During your job search there is no doubt that you are probably going to have to go to a lot of interviews (both with recruiters and hiring managers).  The odd lucky person does find their dream job after just one or two interviews however believe me, this is the exception to the rule. Therefore, please don’t think you are hard done by if you haven’t found your dream job after going for just a handful of interviews.

It is still a fairly tough market for candidates at the moment; there are a lot of candidates on the market which means that competition can be fierce! We are hearing many stories from candidates that are being rejected time and time again from roles, and we know that many of these are actually fantastic candidates!! They are just missing out because clients have the advantage of being able to be extremely picky about getting almost everything they want in terms of candidate backgrounds and experiences (particularly within office support).

Now don’t get me wrong – I know that this is an extremely tough reality to be faced with…. But please…. Don’t become an interview cynic!

What is an interview cynic you ask?

• An interview cynic approaches interviews assuming that it is going to be a negative experience.
• They will try to test the interviewer to see if the interviewer is wasting their time.
• They give short or snappy answers, giving the recruiter the impression that they are “over it”

If a particular interviewer has done everything right for you thus far (e.g. they’ve come back to you quickly, they’ve kept you in the loop, they’ve greeted you in a friendly manner when you’ve arrived etc. DON’T treat them as though you assume they are going to do the wrong thing by you.

You may be negative at interview because you have had a few bad experiences, however this can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. When all a recruiter picks up on are your negative vibes, they are much less likely to put you forward for a position. Remember – they don’t know about all the negative experiences you’ve had, all they will pick up on is how you approach that particular interview. You may be burnt, but being negative will give you no rewards!

You have such a small amount of time to impress a recruiter or hiring manager in interview, so don’t waste your time being negative or pessimistic. Wack a smile on your dial, take a deep breath and treat every new interview with a fresh, positive attitude!

When considering leaving a role or taking on a new opportunity it is natural to talk to your friends and family about the situation to gain their feedback. Now, while I do think it is a good idea to hear different perspectives on a situation before making a decision, I always advise candidates to be wary.

I so often hear of candidates leaving or rejecting a role because they have been advised by friends or family to do so. Now while some of their opinions may be valid I want to share three scenarios with you that could help you to take those opinions on objectively.

“My friend worked at company X and hated it”

If you receive a job offer (or are considering applying for a role) with a company that your friend has worked for, and they are telling you that they hated it, ask yourself the following questions…

• Are you going to be working in the same department that your friend did? Therefore, will you be interacting with the same people?
• Do you have the same personality etc. that your friend does? Is it possible that you and your friend may have different tastes in jobs?
• Is it possible that your friend hated the job because they were being managed out? E.g. was the employer micro-managing your friend because they were underperforming? Could it be a possibility that your friend was turning up late every day and then proceeding to spend half the morning in the kitchen gasbagging and eating breakfast?

Now I know that we never want to think badly of our friends, but I also know that people have a tendency to bump up the truth a bit, or miss certain facts in a story to make it appear as though they have done no wrong, or to get you on side, or to justify poor performance.

“My family told me to take the job with the higher pay”

This is a very common one! If you are offered two jobs and one is paying more money, I encourage you to seriously consider your options before simply jumping on the higher paying role because of the money. When you have a decision such as this to make, your family and friends are likely to say that you’re CRAZY for not taking on that higher paying role straight away, but consider….

• Have your family and friends worked in the same industry as you have? Therefore do they have an adequate view of the market and which opportunity will actually be better for your long term career?
• Do they have as much knowledge about the two opportunities as you do?
• Have you considered the location of the two roles? Is the higher paying one more difficult to travel to? Travel time is an important factor when considering a role. No matter how much you are paid, if you are travelling hours a day you’ll eventually burn out.

“My Mum said….”

All Mum’s are protective and just want to see you do well. They want you to be in a ‘stable’ job. It’s risky to face a redundancy. They worry about you moving around a lot or taking risks. Remember they came from a generation when you got your first job out of school and often stayed in it for 10 years, or more!

The old sayings ‘get a job in a bank’, or ‘become an Accountant, you’ll never be out of work’ are just not true these days so use your own initiative and knowledge to make educated decisions about your own career path.

Don’t get me wrong, the opinions of friends and family are very important; however they need to be taken in context, and with caution. At the end of the day, YOU are the one that will be working in the role and you need to be comfortable with your decision – sometimes you just need to experience things for yourself!

As a recruiter I often hear horror stories from candidates about how they have sent their resumes in for multiple jobs and never heard back. Application volumes (particularly for junior roles) can be HUGE! While I will concede that there should at least be some communication from an agency or company back to every applicant, the simple fact is that there is sometimes just not enough time in the day to get back to every candidate individually.

However as a candidate there are some things that are in your control and the main one is your resume and its presentation. In most instances your resume is the only piece of information that a recruiter or hiring manager has about you – and first impressions count – so take the time to get it right! Find my top 7 resume tips below.

1. Employment history – Your employment history should always be listed with the most recent role at the top! The average recruiter spends less than a minute on each resume they look at, and if the first role they see is working at a McDonalds or something else not at all relevant, you may get overlooked for a role simply because the recruiter missed the part of your resume where your relevant experience is listed.
2. Dates of employment – Every single role should have the starting and finishing, month and year listed. There is no need to put exact dates, but simply putting the year is not enough information! Some candidates only state the year and when I delve into how long that they were at that job, their answer can be anything from 1 day to 12 months.
3. Duties – Recruiters find it hard to read long arduous paragraphs about what you did in your last role. So that they don’t miss anything crucial dot point your tasks and responsibilities with the most relevant points for each role at the top. These points should be able to easily account for what you did on a day to day basis, what systems you used in doing so and whom you interacted with (e.g. clients, customers, direct reports, suppliers etc.)
4. Gaps between roles – One thing a recruiter looks for is gaps between employment. If you were unemployed for a period of time, it is important to account for it. It is better to state that you went on a 6 month holiday than to put nothing at all (for all we know you were sitting on your couch watching “Oprah”).
5. Photo – Only include a photo if it is professional one! Bare shouldered, glassy eyed, drunken party shots do not make a good impression!
6. Correct spelling and punctuation – In this day and age with “spell check” at your disposal there are simply no excuses for spelling mistakes. As a recruiter there is nothing worse than opening a CV in Word to find half of it underlined in red squiggly lines! In many cases recruiters will not even read your resume when this happens.
7. Contact details should be current – I know what you are thinking “What dummy sends a resume through without the right contact details attached?” – The answer is MANY! Some resumes don’t even have a phone number listed!

Don’t miss out on your ideal role simply because you have failed to make one of these small changes to your resume. You may have the right experience for the job, be the friendliest person in the world, and have a great attitude towards work, but if a recruiter can’t quickly identify a reason to call you then then you may never get the chance to show them how great you really are.