When we are recruiting we find that there are employees who are seriously applying for the vacancy ads and some just send a CV just as a habit or for fun. What they don’t understand is the impact on another business. Recruitment is time consuming and when the Recruiter has to do the filtering s/he has to go through about 20 CV s to select 1 suitable CV and if the sender of that CV is not serious and tell that not interested to come for an interview you can imagine the feeling of that recruiter!
Of course no one can say not to apply for a vacancy but all I am trying to tell is if you are not even willing to go for an interview, please do not apply. That means you are not ready to make a move and explore other opportunities. You will know when you are ready to move. Then there could be other people who are not really in need of change but would like to know what is out there. Then you should be able to even go for an interview and really understand what other company is offering and then you compare with your motivators and other needs and decide to move or stay. Final decision is yours anyway.
Points to consider when you want to look for a new job
- First clear your mind and do an evaluation of the current job , career path, package, Company (policies, management and your colleagues) against your expectations, your motivators, your emotional needs, your career goals and then decide whether it’s a good time to make a move or not. As you know finding another job is a time consuming process sometimes, you need to look for opportunities, go for interviews, tests etc. several times meaning you need to take leave from your current location and you go for interviews without any guarantee that you will get the job. It can create lot of stress. It’s worth taking that stress if you really want to make a move. Having said this I’m sure some of you don’t mind taking that stress just to see what other opportunities are out there even if you are happy in your current work place. It’s an individual decision end of the day and I am here trying to encourage thinking broadly before making that decision.
- Once you decided to look out for new opportunities look at vacancies published via different mediums and what your friends forward you etc.
- Always take time to read the ad carefully.
i) Make sure you fit the profile they are asking for (its ok if it’s not a 100% match as long as you are confident you can step up eventually)
ii) Check about the Company from their website, news, forums, friends and colleagues who are working there or worked there etc. Small companies might have a disadvantage here as even if they offer the similar packages (sometimes even better) & facilities they might not be known or popular as medium and large companies. That’s where again you need to think about your motivators, emotional needs and career goals. Depending on those you may want to join a medium to large company or a small company.
iii) Check the location of the Company. Even though you might think this is not so important to consider in the beginning, actually it is. How much time you spend on the road will affect your life. Sometimes you cannot do much about it but sometimes you can. What if you can cut your travelling time in half and enjoy the other benefits as well?
iv) Check the action points requested by the advertiser: whether they are asking for referrals, asking a specific subject line in the email, are they asking for a covering letter with specific details, which email address should be used to send the CV etc.?
- Now you spent time reading the ad, doing your homework about the Company, finding the location etc you must be in a better position to decide whether to apply for that vacancy or not. If you decide to apply keeping in mind the action points requested, you send the CV accordingly. Else you continue your search and follow above steps until you find positions where you want to apply. Anyway you will send your CV for more than 1 vacancy and I hope you will follow above steps which will benefit you as you will be presenting yourself as an all-around, suitable candidate.
- When a Recruiter call you for a phone screening (which is normally the step after CV filtering) you should be able to remember you applied for that position in that Company J (Believe me some don’t remember). If you applied for more than 1 Company may be its useful to save the list in your phone so you can refer back.
- When the call comes you could be in the current office working and not in a position to really openly to talk to the recruiter and give the information s/he is asking. Depending on the Recruiter and the position applied for, this phone screening could last from 5 mins – 30 mins. Normally they will tell you how long it will be. So if you are unable to talk at that time please inform the Recruiter a convenient time which you can have this call. All Recruiters understand the difficulty to talk while you are on the job and no one will ask you to get into trouble with current employer.
- So you have the phone screening at the mutual agreed time and answer the questions asked frankly and genuinely. Based on the answers given the Recruiter can decide whether to call for an interview. You may ask questions as well to understand whether you want to go for the interview in case called. Always be polite and professional as this is the first impression you are making in the Recruiter’s mind.
- If you are called for the interview most of the time you have the freedom to choose mutually convenient times. Recruiter will explain during the phone screening or by a follow up mail or at the first interview their selection process so you have an idea how many times you have to come there and how much time you need to allocate etc. Be open and discuss with the Recruiter to schedule everything on mutually convenient times.
- If you are sent a follow-up e-mail after the phone screening always read it carefully and make note of important points and then acknowledge receipt of the mail by replying and if you have further questions you can ask as well.
- On the interview day plan your day according to the time needed for your interview/test and also keeping enough time for travelling etc. Go to the venue bit early so you can freshen up a bit and relax before facing your interviewer/s. If you are really stressed for some reason may be due to something happened on the way etc. try ‘left nostril breathing’ or ‘alternate nostril breathing’ for few mins before the interview. How to do it? Refer https://www.grdhealth.com/articles/left-nostril-breathing-calming
You can do this in the wash room or sitting in the waiting area very discreetly and soon you will be calm and ready to face the interview as if nothing happened 🙂
- In a case you cannot make to the interview for some unavoidable reason (sudden dead line, sickness or last minute change of mind) the sooner you know you are not going to the interview please be kind enough to notify the Recruiter/Contact person. Remember, showing your professionalism always will help you in the long run.
- How to face the interviews/tests– maybe I will write another article another day and there are enough tips on the internet as well. Important points here are to be smart, answer honestly and genuinely, be truthful, it’s OK to say “I don’t know but I can find out or learn”, ask questions, clarify to make sure you understood correctly and make sure you got all your answers for your biggest question WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?). You can even discuss other offers you have from other companies (genuine facts) so most Recruiters will help you to make the right decision even if it’s not in favour of them.
- If you are informed at one point that you are dropped from the selection process due to some gap, be polite enough to accept it professionally and thank them for the opportunity given to go through the selection process which is also an experience. You can ask where the gap was and try to fill it as it might help with the next opportunity coming your way.
- If you are selected and you agree to the terms and conditions and willing to take the job, remain professional throughout. Give necessary notice period for the current employer and inform the new employer possible joining date. Help the current employer to find a replacement and do the knowledge transfer and whatever else expected of you and leave nicely. Most of the time your new Employer would like you to join ASAP. But at the same time if you come without respecting the notice period of the current employer it do tell the new Employer something about you… So that’s why I always tell remain professional every step of the way and if you can negotiate a short notice (if it’s allowed only) then you can leave early otherwise stick to your agreement.
- Start your new job with lot of energy and positivity keeping in mind to make a lasting positive impression in that Company by your contribution while achieving your goals whether your stay there is short or long. J
(Please note that I have used the word ‘Recruiter’ in general. It could be Recruitment Manager, Hiring Manager or an independent Recruiter/Recruitment Company etc.)
Hope I was able to cover the most important points here and will be happy to see your ideas/ viewpoints as Recruiters or Candidates in the Comments below.