Category Archives: Careers Advice

Careers Advice, Interviews, Job Applications, News, Project Management

Interview Basics

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Having worked so hard to reach interview point it is important to make sure you do not slow down now – your interview has been arranged and (hopefully) you have plenty of time to prepare. Here are some key basic considerations:

  1. Check the location of the interview – seems obvious but I have known candidates to print a map and head off on the day not really knowing where they are going. You do not need to be adding stress to your day, if possible – make a trip to the offices a few days prior, ideally at the same time of the interview so you can gauge public transport, traffic etc. and know exactly where you are going.
  2. Research the business and the role thoroughly – do not walk into your interview blind of what it is they do. The most common welcoming question from an interviewer is; “what do you know about us?” You need to demonstrate your interest in the business by knowing at least who they are, what they do and who their main competitors are. Ideally you should also know a little more about their recent activities. All this information can be gained from their website and also perform a search about them, see what others have to say.
  3. Dress to impress – at the very least, ensure you are wearing smart office wear. Preferably a suit should be worn even if the organisation has a dress down policy, first impressions last and for a formal meeting you should be smartly attired. Leave the fashion statements at home – I have known candidates to wear eccentric accessories which were frowned upon by the employer. Put yourself in their shoes – if they were to place you in front of a valued customer, they need to know you can brush up well to make a good, professional impression.
  4. Make sure you compile a good list of questions to ask them (look at this previous blog re interview questions) – there is nothing worse than a candidate who states that they have nothing to ask. It not only displays a lack of interest – it doesn’t say a lot about you as a project person.
  5. Practice what you want to say – having researched the organisation and job you will be aware of what is attractive to the employer, make sure you consider examples of work you can discuss which will gain interest from the interviewer. Make sure you take a structured approach to talking through the examples. Don’t be afraid to let your personality come through; do not fall into the trap of being wooden.
  6. Remember the interview is two sided; do not feel intimidated, you are effectively meeting the prospective employer to gauge if you wish to work there as much as them determining whether you are right for them.

Most importantly – enjoy, too much emphasis is put on pressure to perform. Once you can embrace the fact that this is a meeting you will be able to approach the situation in a calm way. Nerves are the biggest interview killer so harnessing the nerves and looking at the circumstances rationally is key to ensuring you have a positive and enjoyable (yes, enjoyable) interview.

Careers Advice, Interviews, PMO, Project Management, Q&A

Contacting employers post interview – Questions answered

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Nicola, quick question – in your opinion is it good practice to send a LinkedIn message to people who have interviewed you to thank them for their time etc?

Angela – Programme Manager; South East.

 

Fantastic question Angela – Thank you. It all comes down to how you applied for the role; if you made a direct application to the employer then yes by all means drop them a quick line thanking them for their time. Do not expect a direct response as most organisations have a policy in place where HR will be the go-between. Also check they are still active on LinkedIn as I have known a fair few people set up these accounts and rarely check into them, they change email address and forget to update LinkedIn so miss out on any messages being sent. Do not ask further questions such as when can I expect to hear from you as this should be covered by HR. You can add in something along the lines of, “If you have any further questions” or similar so they know you are open to a discussion or a further meeting.

 

If you have made an application through a recruiter then I am afraid you need to leave it to the recruiter to make contact with the employer. When organisations instruct recruiters to manage their recruitment needs it is usually because they do not want direct contact with a candidate and part of the recruitment etiquette is to not be contacting employers direct. It is often frowned upon by recruiters and employers alike. I have seen this happen on a couple of occasions and had emails / calls from employers telling me they have received correspondence direct and asking for me to contact the candidate to ask them not to. In some cases it has broken down the relationship with the employer for the candidate and rightly or wrongly they have chosen a different candidate to take forward.

If the application is through a recruiter you could contact them after the interview and ask them to pass some feedback to the interviewer – it is good practice to call the recruiter after an interview to let them know how you think the interview went and let them know if you are keen to pursue the role or have decided it is not for you. At this point if you are happy to proceed you can ask the recruiter to thank the interviewers on your behalf and explain any areas which may have been highlighted that have increased your interest. Ask the recruiter to keep you updated with any feedback provided and also set out a communication plan so you are kept to the top of the recruiters list of priorities.

Employers do not like to give away too much initially, in most cases, so asking for some initial feedback is OK. Any feedback is good feedback – taking anything critical should be a key to understanding how you come across to others in an interview scenario and assist you in honing your communication skills further for second round interviews or interviews in other organisations.

Careers Advice, CV Tips, CV Writing, Job Applications, News, No

Local man secures new role after working with The CV Righter

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I published an article titled “Steve Clarke pleads for work at the roadside” 21st June 2012, which highlighted the plight of a local man who was at the end of his tether looking for work after been made redundant 11 months prior. I made contact with Steve to see if we could offer some support as his story struck a chord with us here at The CV Righter.

As Steve had made over 300 applications but had only secured 5 interviews we made a strong assumption that his CV was not saying the right things about him and with little assistance out there for him and others in his position – we extended a free service to re-write his CV and offer advice about making applications for roles. At the time through the media attention Steve had gained from sitting at a roadside with a placard asking for work, he had been offered a temporary role on minimum wage which he was delighted at accepting and certainly helped him keep afloat whilst he looked to make further applications in his field as a Quality Assurance Engineer.

We re-wrote Steve’s CV ensuring it contained the information employers expect to see on a CV for such a role and ensured the content was true to Steve’s experience through constant communication. Once Steve and I were happy with the end result we then advised Steve to start making applications and ensuring his CV was searchable by recruiters and employers alike.

I received great news from Steve last week that he had been for an interview using the new CV at a local business which is currently expanding – he received fantastic feedback on his CV and his interview was a complete success, resulting in him being offered a rolling contract, there and then at the interview. Steve is delighted with the outcome and so are we!

As previously discussed in my blog we feel the help out there for those found unemployed is not good enough – however we hope sharing tips on writing CVs is useful and we offer a competitive service for those who find themselves in Steve’s position. We only wish we could offer a free service for everyone in this position. One service we do offer is a free CV review through our contact page.

One of the key areas I find in CVs which do not secure interviews is the core content of the roles themselves – often candidates feel a job title and basic summary will cover their expertise. I cannot emphasise more that job titles can be very misleading and what is standard in one company may not be in another – do not assume the hiring manager knows what you can do / have done. Write a list of your duties and then look to add some context by talking through what each competency actually means in that business.

The CV Writer specialises in project management CVs however – with extensive experience in careers advice for all types of roles we can also work with CVs from all walks of life.

 

Careers Advice, CV Tips, Networking, News, PMO, Project Management

Sing about your projects

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As a project management professional – whether a deliverer or a support person, you are often quite used to being in the spot light with your stakeholders and within the business; usually when things aren’t going to plan and occasionally receiving recognition for success too. But beyond the realms of a close knit environment, how can you get noticed?

I have worked with a number of organisations who actively promote the use of social networking to talk about their project achievements albeit more heavily with the not for profit businesses but slowly the larger private sector organisations are starting to realise the benefits of external promotion for their project management endeavours. Using the likes of twitter and LinkedIn can really help raise the profile of your projects and of your efforts. Utilising these free tools you can not only spread the good word but also impress your sponsors too – as news is picked up and interest is drawn into the piece of work the organisation naturally will have some good, free marketing and I have yet to find an organisation who doesn’t like good news being spread about them. Of course if you are working on sensitive projects or programmes – you are unlikely to be able to spread the word but even for the smaller change initiatives it could be well worth commanding some attention.

Through marketing out your successes and working progress you are likely to gain interest from your peers who may be looking for another perspective to consider or apply to their practices and you will start to form networks of PM professionals who will value your opinion and may be able to offer advice and exchange war stories about their experiences.

You will soon become noticed for the right reasons and may even open up opportunities for yourself in your career. Once you enter into the realms of sharing information you are likely to be invited to PM conferences and into organisations to talk about how you work and what strategies you apply to your projects. Again this is easily sold into the senior management team through the reminder that promoting your organisations best practice approach and how other organisations will learn and benefit from this is a fantastic advert for the project management team and company name.