C & C CAREER & COMPETENCE

Transcription

1 C & C CAREER & COMPETENCE CAREER COACHING GROUP Session 4 Application documents & interviews Milja Tuomaala & Tiina Hämäläinen, University of Oulu, VALOA-project

2 JOB SEEKING PROCESS Goal achieved?? What can you do? What do you want to do? Selection Set your goals! Make your action plan! Interview Seeking information about employers and open positions Applications Contacting employers Phone calls Career Services, University of Oulu

3 Style APPLICATION DOCUMENTS (APPLICATION & CV) Speaks about applicant s attitude and motives Concers both application documents (layout) and applicant s behaviour and dressing up (appearance) in an interview situation Content Applicant s expertise and competence Employer gets the information he/she needs to support selection process and decision making Readability and clear structure helps them to find the accurate information Correct grammar and linguistic form, no misspellings

4 THE APPLICATION (A.K.A. COVER PAGE)

5 APPLICATION MAKES THE FIRST IMPRESSION! 1) Emphasize your skills and know-how related to certain job and its requirements 2) Highlight your personality 3) Tailor your application to fit into each position 4) Decribe the additional value you can bring for the job 5) Remember to be truthful 6) If the job announcement is in Finnish, make a application in Finnish (but only if you know Finnish!)

6 GOOD APPLICATION IS seemly and relavant Think about what kind of picture you want the employer to get from you Read the announcement carefully what are they looking for? Be honest and truthful, don t over-sell Try to put yourself to employer s position why should they hire you? clear Both outfit and content Normal fonts, font size and margins Pay attention to the logical order of content short Concentrate on key issues Don t send copies of testimonial, diplomas etc. unless asked Max 1 page

7 GOOD APPLICATION IS personal Keep your own personal style If your style does not fit the company s culture, maybe you do not fit either Avoid standard applications and used phrases show that you have paid attention to this particular application Humour is allowed, but be careful with it giving the employer answer WHY Speaking about motivation, why you want to be selected What in your personality, skills and know-how fits the position and company If you can show your enthusiasm you have more chances to be picked from the mass of applicants

8 CV - CURRICULUM VITAE / RÉSUMÉ -

9 GOOD CV IS clear - both layout and structure readable and well-defined not too long (max. 2 pages) updated (no old dates) tailored for applied position * All the important information should be easily found in the CV *

10 CV MUST INCLUDE FOLLOWING INFORMATION Contact details Title; Curriculum Vitae / CV / Resume Personal details; Name, date and place of birth Education; in reverse order Degree, educational institution and major If degree not complited; stage of studies and estimated graduation time, if studies are in final straight If your theses work is related to the applied job, describe the key elements of it Studies abroad; dates and gained experience & know-how

11 CV MUST INCLUDE Work experience; in reverse order Employer, time, title. You might want to give key words for job description and responsibilities (if it s relevant for the applied job). Make it compact! If you have long work experience you may outline your experience under subtitles, which helps the employer to find the information he/she is interested in. For example customer service work, project work, office work

12 CV SHOULD INCLUDE FOLLOWING INFORMATION Other education; Supplementary education Shorter courses Mention at least those relevant for the applied job. Language skills; Languages and evaluation of your proficiency Spoken vs. written You may want to describe your level of language skills by giving examples.

13 CV SHOULD INCLUDE IT-skills Programs and operating systems you are familiar with Especially special skills; programming Estimated level of your skills If it s a IT position, the information must be detailed Research and publishing activities Competence, know-how and strengths Most significant achievements

14 CV COULD INCLUDE FOLLOWING INFORMATION Photo Military / non-military service Marital status / number of children Positions of trust / organizational activities /voluntary work If your work history is short, you can emphasize skills and knowhow gained in these kind of positions Please note that positions of trust can also raise prejudice (e.g. political) Hobbies Gives a more personal touch of you You may have gained special skills and competences needed in working life also in your hobbies Pay attention to issues like what do your hobbies tell about you

15 CV COULD INCLUDE Future goals Longer term goals for career What kind of tasks you are interested in Referees / recommendations Persons who have promised to give further information about you Give name, title, contact details and how this person is related to you If you have not gained work experience related to your education, you can ask your professor, theses instructor, mentor etc. to give recommendations

16 REMEMBER ALSO: YOUR WEB PERSONALITY/IDENTITY = YOUR OTHER CV Think, how you present yourself in Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube How about your blogging? Työnantajan parjaaminen Facebookissa on johtanut ainakin yhden PAMin edustaman työntekijän irtisanomiseen* + (Taloussanomat ) Roughly translated: Badmouthing your employer in Facebook has led to at least one sacking

17 An important Career Channel for professional networking nowadays is LinkedIn: A place to network and find open positions The most important recruiting channel for many companies Creating a personal profile is easy and networking after that goes fast More information: (Presentation by Tom Laine)

18 EXERCISE 4.1 VALUE GAME

19 CONTACTING THE EMPLOYER Think in advance what you want to ask. Don t call just for calling, and don t ask for information, which is found in job announcement or is otherwise useless. Short and punchy questions! Remember to take notes about most important issues during the conversation (also name of the person you are speaking with) Also note that the person you are speaking with might take notes Be prepared to tell about yourself. Make a list of the things employer should know about your skills and know-how, and the things that might raise employer s interest Try to find out about things that are meaningful to you (how much travelling is required, who are you reporting to, number of subordinates if any etc.) Avoid both excessive self-confidence and excessive humility Sell your competence

20 THE INTERVIEW

21 GOALS OF THE INTERVIEW Changing information both sides Evaluation both sides How the person would adapt to the job/position/team/organization (suitability)

22 INTERVIEW TYPES Phone interview Individual interview Group interview Work simulation Aptitude tests Combination of previous

23 PREPARING FOR THE INTERVIEW Get to know the employer Why are you interested in us/our organization? Personal goals & motives Your skills and competences Try to predict what they ll ask you and outline your answers Give concrete examples of your skills and experiences Try to approach negative things from positive aspects Be consistent and logical Prepare to ask questions Be prepared to be asked about salary expectation Forget all cliches Be yourself!

24 HOW TO PREPARE Sleep well beforehand Not too much coffee before the interview Take your certificates with you (degree diplomas, testimonials, letters of reference) Be on time!! Dress appropriately (smart casual) Close your mobile phone Be positive Relax Remember that the interviewers are nervous too Don t be too modest or too arrogant Trust yourself!

25 TOP 10 MOST COMMON QUESTIONS IN JOB INTERVIEWS 1. Tell us about yourself 2. What do you know about our organization? 3. What are your strengths? 4. What about weaknesses? 5. What motivates you? 6. If everything goes as you have planned where do you see yourself in 3 years? 7. What do you do in your free time? 8. Why are you interested in this post? 9. Why should we choose you? 10. Is there something you would like to ask from us? Career Services, University of Oulu

26 ACCORDING TO FINNISH LEGISLATION THEY SHOULD NOT ASK ABOUT... Religious beliefs and political conviction Health, illnesses, disability Family relations / family planning Sexuality Military /non-military service Your ethnic backgroud Only job related aspects should be asked Things/questions that are not linked in that specific work should be arguable/justified

27 HOW THE INTERVIEW COULD PROCEED Introductions (organization, interviewers) Applicant s background Competency, ability (education, experience) Motivation, expectations Career/Professional goals Characteristics: personal strengths, weaknesses, future plans How the process will proceed Applicant s questions

28 EXAMPLES: DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ASK US? What kind of expectations do you have for the employee who will be selected? How could a typical working day look like? What are the most important tasks in this job? What do you think would be the biggest challenges in the job? What kind of possibilities is there for career progression and personal development? How about employees possibilities to educate themself further? How is the recruiting process going to continue after the interview? What else??

29 HOW TO CONVINCE THE SELECTORS? BE YOURSELF - don t play any roles Be honest SHOW your interest and your motivation Express your interest in the job and the company using information you gathered to prepare for the interview BRING OUT your motives and your willingness to develope and learn DON T BE vague REMEMBER THE BASICS: Be on time, behave well and be polite And remember the eye-contact It s ok to be nervous!

30 SOME OTHER THINGS Speak positively of former employers and co-workers no matter why you left even if you were fired. When discussing salary, be flexible - avoid naming a specific salary if not asked. If you're too high, you risk not getting the job. If you're too low, you undersell yourself. Answer questions on salary requirements with responses such as "I'm interested in the job as a career opportunity so I'm negotiable on the starting salary". Negotiate, but don't sell yourself short. Check salary recommendation and salary level data (unions, interest groups, graduate surveys etc.) Let the employer lead into conversations about benefits. Your focus on these items can be a "turn off." But, don't be afraid to ask questions about things that you really need to know. More:

31 ASSIGNMENT FOR OUR NEXT C&C MEETING Prepare an application and a CV for the job that you found for today s session Bring your application and CV with you to next session