Securing a Job in a Tough Market• Aaron George – Group Director

• Mariken O’Donnell - Director – Global Project Management

• Economic Climate

• Model– Personal preparation for job search– Practical preparation for job search

• Discussion

• Objective – provide a model for securing a new opportunity

Job market/Job search Model• Context – what is the job market like?

• Personal– Why are you looking

– Creating self awareness – strengths/knowledge

– Career Objectives

– Mindset

• Practical– Optimising your CV

– Setting Realistic Expectations

– Identifying Opportunities

– Networking Skills

– Interview Preparation

– Interview Skills

Understand Reasons for Looking• Push Factors

– Redundancy– Career progression blocked/limited– Poor projects/work content– Company culture– Bad Management– Location

• Pull Factors– Great work content– More money– Career progression– Location

Identify existing strengths & knowledge baseSelf Analysis:• What am I good at/what are my skills? • What do I enjoy? • What am I driven by/interested in? • What are my values? • What is my knowledge base? • How am I unique, what makes me more marketable than other candidates? • What do I want to do? General direction.• Am I qualified to do that now, or do I need to find an interim role to get me to that place that

I want to be?

Understand your career path• Where have you been professionally?• Why have you made the career decisions you have?• Can you tell a cohesive story about your career choices?

Career Objectives• Long term objective

– Where do you want to be?• Position/Status• Work content/Projects• Money• Location• Work/Life Balance• Type of organisation / culture

– What is your timeframe?

• Short term goals– What path do you need to take to achieve your long-term objective?

• Do you need further qualifications?• What positions will you need to work in along the way?• What organisations will should you be working for along the way?• What circles do you need to be moving in?

– Set short term goals that are timebound

Job Search Mindset• Create mindset to find the right opportunity

– Establish Self Belief and be true to oneself.– Establish your key achievements.– Build up ones ‘inner-strength’ to know that you can ‘add value’ to a

situation or a person. – Business is about creating and fostering relationships.– Be proactive – you will get lots of non-communication and knock

backs.– Learn from your experiences!– Formulate a plan and stick to it (regardless of whether there is a

bad day or a particular opportunity does not materialize).

Optimise your CVsAim: Highlight skills & experience to get an interview• Qualifications, employers, time period, title, roles and

responsibilities and project experience• Detail on your experience; precise and to the point• Notable projects in CV. Detailed project list as attachment• No spelling or grammatical errors • Factually correct • 3 pages maximum• No unexplained gaps• Tailor to specific audience

Realistic Expectations

• Not Easy: job searching like a job itself

• Timeframes: currently not unusual for feedback / interviews to take several weeks

• Salary: these have remained stagnant for past couple of years and even dropped

• Location: you may need to widen the area you have been looking

Identifying Opportunities

• Many companies never advertise their jobs, rather use network• Recruiters work for some people, but not for others • Many applicants for online advertisements resulting in lots of

competition• Sometimes companies see a great person and they create a job

for them• Also, a job could just open up right when you reach out –

someone resigns/retires/etc

Finding Your ‘Perfect Opportunity’

Your ‘perfect opportunity’ can come through:• Your ‘warm’ network (events, friends, ex-colleagues)• Your ‘cold’ network (Linked In, press research)• Recruiter• Job Boards• Company Websites• Trade Press• Staying where you are – creating opportunities internally

Networking• Development and maintenance of mutually valuable

relationships.• People like to do business with people they know, like and trust.

It takes time to build up your own network of trusted contacts.

Used to help find a job Important to develop and progress career

Networking can be:• Formal, i.e. networking events,• Informal, i.e. your immediate group of friends • Online, i.e. Linked In.

Interview Preparation

Before the interview:• Research the company and interviewers• Company location and how you will get there• Prepare for interview questions

– Know your CV inside out– Understand job profile and how your experience fits– Your longer term objectives and how this fits with the role

and company • Eight to ten questions so you can ask three to four• Company location and how you will get there

Interview Preparation

SOAR is a useful acronym. For appropriate questions

• Describing a situation, • What objective you were trying to achieve, • What action you took and • What the end result was

The InterviewOn the day of the interview:• Presentation: dress smart, conservatively and professionally • Take contact details, a spare CV, pen and notepad• Switch off your mobile phone• Be punctual, arrive 5-8 minutes early• Interview starts as soon as you step inside the company’s offices • Smile, have a firm hand shake and make eye contact• Be enthusiastic and honest• Avoid derogatory comments about former employers or colleagues. • Listen and answer the question that has been asked

Summary

• Personal

• Practical

Questions

Contact Detailswww.amida-recruit.com0207 0333 788

Aaron Georgeaaron.george@amida-recruit.com0759 9416 616

Mariken O’Donnell mariken.odonnell@amida-recruit.com0782 5127 553

Example CV LayoutContact Details: Name, Email , Phone number and address.

 Personal Profile: career to date, strengths and goals

 

Qualifications

If graduate or limited employment experience also include relevant course details in brief

Any professional affiliations

 

Employment Details:

Company Name

Month, Year started to Month, Year finished

Position

In bullet point form list your responsibilities and duties –4-6 key ones

List of Notable Projects. Including value followed by brief project description

 

Continue in this layout as appropriate

 

Key accomplishments and skills: Bullet point work, academic, sporting and personal

 

Skills : Bullet point IT, languages etc

 

Appendix 1 – Project List

At end can list all projects in sectors (or as an attachment)

 • One font size, ideally 11. Black text.

Example Interview Questions• How did your boss get the best out of you?• In what ways has your job prepared you to take on greater responsibility?• How do you organise and plan for major projects?• What are some of the problems you have encountered in doing your job and how do you

deal with them?• Describe a difficult problem you have had to deal with?• What are your biggest accomplishments?• What are your outstanding qualities?• What types of decisions did you make in your last job?• Why do you want to work there?• What is your idea of how this industry works?• What have you done that shows initiative and willingness to work?• What would you do when you have a decision to make and no procedure exists?• How long would it take you to make a contribution to our company?• How well do you feel your boss rated your job performance?• What personal characteristics are necessary for success in your field?

Example Interview Questions contd.

• Why do you want to leave your current job?• You’ve been given a project that requires you to interact with different levels within the

company – how do you do this and what levels are you comfortable with?• What have you done that shows initiative and willingness to work?• What can you do for us that someone else cannot?• Do you prefer working with others or alone?• Do you make your opinions known when you disagree with the views of your supervisor /

manager?• How have you benefited from your disappointments?• What is your general impression of your last company?• What would your references say?• What are some of the things you find difficult to do and why do you feel that way?• Tell me about an event that really challenged you? How did you meet the challenge?• Why have you changed jobs?• How did you react to a difficult situation?