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Advice & Tips
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CV Preparation ^ top
Remember that your CV is usually the only information that a prospective employer receives about you. Therefore, your CV is your prime marketing tool and its aim is to ensure that you are invited for interview.
Your CV must demonstrate how you meet the employer's needs and should:
- Summarise your qualifications and experience
- Highlight how they benefited previous employers
- Project your personality
Your CV should be no longer than 5 pages. Your CV should consist of the following sections:
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Personal Details
- Name, address and telephone number is sufficient.
Avoid excessive personal information.
Educational Details
- Start with most recent course of study
- Work back in chronological order
- It is not necessary to list HSC exam results if you have attained a third-level qualification
Employment Details
- Specify duration of employment (starting with current employment)
- Give company name and type of business (there is no need to give the company's address)
- Position held
- List main duties and responsibilities
- Address any gaps in career history
Additional Information
- List no more than 5 relevant courses
- Only mention languages in which you are proficient
- State any professional memberships
Hobbies & Interests
- Balance intellectual and physical pursuits
- Balance group and individual pursuits
There is no need to include details of referees on your CV. References should only be required after an interview.
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Winning The Interview Game ^ top
It's a fact that the best candidate doesn't always get the job; the candidate who gets the job is the one that performs best at the interview. The interviewer is assessing not only whether you can do the job, but whether you will fit in to the team.
- Preparation
- Presentation
- Personality
- Sample Interview Questions
- Common reasons for doing badly at an interview
To win the interview game you need to anticipate and meet the interviewer's expectations. You should be able to "sell" yourself, build rapport, reveal positive attitudes and opinions and speak clearly and confidently. Above all, you must demonstrate the relevance of your skills and the benefit of your experience to prospective employers.
You should have your own agenda. If you have experience which is appropriate to the job in question - be sure you present this, whether questioned or not. You may have to compensate for an less than brilliant interviewer.
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Preparation ^ 'winning the interview game' ^ top
Research the company, its products or services, competitors, company accounts etc. Prepare any questions you want to ask. Get a copy of the Annual Report or the company brochure. Read it and use the information to ask some intelligent questions - the quality of your questions says a lot about you as a candidate.
Also, be ready for the questions you will be asked (see below for examples). Because interviewers are notoriously predictable, you should be able to anticipate most of the questions and prepare your answers.
Whilst you should not appear over-rehearsed, thinking carefully about these questions will ensure you are better prepared. Finally, make sure you know your own CV.
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Presentation ^ 'winning the interview game' ^ top
The image you present has never been more important, and first impressions are vital.
Research consistently highlights on-the-spot decision making by interviewers, based on how a candidate comes across in the crucial first few minutes. Typically, recruitment decisions are made in the first five minutes, before you have had much opportunity to speak in your own favour. Essentially, if a candidate looks the part, the interviewer will assume he or she can do the job. If you don't look successful, the interviewer won't think you are!
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Personality ^ 'winning the interview game' ^ top
Remember that the interviewer is not only assessing your skills and experience, but also whether he/she likes you, and above all, whether they think you'll fit in. It is important to try to develop a rapport with your interviewer - help put them at their ease. The more comfortable the interviewer feels with you, the better the interview will go.
Be aware of the following:
- Have a firm handshake
- Maintain plenty of eye contact
- Don't go on too much - watch for any signs of boredom on behalf of the interviewer
- Avoid jargon
- Don't fidget (with your hair, with a pen etc..)
- At the interview, be positive and enthusiastic about the job and the company, even if you decide you're no longer interested in the position.
- Enthusiasm can sometimes compensate for not possessing quite the right experience.
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Sample Interview Questions ^ 'winning the interview game' ^ top
- What kind of people do you like working with?
- What kind of people do you find most difficult to work with? Why?
- Do you prefer to work alone or in a group?
- Have you ever had to manage or supervise others? Give examples.
- Is there anything you would rather avoid doing in your job? Why?
- In your previous job, what kind of pressures did you encounter?
- What do you feel you have done particularly well in your job? In what areas have you achieved the greatest success? Why do you think this is?
- Why do you want to leave your present job?
- What are you looking for in a company?
- What are your salary expectations at the moment? And five years from now?
- What do you see as your best qualities?
- What about the other side of the coin? Apart from knowledge or experience, what traits do you feel could be improved upon?
- Do you consider yourself a self-starter? If so, explain why.
- What would you consider to be your greatest achievement to date? Why?
- How do you feel about working long hours and weekends?
- How do you schedule your time? Are you good at setting priorities?
- Describe the biggest problem that you have faced within the last six months. How did you handle it?
- Explain your biggest mistake in delegating.
- Explain your biggest mistake in not delegating.
- What is the toughest decision you have had to make while at your present company? Tell me about it. What alternatives did you consider?
- What change has caused you the most difficulty and why?
- What are your standards of success in your job?
- How far have you ever compromised your standards? Give examples.
- Give some instances in which you have anticipated problems or influenced new direction.
- Do you feel pressure? Tell me about it. How do you deal with it?
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Common Reasons for Doing Badly at Interviews ^ 'winning the interview game' ^ top
- Insufficient preparation for the interview, leading to inability to answer the "Tell me what you know about us" question, or uncertainty about the job vacancy under discussion.
- Poor personal appearance or attitude - Remember, first impressions really count!
- Conceited or overbearing attitude, giving the impression that you are doing the company a favour by being there and "know it all" already.
- Timidity, limp handshake, failure to look the interviewer in the eyes when speaking or listening
- Lack of tact or courtesy, arriving late for the interview, forgetting interviewer's name
- Inability to confront weaknesses or take responsibility for past mistakes or unfavourable aspects of your history. Making excuses or blaming someone else reflects badly on you. Confront these areas and move on.
- No clear career path in mind, highlighting a lack of plans and future aspirations as your career progresses.
- Unclear answers, repetition and inability to organise and articulate thoughts clearly.
- Sole objective for job change is money / package related. You give the impression that you are moving with no appreciation for what this prospective company will offer you by way of experience, company reputation and size, team or project work etc..
- Giving no clear reasons for leaving current position, possibility that you might accept a counter-offer from your current employers
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