Getting An Interview In The Current Jobs Market
The jobs market in the marketing space varies from year to year. Sometimes, it’s in the hands of the candidate, and sometimes, the employer’s. For some time, it has been squarely in the hands of the candidate, but now, it’s titled slightly in the hands of the employer.
Here are a few tips that may help in your job search.
Firstly, the CV. In essence, it has 3 purposes; to get you an interview, to create interest and engagement, and to keep you in the employer’s mind once the interview has finished. It will most likely be reviewed again, prior to a final decision being made.
Suffice to say, it needs to be good. Neat, concise, and creative if necessary, but it must have zero superfluous information and needs to be, accomplishment-led. In this market, companies are looking for the same thing. People who have the right skill set, can make and save money and time, solve problems, and add value. In other words, this is a skills-based market so your CV must avoid professional jargon.
Include achievements in your current or previous roles. Your potential employer will be interested in these, so try to illustrate how they could appeal to them, or the market in which they operate. If you’ve made them money – how much? If you’ve saved them time – how much? If you’ve boosted their online presence – by how much? But please beware of exaggeration – if you were part of a team, identify your achievements as such or it will reduce your credibility.
The first thing the reader will see is your summary/profile/career overview. Please don’t put a long list of self-promoting adjectives as nobody is interested, bar you or your parents. It needs to be a few lines, 5 or 6, highlighting your key areas of expertise, and the clever bit is to align it to the key elements of the role. If you know the specific requirements of a role, line up your summary with those key skills and qualities required.
Nowadays, companies are doing more with less; leaner and smarter and want to keep it that way – the more you’re in line with their needs, the more you will increase your chances of getting an interview.
As for the interview, think of it like a verbal dance, maybe not too Strictly Come Dancing, but the best dancers come away with the trophy. My tip is to get a grip of the most common questions, be calm and collected with your answers, and turn them into a meaningful conversation. An interview has many similarities to a positive social conversation, and the more you can add to it, the better your chances will be.
Most employers will look for 3 or 4 things. Can you do the job, will you add value and make a success of it, are you manageable, and will you fit in? Most companies like people who can solve problems, no matter their size, so think about your current or recent roles where you have solved or improved issues, processes, bottlenecks, etc. All employers like people that bring value.
To take away nerves – remember this, you and your potential employer both want the same thing – you both want to do well. Secondly, most interviewers have never been trained to interview and find it as uncomfortable as you. The more you can put someone at ease, and that you aren’t a flight risk, the more you’ll increase your chances.
Good luck!
