There seem to be thousands of guides that will (or at least say they will) prepare you for the job interview and make you flawlessly land the job of your dreams. That’s pretty cool, but actually before you nail the job interview, first, you have to get to this stage and this proves unreachable for thousands of candidates every day. So this time, for a change, let’s focus on the 8 traps that await you on your way to the interview for your dream job.
1. Dream job or any job?
Firstly, there’s a moment to be honest with yourself: is the job you are applying for really your dream job or just any job that barely compliments your skillset? Looking for a new career opportunity and going through hundreds of job ads is usually quite an annoying process and at some point of the search, most candidates get disheartened and start to send applications to job ads they aren’t truly interested in! Usually they are vaguely interested in the opening because the role doesn’t really concern their area of expertise or even their industry.
So unless you want to change course and try something new, don’t send applications to jobs that aren’t in line with your profile. You probably won’t get to the job interview anyway as the recruiter is more likely to reach out to candidates who have more in common with the company’s line. If you’re a Payroll Analyst, don’t apply for an Investment Banking Business Analyst role just because it has the word “Analyst” in the title. It’s, most probably, not going to lead you anywhere anyway.
2. Do the right thing right
Strange as it may seem, recruiters get a significant number of applications that are actually of no use: no attached resume in the email, resume in some weird non-standard format that you need some specific software for, damaged file that won’t open etc. Always make sure that your application is complete: CV, cover letter (but only if required) and both of them in .doc or .pdf format. Even if you’re applying for an IT job or are a real geek, the recruiter doesn’t have to be as IT literate as you are. Limiting yourself to the two standard formats greatly enhances the chances of your resume to be opened and read.
Additionally, apart from not wasting the recruiter’s time, don’t waste yours either! Do not include your cover letter unless it is requested (no one is probably going to read it if it’s not) and do not elaborate on explaining how and where you found the job ad and why you decided to apply. One introductory sentence should usually do.
3. Bullets, fonts, tables, styles, lay outs and all that mess
The first and general rule is that your achievements are what should catch the eye in your resume and not the resume itself. Therefore, refrain from including distracting visuals, dozens of fonts, colours, formatting styles, frames and bullets. Any of these should only be applied if they make your CV easier to read, cleaner and looking even more professional than it would without them.
Another detail that can ruin your efforts to impress the recruiter are typos and formatting mistakes. Whether it’s you or just the spell check, it’s inacceptable - do not submit your resume unless you are 100% sure that no oversights of this kind are in the text. These little mistakes or inconsequence in formatting not only make your resume less readable, but they also call your professional acumen and meticulosity into question. So read, re-read and re-re-read before clicking the “send” button.
4. Sense – all these details that matter
You want your application to be accurate and relevant so remember to include all the information that matters: bizarre as it may seem, candidates regularly fail to include information about the position they occupied while working at a given company. Also, make sure that it is clearly marked how long you stayed with a firm, where it is located and consider providing a brief description of its general profile. This isn’t always necessary (any recruiter in the IT sector should now what Apple Inc. stands for, the same as the name JPMorgan Chase & Co. should ring the bell to anyone in the Financial Industry) but if you haven’t worked for your industry’s biggest players, it is definitely a good idea to write a few words about your employer in the resume.
5. Contact info
This seems obvious but in real life… isn’t. Do include your email and phone number. Don’t include two, three email addresses on which you can be reached, even if you simultaneously use all of them. How is the recruiter to know which one to contact you on? Or which one to put in the company’s database?
What is more, recruiters usually deal with hundreds of applicants monthly and may easily get confused if one person starts to send them messages from two different inboxes. Also, if you include two addresses, you risk that the recruiter will reach out to you on this “other” email, which you do not use on the daily basis and that you will not read the message until it’s too late and another candidate takes your place.
It’s also good to remember that every part of your application needs to convey the image of you being professional. Therefore, it’s best if your email address is just a simple combination of your first and last name. What is more, it should definitely not be the email address you got at your current company as this could provoke some professional conflict.
While providing the phone number to be reached on, you should always give just one. If you include more, how should the recruiter know whether it’s better to call you on your landline or on your mobile? Also, refrain from including your office phone number in your application: it is likely to leave the recruiter wondering if your boss doesn’t mind you scheduling job interviews using the company’s phone and while being at work.
6. Await, answer, anticipate
So you feel like you’re almost there: you submitted the best possible application with your shiny, amazing resume, included all of the necessary contact information and… nothing happens. Sometimes it’s just the question of time and patience, sometimes it might be you. Maybe you’re checking the wrong inbox? Maybe the message you’re waiting for somehow got into your spam folder? Maybe that phone call from an unknown number you were too lazy to answer during your lunch break was THAT call? If you have applied for a job that you really dream of, keep your eyes and ears open and expect the (un)expected!
7. It’s OK to say NO
Ok, so here it is: you got the email or the call and the company selected you to move forward in the recruitment process and would like to schedule an interview with you. It’s really OK to say “no” at this stage if anything about the place or time is inconvenient for you. If, for some reason, you can’t do the interview at the suggested time or in the suggested place, say it openly. It would of course be kind to provide some sound explanation, but we’re all humans living our lives outside of the professional world too and having different duties and arrangements. The recruiters aren’t robots and they usually get that too. So if there’s a chance you arrive late to the interview, ask to reschedule, if you need to take a plane to show up for the interview, consider asking to do a Skype interview instead.
8. Kind and gentle
Remember that the general impression you make counts just as much as your killer resume: don’t forget to be kind and polite. Little things like salutations in your emails or simple words like “thank you” do matter and will for sure be noticed by any recruiter.
Author: Maria Nowak, Professional Recruiter
Maria Nowak is a Professional Recruiter at Confluentia, matching Investment Banking Professionals with opportunities. She can be reached at [email protected].