATE WITH CURRENT MARKET TRENDS AND HOT
TOPICS WILL BOOST YOUR SUCCESS RATE FROM FIRST
INTERVIEW TO SECOND INTERVIEW.
BEING ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE PASSION ABOUT THE
INDUSTRY YOU WORK IN DURING YOUR FIRST
CONVERSATION WILL SHOW THE COMPANY THE VALUE YOU
CAN ADD AND THAT YOU HAVE A GENUINE INTEREST IN THE
INDUSTRY.
KEEP EDUCATED WITH
MARKET KNOWLEDGE

4. KEEP ON TOP OF ALL APPLICATIONS. THE MORE
INFORMATION YOU CAN EXTRACT FROM YOUR
AGENCY/THE COMPANY THE MORE PREPARED YOU WILL BE
FOR ANY INTERVIEWS.
KEEPING A FOLDER/FILE OF JOB DESCRIPTIONS, COMPANY
PROFILES AND INTERVIEW NOTES WILL HELP YOU TO
PREPARE FOR INTERVIEWS AND GIVE YOU EXTRA
CONFIDENCE THAT YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WILL
BE TALKING ABOUT WITH POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS.
BE ORGANISED

5. BE HONEST
IF YOU ARE USING AN AGENCY, MAKE SURE YOU
ARE COMPLETELY HONEST WITH THEM. AN
AGENCY CAN ONLY WORK ON THE INFORMATION
THAT YOU’VE GIVEN THEM.
MAKE SURE YOU SET REALISTIC SALARY
EXPECTATIONS. NOT ONLY WITH THE AGENCY,
BUT WITH YOURSELF!
HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF EXACTLY
THE TYPE OF ROLE YOU ARE GOING FOR,
OTHERWISE YOU WILL KEEP INTERVIEWING WITH
THE WRONG COMPANY!

6. MAKE SURE TO BE PROACTIVE WITH
CHASING FOR THINGS LIKE INTERVIEWS AND
FEEDBACK. IF YOU’VE BEEN TOLD ABOUT AN
INTERVIEW BUT NOT YET RECEIVED ANY
INFORMATION, DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHASE
UP YOUR AGENCY/COMPANY FOR THE
INFORMATION.
MAKE SURE TO KEEP A GOOD RELATIONSHIP
WITH YOUR AGENCY AND RECEIVE REGULAR
UPDATES ON ANY CVS SENT, INTERVIEWS
BOOKED AND GENERAL JOB UPDATES.
CHASE

7. HAVING A GENERIC CV THAT YOU CAN SEND TO RELATED ROLES
IS A QUICK WAY TO GET YOUR NAME NOTICED BY POTENTIAL
EMPLOYERS. BUT, TAKING THE TIME TO TAILOR YOUR CV TO
ADDITIONALLY, IT WILL SHOW THE COMPANY YOU’VE TAKEN
THE TIME TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR MOST RELEVANT SKILLSET
AND YOU ARE ADDING VALUE AT THE EARLIEST STAGE POSSIBLE.
TAILOR YOUR CV

8. IF YOU CAN NAIL YOUR INTERVIEW PREPARATION YOU WILL
FEEL A LOT MORE CONFIDENT GOING IN TO A INTERVIEW.
RESEARCH THE COMPANY – LEARN ABOUT THEIR CULTURE AND
VALUES, WHAT PROJECTS HAVE THEY GOT GOING ON AT THE
MOMENT?
IF YOU KNOW THE INTERVIEWER, QUICKLY LOOK THEM UP ON
LINKEDIN! YOU MAY HAVE WORKED FOR THE SAME COMPANY IN
THE PAST, HAVE SIMILAR INTERESTS OR SIMPLY KNOW SIMILAR
CONNECTIONS! THIS WILL HELP YOU BUILD RAPPORT AT THE
START OF YOUR INTERVIEW – CONSEQUENTLY, THE FOLLOWING
CONVERSATION WILL SEEM MORE NATURAL.
INTRVIEW PREPARATION

9. MAKE SURE YOU ARE ALWAYS ON TIME FOR
INTERVIEWS. WITH THE CURRENT SITUATION, A
MAJORITY OF RECRUITMENT PROCESSES WILL
REVOLVE AROUND ONLINE VIDEO INTERVIEWS.
IF YOU ARE SPEAKING WITH A EMPLOYER OVER
TEAMS/ZOOM , MAKE SURE TO LOG ON TO THE
MEETING AT LEAST 10 MINUTES BEFOREHAND. IT
ONLY TAKES A MINUTE OR TWO TO DO THIS, AND
AT LEAST THEN YOU WILL BE THERE READY WHEN
YOUR INTERVIEWER JOINS.
IF YOU DO FACE ANY TECHNICAL ISSUES AND
ARE UNABLE TO JOIN, AT LEAST YOU’VE SET
ENOUGH TIME ASIDE TO BE ABLE TO REACH OUT
AND ADDRESS THIS ISSUE.
TIMINGS

10. IF YOU ARE UNSUCCESSFUL WITH ANY APPLICATIONS,
MAKE SURE TO USE THE FEEDBACK TO YOUR
ADVANTAGE.
NEVER TAKE IT PERSONALLY, FEEDBACK IS A GREAT
WAY TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR FUTURE APPLICATIONS.
ALWAYS REFLECT ON PREVIOUS FEEDBACK WHEN GOING
IN FOR AN INTERVIEW, TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE
CONSTANTLY IMPROVING.MOST IMPORTANTLY, MAKE
SURE YOU DO RECEIVE THE FEEDBACK!
USE FEEDBACK
EFFECTIVELY

11. IF YOU ARE UNSUCCESSFUL WITH ANY APPLICATIONS,
MAKE SURE TO USE THE FEEDBACK TO YOUR
ADVANTAGE.
NEVER TAKE IT PERSONALLY, FEEDBACK IS A GREAT
WAY TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR FUTURE APPLICATIONS.
ALWAYS REFLECT ON PREVIOUS FEEDBACK WHEN GOING
IN FOR AN INTERVIEW, TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE
CONSTANTLY IMPROVING.MOST IMPORTANTLY, MAKE
SURE YOU DO RECEIVE THE FEEDBACK!
BE POSITIVE