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Candidate

6 Things You Really Should Include in Your Resume – and why…

Things to Include in Resume

Your resume should be brief and concise – a long, wordy resume will put off someone who is already short on time. The purpose of your resume is to summarise your experience, knowledge and accomplishments and it should be no longer than three pages. Try to tell the employer exactly what you mean using the least possible amount of words. It’s important to firstly include the appropriate content, including:

 

Contact Details

Your name, address, telephone, and email address should all go at the top of your resume. Choose an email address that sounds professional, and do not mention personal characteristics such as age, height, and marital status.

 

Objective or Summary

An objective simply tells employers the type of work you want and should be kept short. Be specific about the job you want. For example: to obtain an entry-level position within a financial institution requiring strong analytical and organisational skills. Tailor your objective to each employer you target and every job you apply for.

 

Education

New graduates without a lot of work experience should list their educational information first. If you have extensive relevant work experience you can list it after the work experience section. Your most recent educational information should be listed first, and include your degree, major, institution attended and minor/concentration. Also don’t forget to mention academic honours.

 

Work Experience

Briefly give the employer an overview of work experience that has taught you skills. Include your work experience in reverse chronological order. Make the most of your experience – potential employers need to know what you have accomplished to have an idea of what you can do for them. You should include the title of position, the name of organisation. location of work, dates of employment, and a description of your work responsibilities with emphasis on specific skills and achievements.

 

Other Information

Employers always want an insight into you as a person, particularly as you may have shared interests. You may want to add extra information at this point, such as key skills or competencies, leadership experience, volunteer work or participation in sporting activities or hobbies.

 

Referees

Always ask people if they are willing to act as a referee for you before you give their name to a potential employer. CBR Recruitment will always obtain your express permission to contact your referees so that you can give them advance warning they will be contacted.

 

Overall, when writing your resume don’t be vague in your explanations – describe tasks/responsibilities that can be measured objectively. Employers will feel more comfortable employing you if they can verify your accomplishments. It is also important to be honest. A falsified resume is easily spotted by an employer, if not immediately then during the interview process. To discuss your next career opportunity, please call CBR Recruitment on 02 6103 7000 or email: hello@CBRrecruitment.com.au

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Client

How To Answer Those “Tricky” Interview Questions

Tricky Interview Questions

The interview is one of the most important aspects of getting a job, and making a good impression is vital to your chances. Effective employment interviewing involves preparation and practice and to be prepared for an interview you need to acquire knowledge about yourself, about the job, and about the employer you are interested in working for. The following are various techniques that can help you make a good interview impression and answer those “tricky” questions.

 

Research the Organisation and the Position

The more you know about the organisation and the job you are applying for, the better you will appear in the interview. An interviewer will be impressed by your interest and motivation, and you will be able to explain what you can do for the organisation.

You should find out the following information before your interview:

  • The typical duties and salary range for the job in which you are interested;
  • The background of the organisation;
  • The products or services of the organisation;
  • The philosophy and values of the organisation; and
  • Any recent news regarding the organisation.
  • The likely format interview and whether questions will be competency-based or unstructured.

Prepare

Whether the interview is competency-based or unstructured, an interviewer must secure answers to four basic questions, either directly or indirectly through other questions and comments. You should be clear about your thoughts and prepared to give articulate answers to these questions:

  1. Why do you want to join the organisation?
  2. How much experience do you have in this area?
  3. How do your skills and values fit with the organisation?
  4. What are your salary requirements?

 

Handling Difficult Questions

If you are unsure about a question politely ask for the question to be repeated or for more information and write the question down if you need to. It is always better to understand the question than try and answer one that you don’t. Take your time with your answer and think about what you are saying. Never rush questions as you might miss out on saying what you wanted, and if you’re not sure you have answered the question completely, ask the interviewer if they would like you to elaborate. The best way to handle difficult questions in an employment interview is in an honest, positive manner. Some difficult questions employers ask include:

‘Tell me about yourself….’

The employer wants to gain information about your work experience, not your personal life. Talk about experiences and goals that relate to the specific job you are applying for.

‘How would you describe yourself?’

Discuss positive, work-related attitudes. For example, you could suggest that you enjoy working with people of all ages, are loyal, committed, etc.

‘Have you done this type of work before?’

Link the skills you possess to the abilities needed for the job. Answer truthfully about how your experience relates to the position.

‘Why did you leave your last job?’

Be honest, professional and positive in your response – interviewers need to be able to understand your reasoning for leaving past positions. Avoid any statements that may say something negative about yourself, your work, or your ability to get along with others.

‘You seem to be overqualified for this position. Why do you want this job?’

The employer may be questioning your goals or challenging your long-term commitment to the job. Indicate your sincere interest in working for the organisation. Emphasise the unique attitudes, abilities and interests that led you to apply for this job.

 

Ask Questions

You should conclude the interview with questions you have about the job. Make sure you are prepared with some questions you would like answered in the job interview. Apart from frequently-used question regarding the timing of the recruitment decision, if possible use this opportunity to engage with the interviewer about the team or organizational goals, or their expected achievements of the candidate within say the first 100 days of the role. This prompts them to tell you exactly what they expect.

 

After the Interview

End the interview with a handshake or warm farewell, (taking into account COVID-19 and social distancing protocols) and thank the interviewer for their time. Reiterate your interest in the position and your qualifications. Follow up with a phone call if you are not contacted within a week of when the interviewer indicated you would be.

 

The CBR Recruitment Team prides itself on doing our absolute best to prepare you for your interview so you have the best opportunity of winning your next job. To discuss your next career move, please phone: 02 6103 7000 or email: hello@CBRrecruitment.com.au

Categories
Client

Competency Based Interviewing – What is it and why use it?

Competency Based Interviewing

The current industry leading practice is to interview candidates using a technique known as “Competency Based Interviewing” (also called “structured” or “behavioural” interviewing). Competency based interviewing is based upon the concept of linking three parameters – knowledge, skills and attitude. Each question is designed to test one or more specific skills and the answer is then matched against pre-decided criteria and marked or rated accordingly. For example, the interviewer may want to test the candidate’s ability to deal with stress by firstly asking how the candidate generally handles stress and then asking the candidate to provide an example of a situation where he or she worked under pressure.

 

How is Competency Base Interviewing Different?

Competency based interviewing differs from traditional interviewing (also called unstructured interviewing) as traditional interviews are essentially a conversation where the interviewer asks a number of questions that are relevant to what they are looking for, but without any specific aim in mind other than getting an overall impression of the candidate as an individual. Questions are usually quite random and can also be quite open. For example, a question such as “What can you offer our company?” is meant to gather general information about the candidate but does not test any specific skill or competency. In an unstructured interview, the candidate is judged on the general impression that he or she leaves and the process is therefore likely to be more subjective.

 

What are the Benefits?

Competency based interviews are more systematic, with each question targeting a specific skill or competency. Candidates are asked questions relating to their behaviour in specific circumstances, which they then need to back up with concrete examples. The interviewer will then dig further into the examples by asking for specific explanations about the candidate’s behaviour or skills.

 

An example of a competency-based interview question is:

“This is a busy role which manages high volumes of client contact and juggles a number of competing priorities. Can you tell us about a time when you have had to coordinate multiple work outputs with competing deadlines? What strategies did you employ and what was the outcome?”

 

This question tests organisational skills, working at a fast pace, dealing with stressful situations, providing high quality client service and achieving results.

 

Utilising Methodology

The “STAR” methodology can be useful tool to frame competency-based interview questions.

 

Situation

Ask the candidate to set the context by describing the circumstance where they used the skills or qualities you are seeking.

Task

What was their role / involvement in the situation?

Actions

What did they do and how did they do it?

Results

What did they achieve? What was the outcome of their actions?

 

Regardless of the specific position being recruited it is always worthwhile asking a question about communication skills, teamwork and organisational skills as these qualities are important requirements of most jobs.

 

Secondary Interviews

Another effective technique in assisting to select the best candidate for the position is to conduct a secondary interview with the top one or two candidates. This interview should be a much less formal unstructured interview – at a café for example. This is a good opportunity to meet the candidate in a less stressful environment than the initial interview, and will give you an excellent insight into their potential fit into the culture of your organisation, and you should be able to effectively gauge how you would work with the candidate on a day-to-day basis.

 

For assistance with your next recruitment campaign or with developing competency-based interview questions, please call CBR Recruitment on 02 6103 7000 or email: hello@CBRrecruitment.com.au

Categories
Client

5 Key Recruitment Tips for Small Business Owners – How to achieve the “perfect fit”.

Recruitment Tips

Almost every small business owner I speak to says that recruiting and retaining high quality staff for their business is one of their biggest challenges. Recruiting staff is certainly a big step – wages are an expensive overhead, and the difference between an excellent staff member and a substandard staff member can have a profound impact on the overall performance of your business.

We look at recruiting staff as being an investment in your business – an opportunity to grow, to increase performance, and to provide your stakeholders with a better service or experience. Before we even start to consider “fit” there are several important steps in any recruitment campaign that need to be undertaken.

Firstly run a formal recruitment process – including at least first and second round interviews. Secondly ensure that the person actually has the technical skills to do the job, so do appropriate background checking and skills assessments.

 

What does “fit” actually mean?

“Fit” can be a hard thing to quantify, however we define “fit” as: how the candidate’s goals and objectives align with those of the business – and also whether they have the skills and experience that the business needs at a specific point in time.

While each business is unique, there are some specific characteristics that we look for in candidates when we recruit for small businesses:

A Track Record in Client Service Roles

There are very few roles in small business which don’t have a client service component – everyone represents your business to some extent, so we look favourably on candidates who have worked in hospitality or retail roles early on in their careers. Even if it was a long time ago, while studying for example, these types of candidates naturally gravitate towards people and enjoy human interaction. Skills developed in hospitality or retail roles include: communication skills, negotiation experience, problem solving ability, teamwork, along with having a client centric approach.

Broad Skillsets

Candidates with narrow skillsets or a very specific area of expertise can often be less versatile, which can be problematic if your business is rapidly growing or changing – job roles, corporate structures and skill requirements can change dramatically. People who can take on some tasks which fall outside their specific job role can be a huge asset – particularly if someone has the ability to take away some of the peripheral tasks you do as a business owner. Look for candidates who demonstrate versatility, adaptability, the ability to multi-task, and are highly organised.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is something that can’t be measured on a CV, however it’s crucial when it comes to the fit of the candidate within your business. How intuitive are they, what will they be like to work with, and how do their personal goals and values align with those of your business? When interviewing candidates for your business, think about their overall job suitability, how they have previously shown initiative, and also how they interact with you during the interview.

Results / Outcome Focussed

Results or outcome focussed people generally understand the commercial reality of being in business – they will want to help the business to grow, they will look to take on more, and they like working to deadlines. Look for a track record of achievement in previous roles, their personal drive and overall “energy”.

Loyalty

In small business staff loyalty is very important due to the time and effort involved in recruiting and training a new staff member. Look at a candidate’s employment background thoroughly, put yourself into their shoes, and try to understand their reasoning for leaving previous positions. The other thing to consider is their current relationship with past employers, so be very thorough when conducting references.

 

If you need any assistance with identifying candidates who are a perfect fit for your small business, please call 02 6103 7000 or email: hello@CBRrecruitment.com.au