Transcript Individual Presentation

JOB SEARCH SKILLS
Career Management
Lecture 2
Lecturer: Rositsa Milyankova
October 2009
Traditional Methods
Employment agencies
 Web-information
 Newspaper advertisements
 Online vacancies / job boards
 Career exhibitions
 Internal search (in the organization)

HR Divisions’ and Agency Functions
HRDivision
Fill a specific brief
 Administrative
function
 Gatekeeper role

Agency
Fill a specific brief
 Time based service
 Paid on results

Recruitment process
Research
Online
applications
Prescreening
Screening
Applicants should consider all
stages in the process to be
equally important
First-round
interview
Assessment
centre
CV Design
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Gathering information
Deciding what to include
Choosing a format
Sections of resume
Write a resume draft
Critique your resume
CV Design
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General approach (European, American)
Language
Section by section
Contact details
Career summary / profile / history
Academic results
Hobbies & interests
NOT longer than 1 page
C.V.samples
(http://www.cvtips.com)

Find samples of C.V., Résumé or Cover
Letter
Find the difference between a C.V. and a
Résumé
 Select the best for your case Cover Letter
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General Approach
To be specific / personalized
 Achievement based
 Employer benefits from your
application
 Relevant evidence
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Language
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Basic points – purpose for application
General approach – personal SWOT
Style, techniques, spelling & grammar
Use active verbs, vary vocabulary, vary sentence
length, use positive language
Clear and concise
Bullet points – if necessary
Try to minimise use of ‘I’
Cover Letter / Motivation letter
or Business Proposal?
Grab attention
 Appeal to their self interest
 You are the solution (to their problem)
 Be specific
 Remember HR checklist
 Call to action
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JOB-RELATED CORRESPONDENCE
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Letter of inquiry: In this type of query you are inquiring about
possible job opportunities that fit your skills.You have to give a
general area you are interested in working in.
Job Application Cover Letter or Response to an Job
Advertisement: Answering a particular job advert. The important
thing in the cover letter is to show that your skills match those for
the job advert.
Thank You Letter: A thank you letter shows the interest you
have in a position you have been interviewed for.
Acceptance Letter: In this letter you state that you are
accepting the job offered.
Declination Letter: You inform your employer that you are no
longer interested in the position offered.In all cases make sure you
follow the
And Finally
1 - Be proactive not reactive
2 - Be employer focussed
3 - Make CV & letter specific
4 - Do your own research
5 - Follow up everything
Assessment centre elements
Key
Elements
Main
requirement
Technical
interview

For technical disciplines
– demonstrating the
ability to apply received
knowledge
 For non-technical
disciplines –
demonstrating the ability
work on a ‘case’ or
‘scenario’.
 Listening and responding
Competencies
interview

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Advice
•Ask for clarification
if you don’t
understand what is
being asked of you
Drawing on past
experience to
demonstrate a track
record of success.
Being specific
Drawing on a range of
experiences
Making minimal use of
received knowledge/
course work
Being authentic
•Be prepared – have a
range of examples to
demonstrate more than
academic achievement
Interactive
exercises

Being yourself
 Researching what the
criteria might be –
working together, drive,
influence, thinking,
business sense
 Asking team members
for help if you don’t
understand the task
 Providing help to others
if you see colleagues
struggling
•Remember the task is
probably only a vehicle
to gather behavioural
data
Assessment centre elements
Key
Elements
Main
requirement
Individual
exercise
Dinner & drinks
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Understanding and

responding to the brief 
 Working quickly
 Writing legibly
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Advice
•Do what the task
requires
Being authentic
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Asking for information – this
is your opportunity to

assess the assessors
Pre-preparing questions
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Talking with other
candidates as well as
assessors
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Including other people in
your conversations
Not critiquing other
candidates
•Understand the
ground rules
Collaborative
Decisions
Meeting technical
requirements
Delivering an all-round
performance
Remembering that
development needs are
taken into account
Acknowledging that no
single person decides
who is employed
•Develop your criteria to
enable you to decide if
an offer is right for you
Competitive
Game
Individual
Exercise
5.8
7.7
6.8
3.0
8.5
8.0
6.7
5.8
3.3
8.5
6.5
5.7
5.8
4.7
7.5
6.0
6.3
6.8
3.3
7.0
7.0
6.7
4.8
5.0
6.0
6.3
5.3
5.5
7.7
6.0
5.8
5.7
6.8
6.3
8.0
7.5
3.3
1.3
4.7
7.0
6.0
7.0
4.3
0.7
5.0
7.8
5.3
4.8
4.3
5.5
3.5
7.3
7.0
6.0
7.5
5.8
2.7
2.3
6.7
5.5
7.3
5.3
1.3
5.0
8.0
3.0
4.3
3.5
4.0
4.0
6.8
4.0
3.3
3.3
3.0
6.0
5.3
3.5
4.0
Weighted
Result
Collaborative
Game
9.5
Overall
Total
Competency
Interview
Candidate
Discipline
Review
Decision matrix – integrating data
32.7
32.3
31.1
29.9
30.4
30.8
30.5
24.8
24.9
27.2
29.3
24.8
24.3
22.8
21.3
21.8
72.3%
71.7%
67.8%
64.2%
64.1%
60.5%
60.3%
58.3%
57.0%
56.3%
55.5%
54.7%
52.3%
51.3%
45.1%
42.8%
Action
Discipline
Offer
Mech Eng
Offer
Mech Eng
Offer
Chem Eng
Offer
Mech Eng
Offer
Mech Eng
Reject
PE/RE
Reject
Chem Eng
Offer
PE/RE
Reject
E,C & I
Reject
Mech Eng
Reject
Chem Eng
Reject
PE/RE
Reject
PE/RE
Reject
PE/RE
Reject
Chem Eng
Reject
E, C & I
The Dos and Don’ts
The Dos
• Research the company and a little bit about the industry
• Find out what the company is looking for in its graduates – and think of some examples when you’ve demonstrated
these skills
• Use the career service
• Keep up to date with business and political news
• Take advantage of the opportunity to find out more about the company and the people, working there
• Answer the question that is being asked, after you understand it
•Be yourself!
The Dos and Don’ts
The Dos
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Stay calm, be relaxed and don’t panic
•
Make sure your appearance is smart, but be comfortable
•
Let the company know of anything that may affect your performance
e.g. dyslexia, special disease
•
Plan your journey carefully – and arrive on time
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Get a good night’s sleep!
•
Be confident – and trust your own ideas
•
Have fun
•
Take some medication for relaxation (Lexotan??)!
The Dos and Don’ts
The Don’ts
•Tell them what you think they want to hear
•Lie
•Be afraid to ask questions
•Worry if one part doesn’t go as well as the rest
•Be too pushy
•Stay up late or drink too much
•Attend events for the sake of it