If you take a quick glance across the internet, you’ll find heaps and heaps of job search tips and careers advice… but sometimes, it can be difficult to separate the genuine insights from the utter rubbish.
So this week, I thought I’d collect together the 9 most important and genuine tips you should actually listen to.
Hope they help.
General Tips
1. Ditch the Clichés
Stop using awful clichés…
- “I’m a perfectionist.”
- “I love socialising.”
- “Dynamic.”
Seriously, they are completely meaningless and just make you look a bit silly.
Everything you say on your CV and in the interview should show your value and make you stand out. If you say the same thing everyone else does, you’re not going to get anywhere.
For a more extensive list of clichés you should NEVER use on your CV or in interviews, check out our recent article here.
2. Get Noticed
You don’t need to wait around for a job to open for those companies you really want to work for.
You could send a speculative application, you could send them a really great idea you’ve had to improve their business or you could send them some kind of jazzy direct mail.
There are loads of really great ways to get noticed, but essentially going the extra mile and showing that you really, specifically want to work for that company will make a hell of a difference.
3. Structure Your Search
A really common trap that jobseekers fall into is applying for every job they find across the internet (whether qualified for it or not).
Don’t. It’s a complete waste of time that could be spent on something else – like sending a bespoke and actually impressive job application to companies you’d genuinely like to work for.
What’s more, if a recruitment consultant discovers you’ve applied for loads of different jobs, each of them requiring different skills, they’re just not going to think you’re passionate or right for their role.
Don’t sabotage yourself!
Interview Tips
4. Be Yourself
This is the most important piece of interview advice you’ll ever hear.
If you try and put on an act then:
- Interviewers will smell a rat.
- You might end up with the wrong job.
- You might end up working for a company you don’t like.
You need to be authentic and give an accurate representation of yourself!
5. Sell yourself
Treat your interview like any other sales pitch.
- Highlight the strong points of your personality, skills and experience.
- Don’t just waffle on about your achievements; give stats and examples to prove them.
- Be confident in yourself.
It is also important to be aware of the positive and negative traits, so that, should they arise in the interview, you’re ready to combat them.
6. Be (or at least look) Confident
Acting confident in an interview is easier said than done, I know.
But if you practice, you can do it.
And the more you act confident, the more confident you will actually become (it’s a psychological thing).
Employers love confidence. It makes them feel secure hiring you.
7. Practice Listening
While most job seekers practice for answering questions when they are preparing for job interviews; it is equally important to practice listening to be in with a chance of impressing your interviewer.
It’s so important to listen and remember some of the facts that the interviewer has laid out on the table for you and it’s also important to know exactly what questions you’re answering.
Too many job-seekers get so nervous that they blabber on about nothing in particular or miss the point of a question entirely.
CV Tips
8. Keep Things Structured and Organised
This is an important one, because you want to create as little friction as humanly possible when a recruiter is reading your CV!
If it is structured badly, difficult to find information and/or really long-winded, the recruiter will just not want to read it… it’s as simple as that.
And even if they do manage to get through it, they’ll have a bad feeling, subconsciously.
9. Don’t Waffle Too Much
Keep your CV precise and to-the-point.
Do not waffle too much and add unnecessary and irrelevant details. These simply waste space and (again) create friction for a reader.
You can use our CV checklist to ensure you get this right.
The Final Word
The best way to impress a recruiter?
Be prepared.
If your CV is completely up-to-scratch and you’re ready for every question thrown at you (during the interview and otherwise) you’re going to look really on-the-ball and passionate about the job role.
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Good luck.
