A top recruiter gives you 6 secrets on how to land that dream job

December 21st, 2010

1) We investigate education credentials. Which degrees, diplomas, certificates were completed and why those particular programs were selected. So, education should match what you are applying for. (Tip) This is also an opportunity to talk about future plans for continued education or learning.

2) Next we delve into current and past employment history not usually going back more than 10 years. We confirm employment dates, reasons for changing employment including the current move, with an emphasis on understanding job responsibilities, accomplishments, performance history and promotions. Past employment accomplishments is a key factor in this section as past behaviour related to these accomplishments is a good indicator of future behaviour and starts to paint an employee behaviour picture for the interviewer. (Tip) Never bash a past employer no matter how bad he/she was.

3) We then explore applicant technical skills. These skills can take many different forms such as computer software skills, programming skills, accounting, engineering, sales, management and so on. Being as specific as possible in the description of your skills is key in this section, to match the desired skills necessary for the job your applying for. (Tip) Any course can be helpful as it shows you are always trying to better yourself.

4) The next section we have often found applicants ill prepared for, and that is to identify their strengths and areas for development in the future. Strengths can entail either personal or work related factors. I encourage all employment applicants to reflect upon these two areas in advance of an interview, as this area is an ideal opportunity to sell ones "employment assets." (Tip) Know your strengths and saying you're a "People Person" isnt doing much these days.

5) Next we explore in detail an applicants' career aspirations. A key area to understand to ensure your looking at a longer term employee. We explore short term (1 to 2 years) and longer term (3+ years) where a particular applicant sees themselves career wise within an organization. This can often result in surprising interviewee expectations that may or may not be realistic within a particular organization. (Tip) Saying you want to be CEO is nice but lets not do that on an interview.

6) The BIG question section;

a) Salary expectations and degree of flexibility? Is salary the most important factor or is finding the right job and environment high on the list.
b) The importance of employee benefits and desired holiday entitlement?
c) Mobility or travel required for the job.
d) Employment references. We strongly prefer to speak with prior, most recent employment supervisors and not colleagues. A positive employment reference letter always enhances a job application.

We usually need 45 minutes to 1 hour to effectively gather all key recruitment criteria. A general rule of thumb is the interviewer should talk 30% of the time and the interviewee 70% of the time. Assuming a 1 hour interview, you have 42 minutes to sell yourself.

Happy Selling!

Kevin Renwick, CHRP
President
Okanagan Staffing Services Inc.