2) Think like an Employer

Saturday, 19 July 2008 8:10PM

2) Think like an Employer

Think like an Employer

In order to be successful in securing a new job you need to Think like an Employer.

Job hunting can be a frustrating process but if you start to think like an Employer then you will increase the opportunities available to you.

One of the main areas to understand is how Employers or Recruitment Consultancies shortlist successful Applications/CV, this is commonly referred to as the Screening Process. To get to Interview stage you need to avoid being screened out!

The introduction of the Internet, Job Boards and CV Databases in recent years has dramatically increased the number of Applications to vacancies. Both Employers and Recruitment Consultancies using the Internet are able to access a much wider audience, which makes the Screening Process a tough job!

You have two options when applying for a vacancy. Stand Out from the Crowd or be screened out!

Consider this scenario. An individual within an organisation is faced with a pile of CV, or in this day and age an inbox of 100's of applications. The first priority is to compile a primary selection criteria that the Application/CV must meet in order to be selected and passed onto a Manager or Senior who will make the initial interview selection decision.

Where Employers or Recruiters have advertised a vacancy, the primary selection criteria is usually contained within the advert or job specification under one of the following headings; Essential Requirements or Key Skills or Person Specification. By doing this they are communicating a clear message as to the criteria the role requires - if you can’t meet any of the criteria – are you applying for the right job?

This is where the 'Selling Yourself’ starts! It is very common for initial screeners to skim read Applications/CV. This means that you potentially have only seconds to Stand Out from the Crowd.

Remember - Screeners are not there to choose the best Candidate for the Job, they are there to remove those applications that do not make the primary selection criteria, so that a more manageable quantity of applications can be reviewed by the Manager or decision maker – if you don’t get passed this stage you have fallen at the first hurdle, and it’s likely you’ll never know why!

What do Screeners look for?

We have listed a few of the most obvious Selection Criteria that Screeners look out for in order to reject Applications/CV at this stage.

- Does the Email/Cover Letter clearly and concisely state which vacancy is being applied to? The Screener does not want to read a page about you and how good you think you are before they get to which vacancy you are applying to!

- Is the Application Form clean, written clearly and free from any stains or dirt on the document?

- Is the Application addressed correctly i.e. to the correct contact within the organisation?

An anonymous address such as ‘Dear Sir/Madam’, ‘To whom it may concern’ or ‘Dear Recruiter’ etc is not correct if a particular contact has been stated on Advertisement.

- Is the Name, Title and Company of the person to whom the Application has been made correct?

- Is the Application/CV written grammatically correctly? Poor grammar will not do you any favours – get someone to read through your Application/CV before you send it.

- Does the Application/CV contain any spelling or typographical mistakes?

This is an immediate rejection – especially with Spellcheck facilities on most computers!

- Is the Application/CV poorly presented? Too many fonts, colours or graphics do not create the right impact. Simple is best!

Right Place at the Right Time or Just lucky!

A Senior Manager at a leading Consultancy receives over 100 Curriculum Vitae’s in response to an advert for a Trainee Consultant. The Managers time was extremely precious and whilst he had primary selection criteria, he decided that one of those requirements must be luck.

He picks up half the stack of CV applications and throws them in the bin – he then shortlists for interviews from the lucky 50%!

Below you will find a convenient Selling Yourself and Think Like an Employer Factsheet to enable you to read the full document and print it out as required.