Author: Naomi Marshall

Sprint’s Number One Interview Tip: Brain Filing!

Posted on by Naomi Marshall

Wanting to know our number one interview tip? It’s all about brain filing!!

So you’ve scored an interview for your dream role… How do you prepare? The majority of candidates will know that it is important to research the company you’ll be interviewing with. Almost everyone will have chosen the perfect outfit, etc. But I recommend an extra very beneficial step…In fact, it’s our number one interview tip that will make you stand out from your competition!

DO YOUR BRAIN FILING!!!

What is brain filing?

Brain filing is sorting through your brain to think of examples that may be relevant to the role that you are interviewing for. E.g. For a customer service role, having a selection of examples of how you; dealt with a difficult customer, exceeded a customers expectations, failed to meet a customers needs and what you’d do differently…

Why is brain filing important?

Often we have all the relevant examples swishing around in our brain that could be the key to showing our potential employer how we will be the best candidate for the role. However, when we are asked to give examples in interviews we stumble through our brain trying to find the right examples, and then miss out key points of information when re-telling that example.

Interviews are tough at the best of times. But having to think of examples on the spot is always going to add to the nerves!

How do I practice brain filing?

It’s not enough to just think about these examples. I encourage all of my candidates to practice saying these examples out loud. Often what happens when you first try to do this is that it comes out all jumbled! You end up “umm-ing and aaah-ing” between the middle and end of the story, adding in pieces of information out of chronological order etc.

No one wants to splutter and stumble though an interview! By verbally practicing your examples out loud, you’ll have them ready to call upon at a moments notice in an interview situation. You’ll also be articulate and know how to tell a good story/example.

While it is impossible to prepare for every single example, by sitting and taking the time to reflect upon your previous roles in detail you are much more likely to be able to recall on a range examples when required to.

And let’s face it, anything that will help prevent an awkward silence when the interviewer asks that dreaded question “give me an example of when you…” is worth it! So before your next interview I encourage you to add brain filing to your preparation list.

Wondering how best to explain your examples, or answer behavioral based questions??? See my previous blog post “How to answer behavioral based questions like a ninja in heels”. Alternatively, get in touch with a member of the team via Sprint@sprintpeople.com.au

Should You Tell Your Boss You Are Looking For A New Job?

Posted on by Naomi Marshall

We’re all really busy. More so than ever. Everything is at our fingertips providing instant results. It’s the age of technology and it’s amazing.

 

However, there are some things that haven’t caught up to this go-go-go revelation. And probably should. Common courtesy and politeness are two things that come to mind.  It is only too often these general manners have been lost or forgotten in our fast paced ever-ready indulgence.

 

The one thing that I find completely disheartening is the lack of response in returning phone calls, both as a prospective candidate and on the job. I’m sure this fits into the common courtesy category.

 

As an experienced Executive Assistant currently looking for new opportunities, I’ve had to swiftly adapt to the changing market and methods to a get a look in. The job market moves very quickly, blink and you’ve missed an opening.

 

Occasionally the standard thank you email comes through. Occasionally the phone rings for a great chat about a position, which may lead to interview. Sadly a large proportion simply don’t respond. I’ve experienced positive conversations ending with “you’ll receive a phone call by the end of the week either way”, yet that phone call doesn’t come. I’ve experienced being the final candidate with referees lined up to never hear about the role again. But these types of behaviour happen in the every day workplace too. I’ve experienced people not responding to me on the job simply because I am the EA and not the boss.

 

A good EA is integral because they are organised, savvy and well connected. We know as much about the goings on as our boss. We’re the movers and shakers behind the Executive, the glue that binds the pages of the book, if you like. We can be influential and we usually have good memories.

 

Take a moment out of your busy schedule. Call if you said you would. A short email is quite acceptable, even the standard response is ok, at least then we know exactly where we stand. Either way, have the common courtesy to respond. It is always appreciated.

 

Written by Sharon Herzog

Should You Compromise Your Salary Expectations for the Right Role?

Posted on by Naomi Marshall

Should you compromise your salary expectations for the right role? The short answer…? – YES – You should consider it at the very least.

I can’t tell you how many times we see candidates pass up their perfect role to take a position that they are unsure about purely because it’s paying more money. Only for them to come back in the not too distant future and say they are unhappy and looking again for a new role (just like one they had previously turned down).

Alternatively, we meet with candidates who have already left their most recent role (for any number of reasons) and are currently unemployed. They don’t want to compromise their salary expectations (or earn less than what they were previously on – even though they currently have zero income) and they turn down a great opportunity because that job is paying slightly under their expectations. By the time they actually find a job paying what they wanted, they have lost more money than they would have if they took the original role that was offered! (Hindsight here can be a wonderful thing).

I experienced this same dilemma, pre-Sprint and learnt first hand, that compromising your salary expectations should always be a consideration for the right role!

A number of years ago, I was lucky enough to be offered two roles. At the time I thought all my Christmas’s had come at once! I had a good feeling about one of the companies, but the other role (that I was a little bit concerned about) was paying $5,000 more.

I asked for the weekend to think over my options….And went about asking family and friends which role I should take. The general response was “the one that pays more, of course!”. So that’s what I did!

I soon found out my gut feeling was right. The role wasn’t for me. I woke up in the middle of one night with that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach and the realisation that I had made the wrong decision!!! And let me tell you – once I realised this – that extra $5,000 per year did not make it any easier to get up in the morning and head off to work.

So, should you CONSIDER compromising your salary expectations for the right role?

Absolutely! Remember that most of us spend more time at work than we do at home. So take the role that that you will enjoy more, with the people that you connect more with etc. and you won’t regret it!

As well, over time, if you go in and prove yourself, you will more than likely be given opportunities to ask for a salary increase. Think of the long term and not just the short term gain.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that money isn’t important. We all have budgets, expenses and/or mortgages to think of and I can’t tell you what the magic dollar number is that is worth sacrificing for the right role. It’s a bit of a mathematical game and it is very personal decision. However, I encourage everyone to stop and think before they turn down their dream role purely due to salary. If money is the ONLY reason that you’re considering turning down a role, at least consider the possibility of making it work.

If this is something you are struggling with, feel free to get in touch with us here at Sprint and have a chat. We are only too happy to help you go through your pros and cons list and talk it over.

 

How to Put Together a Sales Resume

Posted on by Naomi Marshall

Not all resumes are created equal. At Sprint, we’ve written many blogs on the importance of a great resume in order to sell yourself to a prospective employer. However, if you’re in sales, there are a few other important details you must include. Yes. The layout should be neat, clear fonts, dates to one side etc etc…but what about the actual content? The actual words you choose? Here is what we recommend you include when putting together a Sales resume.

Remember, if an employer advertises a new role, they may receive over 100 resumes (sometimes more!) and a recruiter can receive several hundred in one week. If they know what they are doing they can scan a resume in about 30 seconds. So you need to make sure you are standing out and highlighting the important information that recruiters/employers are looking for!

WHAT ARE RECRUITERS LOOKING FOR IN A SALES RESUME?

Amongst other things – A HIGH ACHIEVER. A “Do-er”, a driving force, a self-motivated, energetic and positive person. Whilst I am very interested in hearing all about the HOW (relating to targets, KPI’s, day to day activities), I really want to see WHAT you have achieved.
Recently I placed a very senior sales person. To put it bluntly, she is a Sales Rocket when it comes to driving new business. She’s fearless and her resume showed that as soon as I opened it. I booked her in immediately and I had no issues in engaging clients to meet with her the minute I put her resume in front of them. Yes, she had to sell herself in the interview but I strongly believe that the points she outlined on paper were just as important when it came to securing the role.

WHAT DO I INCLUDE IN A SALES RESUME?

Here is a snippet of bullet points from her resume, the ones that showed me WHAT she had achieved:

Duties:

  • Successfully drove a permanent recruitment desk and managed end-to-end recruitment processes across a range of organisations from large global companies to ASX listed businesses
  • Built and managed relationships with key stakeholders by maintaining a regular account management strategy
  • Negotiated Terms of Business, fee, rates and figures with existing and new business
  • New business development on a weekly basis
  • Meeting all KPI’s on a weekly basis relating to call volumes, client visits, interviews and activity

Achievements:

  • Winner ‘2013’ Business Activity Incentive Award
  • Top Biller Quarter 1,2,3 ‘2013’
  • Organiser for client training program in 2012, 2013 & 2014 (weekly group fitness with clients)
  • Organiser for the Women In Leadership events through XYZ
  • Successful on pitching, winning and placing over 8 retained assignments

Billings:

  • Q1 2013: XXX – Q2 2013: XXX – Q3 2013: XXX – Q4 2013: XXX

Obviously these points were coming from a sales person who worked in the recruitment industry,. But whatever your industry the same method applies. Be VERY descriptive with regards to what you did, your achievements and make it sales specific. List the outcomes and your achievements with an emphasis on financial wins/gains (at the end of the day – this is what counts in sales and to our client who wants results).

Tailoring your resume for the role you want and highlighting the key factors that make you the right candidate for the role are often overlooked by candidates. If you want to work in sales – be proud of your results and sell your most important product… yourself!

If you have more questions about putting your resume together, be sure to refer to Sprint Coach and see our other tips. Alternatively, contact us directly at sprint@sprintpeople.com.au

 

Naomi Marshall – Director
P: (02) 9271 0011
M: 0422 139 910
E: naomi@sprintpeople.com.au

 

Why Doesn’t My Temp Rate Reflect My Permanent Salary Expectations?

Posted on by Naomi Marshall

A common misconception that candidates have is that you will receive more money in temp roles because you are working on a casual basis. However, for a number of reasons, temps in the office support/admin space are rarely paid the rate that they would be expecting on a permanent basis (let along rate that exceeds it).

Why?

Consider why companies typically employ office support temps…Many of the temporary assignments that become available are short term. They can be to cover a ½ day of sick leave, a couple of weeks of annual leave or to take care of a temporary overflow of work. In these situations, because of the shorter nature of the assignment, clients tend to only require temps to complete quite mundane tasks. It is inefficient to train somebody on the more senior aspects of a role when the assignment is likely to be near its completion by the time that temp gets handle on those tasks.

So when a client calls us to ask for a temp receptionist to cover their front desk for one week, to literally answer phones, take messages and greet walk ins, we need to pay them a rate in line with the junior tasks and responsibilities of that role. While many people that are looking for temp work are more than over qualified for this assignment, we can’t pay them more money for the experience they have, because the client does not require that extra experience. We can only pay a temp in line with the duties of the role, not in line with their overall level of skill and experience.

Many temps will plea that they are worth the extra $$$ because they will be able to complete additional tasks, however this is irrelevant for the client. As an agency if we go back to a client with a more senior candidate and mention that they will need to pay a higher rate, more often then not the client will just say “well then find me a junior whose expectations are not higher than that of the role”.

The temporary assignments that require a more senior candidate (and therefore that pay more) are generally the longer term assignments. E.g. If an EA goes on leave for one week most clients tend to either hire a junior to complete the more mundane tasks of the role, or ask an existing employee to cover the role due to their existing knowledge of the company. However the longer the assignment the more likely that the client will require an EA that is of the same skill and experience level of the employee that is away or on leave. In this situation you may have a chance to match your salary, but only if the duties and responsibilities of the role are similar to the level of your experience.

However! While these roles do exist, they are not as common as the shorter, more basic temp assignments. In fact, as an office support recruitment agency that is often inundated with temporary assignments we can usually count on one hand the number of roles paying over $35 p/h each year. Therefore, if you are looking to temp while waiting to find your next permanent role, be warned, that you will have much less chance of gaining temporary work if you will only accept roles paying higher rates.

If you’re wondering why it might be worth it to take on these more basic temp assignments (which we strongly recommend) see my last post “Should I consider a temp role?” Alternatively, give Team Sprint a call on (02) 9271 0011.