by Fabianna Mueti | Oct 18, 2019 | Career Happiness, Job Applications, Job hunting, Job Search
So your job hunting hustles have paid off, and you’ve been invited for an interview with the recruiter, or the hiring manager. How do you ensure you’re prepared to succeed in the interview and potentially get shortlisted, or better yet, get the job? We’ll be sharing with you some tips today.
But first, why not begin by checking out this interview checklist we created.
And now, the tips:
1. Show up on time for the interview (always communicate in advance, communication is a key skill in any job and lack of doing so could lead to you being potentially disqualified)
2. We can’t stress this enough: Do your research; about the organization, projects, financial state, culture, etc. Not only will this show the interviewer that you’re prepared, but it also shows that you did your due diligence and emphasizes your interest to join the organization.
3. Reflect on and prepare your answers in advance. How? Go through the job description, as many times as you can, identify relevant roles you have undertaken, list your successes, include challenges you faced and how you navigated them. If it’s a managerial role; think about the sizes of teams managed, your coaching approach, attained results by said team, project goals versus achieved results, etc. Google is your friend here guys. Look up anticipated questions for what you’re applying for and the expected answers.
4. Use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, and Result) method to answer questions. Here is a great article to kick you off; there are plenty more on the World Wide Web where this came from. This approach is also key to keep in mind when making written job applications.
5. Ask questions after the interview! We know it can be nerve-wracking for some of us to know what to ask a recruiter or employer at this stage. However, we highly recommend that you still ask. If you don’t know what to ask, here is an article that can guide you. Pick what is relevant and connects with you. Asking questions shows the recruiter/hiring manager that you’ve reflected on the role you applied for and you get extra points if your questions are brilliant!
What are some of the other tips you know of that have helped you ace your interviews?
Share with us on our social media platforms, where you can also find more content like this: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
As always, if you’re looking for a thought partner to help you navigate this topic and more of your career queries, we’re happy to help. Send an email to happycareers@edgeperformance.co.ke and start your journey to a happy career!
by Fabianna Mueti | Oct 18, 2019 | Career Happiness, Job Applications, Job hunting, Job Search
Have you been looking for a job lately, and just feel like you’re in a rut and things are not moving?
Approaching job hunting with clear goals and strategies is more likely to increase your chances of success.
Many times, when we have interacted with job seekers, they are rather in shock to hear that the number of job applications is not directly related to your success. And just sending out applications and hoping it will all work out is not a strategy either.
It may also surprise you to hear that you have a good amount of control over your job hunting hustles. How recruiters perceive you through lenses such as; how you present your best self in an interview, the level of effort in your job hunting, the awareness of what value you can add, the quality of your application, etc. is all dependent on you.
Today, we’re sharing with you 5 key strategies you can adapt to support you in hacking the hustle of job hunting:
1. Map out your target jobs and organizations – Narrowing down your search to companies and jobs that are aligned to your career plans & interests makes it easier for you to confidently articulate your skills and experiences when applying, and in the event of talking to a hiring manager; you’re more confident and clear on what value you can add. With the rise of companies seeking more intentional and purposeful applications, there’s no need for you to apply for irrelevant jobs that will not contribute to your career growth.
2. Use multiple proactive approaches – Sent applications on the 5 websites and think it’s enough? Have an active LinkedIn account and connect to all your prospective employers and confidently reach out to them, that’s what LinkedIn is for. Sharing relevant industry content also shows that you’re passionate about the work that you do. Go to career fairs, talk to your professional networks, attend career coaching if you need more guidance mapping out your career, schedule informational chats with people who are in your target jobs, and they may help you get your foot in the door….see where I’m heading?
3. Update your CV constantly – Listen. Don’t undermine added responsibilities even if they are not in your JD. If any additional work you’re doing is adding value to your department/organization, include it, but ensure it’s relevant to the jobs you are applying for. Even better; have multiple resumes you can use, especially if you’re looking to transition careers.
4. Set periodic job hunting goals – Whether it’s updating your CV, connecting to a number of people on LinkedIn, doing market research, going to a career event, talking to 5 other people outside your circle in the industry. All these small steps; when articulated into a plan are more doable and set the pace to being intentional, which is the foundation of job hunting.
5. Prepare for interviews – Yes! This is part of it too. If you can, run dry runs with a friend and see how well prepared you are, research the organization, Google likely interview questions based on the JD and have your success stories at your fingertips, always!
We leave you with this short video that highlights some tips about for preparing for interviews.
What tactics have you used in your past hunting hustles to secure a job?
Share with us on our social media platforms, where you can also find more content like this: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
And if you’re looking for a thought partner to help you navigate these and more career queries, we’re happy to help. Send an email to happycareers@edgeperformance.co.ke and start your journey to a happy career!
by Fabianna Mueti | Oct 8, 2019 | Career Happiness, Job Applications, Job hunting, Job Search
We like to acknowledge the fact that job hunting is not easy. We know because we are constantly getting requests from hundreds of job seekers who are looking for jobs, and some of them can’t seem to understand why they are not getting hired.
Times have evolved, employers are no longer just asking for your CV and inviting you for interviews. A lot of organizations are asking people to fill in application forms and there are other stages in between such as take-home tests, phone interviews, video interviews and psychometric tests before physically meeting your prospective employer. So as a job seeker, the ball is in your court to prove that you’re dedicated to getting that job and you’ll be able to add value to their organization.
It’s important to recognize as a job seeker that organizations spend a lot of resources hiring, so it’s paramount to them that the people they add to their teams will contribute to the success of the organization and will be a good culture fit.
That being said, here are top 5 mistakes you can avoid when applying for jobs, why they get you disqualified, and what you can do to possibly get considered for the next stages.
1. Grammatical errors – it goes without saying that grammar errors represent a lack of attention to detail. As recruiters, we find it hard shortlisting such a candidate, because it tells us that their lack of attention to detail will also display itself at work, and why would an employer want to risk this? Grammarly is your friend, download it today! Please proofread all your documents before sending them out. A tip to sending a great application is preparing it on a word doc first and then putting the answers on an application form.
2. Not following directions – I can’t begin to tell you how often candidates fail to follow instructions outlined in applications. Only 10% or less of applicants follow application instructions. Are you one of them? Do you set time aside to fully internalize what is required of you? Not answering questions as asked, ignoring certain aspects of the questions, leaving blanks and not attaching certain documents is what happens as a result of not being intentional.
3. Not tailoring your application to the role – Many times, people fail to customize their knowledge, skills and abilities to fit the jobs they are applying for. Just because you are applying for jobs in the same career path, does not mean that all requirements are the same. All organizations operate differently and have a different set of skills that matter more than others. Ensure you thoroughly go through the JD and tailor your CV, cover letter and application answers to these requirements. Again, be intentional about this so that you avoid getting into the rut of sending applications randomly.
4. Applying for jobs you’re unqualified for – This one is a bone of contention because there is a small group of people who have gotten jobs they were not qualified for, according to testaments on different social media platforms. We are aware of the fact that people are encouraged to apply for jobs they’re not qualified for because “you never know what will happen”. This can be true, you can be hired because of the potential you exude, or because you are in a job that does not utilize your abilities fully and the next employer sees that in you and you have proven it. What is also true, is that applying for jobs you are absolutely not qualified for shows the recruiter that you did not pay attention to the requirements of the role, or you completely ignored them. Either way, it’s not a good look, and constantly doing this may position you as one without a clear focus.
5. Excluding relevant details in your CV or application – Oftentimes, we have had to call candidates and ask them to send us a more detailed CV, or make clarifications on something they said on their application form, because the information provided seems incomplete. Please avoid sending out a CV that does not list your responsibilities, or successes in your current or past jobs, or an application that provides little information about the same. You may just miss out on an opportunity for these reasons, and the truth is, not every recruiter will call you for clarifications. You know the saying; first impressions matter? Still holds true.
We hope you found the above information useful. We’d love to hear your thoughts. What other reasons do you think get people disqualified from job applications? Share with us on our social media pages, where you can find more similar content: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
by Fabianna Mueti | Jul 29, 2019 | Career Happiness, Mapping and Transition
The self-help industry (books, podcasts, and you tube) has made a fortune off of telling us that we should follow our passions and ONLY do what we love and are passionate about.
Contrary to this famous piece of advice; over the years, thought leaders such as Ben Chestnut, CEO of email marketing service MailChimp have challenged this, stating in one interview; “It should be, ‘Love what you do. Take the job, learn to live in the moment and love it, master it, and doors will open for you if you’re good at what you do. Turn it into a passion if you can.”
When bombarded with questions and thoughts around purposeful/meaningful work, we often find ourselves starting to digress towards worrying thoughts;
– So what if I don’t know what I’m passionate about, is finding work I love a dead end for me?
– What if I lack skill and expertise in what I love?
– What if what you love can never make me rich?
There are a couple of things that the above concept ignores:
1. That passions are constant – This is UNTRUE. Passion is built out of exposure, interest, and practice. I could be passionate about film making this year and later evolve into wild life conservation. Why put a limit on yourself?
2. Just because you’re passionate about something- does not mean you can earn an income from it.
3. Its toxic optimism and vague – we all know that finding meaningful work is not as easy as just waking up one day and doing what we’re passionate about. Beyond your passion, what more does it take to have a meaningful career? Follow your passion tells you nothing about the planning that is required to be successful and the layers of mastery required to ACTUALLY be successful.
4. Your passion is not the solution to all your problems – Could it be you’re unhappy because you don’t communicate your frustrations to your supervisor, and maybe, just maybe, you would actually be happy if you took the initiative to tweak some of the situations in your life? Welp!
In her TED talk- Stop searching for your passion Terri Trespicio talks compellingly about how searching for your passion or waiting for it to show up can make you miss out on pursuing exciting ventures, quoting “Don’t sit around waiting for passion to show up. Spend your time and attention solving your favorite problems” adding that “The most fulfilling careers are the ones that have the power to surprise you”. If you’re struggling to figure out what your passion is, or what is it that you want to love doing; listening to this ted talk is a good place to start. Sometimes, you have to learn and experience something in order to love it.
A quote from this article summarizes this perfectly: “Passion doesn’t fall out of the sky or emerge from thin air. It’s the result of experimentation, exploration, and curiosity. You don’t follow it, you find it. And you find it by discovering what you find engaging”.
So what will you try out today?
by Fabianna Mueti | Apr 10, 2019 | Thoughts on Team
Have you heard the story of the PERFECT candidate who was hired because of their supposedly great performance in past roles, only for them to turn out to be non-performers once hired?
The hiring manager then wonders: “What could have gone wrong in our assessment process? Or did we not onboard the person well?”
How can we really find out about a candidate’s past performance and behaviours? Even the best skill test and behaviour-based interview can’t tell you everything! In conversation with our clients we realize that while reference and background checks are deemed important, many managers don’t actually believe that they can work.
We suggest you ditch your old-school reference approach and commit to getting real information through thoughtful background and reference checks, which you fully integrate into the overall screening and assessment process.
Three reasons why your approach to reference checks is not working:
1) You’re using the SAME template/questions for EVERY role you hire for. By doing this, you are assuming that the criteria for assessing all roles is the same. Every assessment stage should be tailored to the role you’re hiring for; including the background checks.
For example, you can’t ask about the strengths of an Accounts Assistant the same way you’ll ask for those of an Operations Manager. Make the questions specific to what you want to hear to ensure you get tangible information about past performance.
Generic questions such as “What where their strengths in their last role?” will not get you far. Instead ask something like: “How did their strengths improve the departments performance? What were the results achieved?”
2) You’re calling the WRONG people. References listed on the candidate’s CV are no
t necessarily going to give you the information you want. Cases of ingenuity during this stage are not uncommon. A candidate may list down their colleagues or friends as references. If you don’t conduct due diligence, you’ll likely fall for this. You’ll talk to someone who sanitises their weaknesses in past roles and think the person did no wrong. We recommend that you speak to people the candidate truly reported to, or other individuals who will give you a genuine, honest and critical assessment.
3) You aren’t actually doing it. You have let good charms displayed by a candidate during the selection process trick you into thinking you don’t have to do reference checks. “This person is very authentic.”
How we leverage reference checks so our clients make informed hiring decisions at edge
- We corroborate information gathered from the different referees to gain a final assessment. Did the same strengths and weaknesses come up consistently? Can you see the professional growth over the years? Is there one negative outlier, that would make you probe further?
- We customise the process for every role!
- We make use of the relationships you have and conduct informal checks. Find intermediaries who can connect you to a manager in their past company, even if it’s not their supervisor. Make use of the “I know a guy, who knows a guy who knows a guy” method. Go a step further and use LinkedIn to identify people to speak to. Only in an informal background check may you find out that John steals people’s food from the fridge, soo; not a great fit for your organization culture. Bye bye, John! On to the next one! Especially when digging about a candidate’s CURRENT job performance, you have to tread carefully, so speak to people who won’t compromise their job security by telling on them.
- We are methodical in our approach: Ensure to speak to at least 1-2 people about their last three jobs each. Include direct supervisors, as they are a great bet at providing you with the information you require. Also include other key informants, such as managers of other departments, peers or HR managers in your list of people to interview.
- We pay attention to red flags: At the end of the day, you want the person you hire to be a person that upholds your organization’s values, integrity and is a good culture fit.
Red flags you shouldn’t ignore during the process
- Referees giving brief answers, taking their sweet time to return the forms, or not returning them at all. Once we sent forms to three former direct managers, but only one returned the form (and she put LITTLE effort in answering our questions and had written N/A to two KEY questions). That should tell you that their former supervisors don’t have a lot of positive things to say about them, if at all.
- A candidate not providing you recent references. Imagine a scenario where you’re considering someone for a managerial position, and they have a total of 15 years experience. You expect them to provide contacts from their recent five years, but instead they give you those of junior jobs. While a candidate may be worried about their current employer being aware of their job search, after conversation with the candidate, they should provide recent references even if it’s peer managers, key clients, HR department etc. If you don’t see willingness to dialogue: red flag!
- Reference forms that look fake. Yup! You read that right. How do we know, you ask? Well, we put two and two together when we receive forms where the writing style, formatting and language is EXACTLY the same. Or So yes; collusion between a candidate and their referees does happen. Phone calls to verify content are also crucial.
- And the last one: Candidate seems reluctant for you to speak to a former manager. Certain behaviours just make you wonder: “My supervisor moved abroad, and I can’t reach them.” or “I don’t think you should speak to this person, they won’t be able to say much about me.” Here you can choose: Try to reach the referee yourself (through LinkedIn or professional networks) or simply disqualifying the candidate based on lack of references.
As you can see, we’re really passionate about making this part of recruitment work!
We’d love to hear some of the crazy experiences you have encountered while conducting reference or background checks!
And don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to discuss how you can make your process more effective and ensure you make the right hires!
