New Year! New Career Opportunities!

The month of January is typically one of the busiest months for most Recruiters and Hiring Managers as most people will begin their new job search at the beginning of the year. Many people go into that search process completely unprepared and are often left feeling defeated with a high influx of rejection emails. The biggest mistakes we oftentimes see candidates make are:

1) Lack of Interview Preparation

One of the biggest failures that we see consistently is the lack of research and preparation that candidates put into their job search process. Many candidates don't know which companies are hiring, for what roles, departments, locations and pay rate salary packages. It's important that candidates firs identify what specific industry, companies, position they want to apply for in order to target those specific roles. Know what the requirements are for the role by reading the job description carefully and identify what areas you might be missing skills and think through how you will specifically gain that skill, how long it will take and how much money you will need to invest in order to learn that skill. Once you have that skill set down then you can begin making a list of the companies that you are now a good fit for and want to apply to. Use websites like LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, Dice, BuiltIn, Angel.co, TechCrunch, and Staffing Agencies that specialize in your line of work. In the process of exploring occupations and landing a job, you will likely participate in a variety of interviews:

• Informational interviews are particularly useful in helping candidates explore new career options. This is an interview that you have requested to learn about a particular job, company, or industry and how best to present yourself to potential hiring managers. An informational interview also gives you an opportunity to create a positive first impression. Be sure to get referrals, leads, and recommendations for other networking contacts.

• Screening interviews are generally conducted by a representative of the company’s human resources department or a recruiter, a screening interview is used to determine whether you are qualified or overqualified to do the job. This initial interview is often conducted via telephone. As the name implies, the objective of this interview is to find reasons to remove, not include, people in a candidate pool. Do not consider it lightly just because someone other than the hiring manager is conducting it.

• In a one-on-one interview, the interviewer asks a set of questions to learn if you have the knowledge and skills to handle the job for which you have applied. The hiring manager conducting the one-on-one interview also wants to get a sense of what it would be like working with you and how you would fit in the organization. It is also used to learn how you behaved in past situations as a predictor of how you are likely to behave in the future. Expect to be asked “Tell me about a time when…” or “Give me an example…” questions. This interview is the one a hiring decision is based on.

Tips for Interview Success:

Be attentive to your interviewer, listen carefully, ask the right questions and pay close attention to the details/instructions when given. Avoid unexpected distractions, and turn off your cell phone before the interview begins. Know whom you will be interviewing with and what his or her role is in the company. Here are some other great tips for interviewing. Relax, take a deep breath, and smile a lot. You should be genuinely pleased to be there, as you were selected from a pool of many other candidates. Be your best professional self at all times. That’s whom you want them to hire, not someone you’re trying to act like. Keep your tone conversational but not too informal. Avoid slang and expletives. Make eye contact but don’t stare. When answering questions, keep your answers focused on your skills and knowledge. Avoid one-word answers, but be succinct and direct; don’t ramble. Be truthful. Any statements discovered to be untrue are grounds for not hiring you. If you don’t understand a question, ask for clarification. If you don’t have the exact fact an interviewer is asking for, offer to find out and get back to them. At the end of the interview, thank the interviewer and tell him or her you enjoyed your conversation. If the interviewer hasn’t already told you, it is appropriate to ask about the next steps.

2) ATS Non-Compliant Resume

Now that you have identified which companies you want to apply to it's time to get a brand new Executive Business Resume to highlight your new technical skills, accomplishments, work experiences and education. Your resume should always have your contact information, job title, professional summary, core competencies, areas of expertise, accomplishments, awards, experiences, education and technical skills listed on 1-2 pages depending on your years of experience. We always recommend using a professional writing services like Circle of Opportunities for best ATS Compliant Resumes.

PRO RESUME TIPS:

• Write your summary like the inside cover of a book with all the great highlights of your career history.

• Focus on your accomplishments, not just the positions you held.

• Point out your strengths using dynamic action verbs.

• Include numbers, dollar amounts and percentages that support your achievements. For example, you might write “Reduced costs by 20 percent.”

• Use your industry keywords (core competencies, areas of expertise) to get through the Applicant Tracking Software.

• Write from a high level what your chronological listing of experiences are, starting with your current or most recent job and moving backward in time, unless there is a valid reason for following a different format.

• List out the software systems that you have used and how you used them in your bullet points.

3) No LinkedIn Profile

Many people don't realize how impactful and important their LinkedIn Profile is in their career search. LinkedIn is the #1 Recruiting job site with the most Recruiters and Companies that are hiring and the easiest and fastest way to connect with them directly. Things you always want to pay attention to having on your profile is professional photos, background photo. job title, professional summary, featured projects, events, writing, photos and more of the work that you have done in the past or present, professional experiences, education, skills, courses and more. Use your LinkedIn Profile to introduce yourself. Who are you as a professional and what do you do? What value do you bring to the organizations you work for? Highlight your key skills, experiences, and achievements in paragraph form or a bulleted list. Talk about who you are outside of work. This is optional, but you never know which of your interests might resonate with a recruiter, future employer, or professional connection. Call the reader to action by asking them to connect with you to discuss growth marketing, contact you about job or speaking opportunities, or do whatever you’re currently looking to get from your LinkedIn profile. Your resume and LinkedIn don’t have to be identical but your past positions, companies, degrees, and licenses and certifications should match up—and so should the dates. Your profile should be just as outstanding as your resume if not more. This is typically your first introduction to the Recruiter so you always want to look your best so that you will get incredible employment opportunities in your inbox at all times. You can also write blogs, articles, and posts on LinkedIn to highlight more of your areas of expertise and knowledge. LinkedIn is a fantastic way to connect and network with industry professionals. Your profile should literally be working for you all day long and even when your asleep, opportunities should come to you when you least expect it. When you transform your profile you can literally transform your life.

4) Poor Communication Skills

Communication skills is a major factor in every interview and one of the top areas that candidates often fail in. Many candidates report feeling anxiety, fear, and Imposter Syndrome when interviewing because they are often unprepared for the question that they will be asked and they don't know how to answer the questions appropriately. Practice is essentially what makes us more experienced in every area of life and that certainly includes speaking and communicating. Find a friend, spouse, relative, mentor or coach that you can sit with and talk through the interview process. Be comfortable talking about yourself, who you are, what you do, what you enjoy doing, what skills do you have and how you have used those skills in your previous work experiences. Identify your weaknesses and strengths as well as how they impact the work that you have done before. How do you handle working with difficult clients and co-workers. Be sure to utilize the STAR Method when interviewing so that you can organize your thoughts and responses to popular interview questions. Start with the Situation, paint the picture about what it is that you were doing and why, the actual Task, your Action to address the problem and the outcome or Results. Employers hire candidates not only for their skills and experiences but also their personality and how well they fit into their teams.

5) No Networking Skills

Networking is one of the fastest ways to get excellent career opportunities, it;s as simple as knowing the right people in the organizations that can provide referrals and recommendations for you to elevate in your career faster. What exactly is networking skills? In its simplest terms, it is the process of engaging others in helping you reach an objective. This requires thought, planning, and deliberate activity in order to gain access to information, guidance, other contacts, or a professional recommendation. Always be clear about your purpose for networking—it is not merely to collect people’s contact information but to further your career development. Be comfortable reaching out to people you might not know personally with the intention of building a relationship not just simply a transaction.

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email your resume to info@circleofopportunities.com