Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts During Your Job Hunt!

Finding a Job can be very daunting, it may seem at times that you are not making any headway and you may be correct! There are a couple of key things that must be done by you the job seeker to ensure the process is effective & efficient.

Pre-start –

1. Be sure before you start the process what job it is that you would like to do, if you are not sure then seek career guidance to help you answer this very important and fundamental question. Your working career is a huge part of your life and at the very least you should be working at something you enjoy.

2. If after career guidance you realise a career change afoot, do make sure you have the skill set to enable you to make the transition, this may involve upskilling both practically and academically. If you find that upskilling on the academic side is a must why not in parallel, approach a suitable company in your new chosen field and offer your services to them even for free, possibly at the weekend, that will mean that you are gaining experience both academically and practically at the same time, it will make things happen much more fluidly for you. I never said it was going to be easy!

Let the games begin –

3. Don’t apply for jobs that don’t match your skill set. If you don’t have the required experience detailed in the job spec you are applying to, you are wasting your time. Recruiters will scan through and measure your CV against the job you have applied for, if you don’t match you won’t proceed, its unfortunately that simple.

4. I see in a lot of unsuitable applications with the following comment “I am a quick learner, if given a chance I am sure I will make it work” although this may be true, it is in the majority of cases ignored and seen as a sign of desperation and has no impact at all on the success of your application. You have to remember, the time is ticking for recruiters, recruiters have been given a very clear brief for the role by their client and submitting an unsuitable candidate who does not have the required experience is not going to happen. Stop wasting time here.

5. Ensure your CV is professional and in a format that is pleasing to the eye. Ensure there are no grammatical or spelling mistakes, ensure all of your experience is included and there are no gaps. Don’t cut and paste information from one part of your CV to the next, it portrays taking the easy way out and try to have your CV on 2 -3 pages’ max, any more and you will bore the life out of the reader and run the risk of frustrating them. Also, do make sure your email address is a professional one, I have seen so many CV’s come from email addresses that would make you cringe.

6. Don’t apply for every position available on the internet, this is a big mistake. Unfortunately, most Jobseekers blitz the market with the same CV, they upload to recruitment companies, upload to job boards, apply to 100’s of positions and have no success. Why? ask yourself, what are the chances of your current CV matching a job on the web without modification, the answer is slim to none,

7. Choose the job you want to apply for and strategically apply to it. Meaning, tailor your CV to suit, this does not mean fluff your CV and lie, it means make sure that your CV clearly indicates why you are suitable for the role. In your work history section, give examples of how you have carried out the tasks they have identified in the job spec as important.

8. Do make sure you choose your recruitment company wisely and ensure they are experts in your chosen field, this will ensure they have a broad network of suitable companies that may be interested in your profile, thus increasing your chances of placement. Build up a relationship with the recruiter you feel is most proactive and talk to them, they may not get you placed today but when you stay close without stalking them of course, it means that your profile stays to the forefront of their mind should a suitable position arise. Do also tell them that it is not acceptable to carpet bomb the market with your CV or send to a client without your prior consent.

9. Do apply to companies directly also, remember there is a fee for clients associated with the recruitment process and they may well welcome an application outside of the process to reduce cost. But remember make sure the CV goes to the hiring manager, if not you run the risk of your application ending up in the pile of junk mail or worse the bin.

10. Network, Network, Network, use every social media platform known to man, LinkedIn, Xing, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ etc. which are super tools for the job seeker to find contacts to help him/her secure that new position also attend seminars, breakfast meetings and expos.

Happy Hunting!

Confidence & Change

Changing Circumstances

In last week’s Blog we spoke about taking advantage of seasonal circumstances to apply for new positions. Recruitment leaders see the drop-off in applications as often being advantageous to job seekers. Before making a change, many applicants find that they face an unexpected barrier, particularly if they have been in the same job for a long time. This unforeseen obstacle is confidence. There will always be a sense of trepidation when deciding to change your circumstances and this is entirely natural.

Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post, has summed this up well in a recent quote where she writes, “Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It’s the mastery of fear. It’s about getting up one more time than we fall down.”

Business Confidence

On November 28^th the Bank of Ireland released their Economic Pulse. This survey found that two in five Irish businesses expect to increase investment spending in 2017. Alongside this news were the results of a British business survey conducted by Lloyds Bank which found that 37% of UK firms expect business prospects to improve and 47% citing confidence in an upbeat economy.

At Elk Recruitment, we believe that this augers well for job seekers looking to approach recruitment agencies, and applicants looking to change their circumstances.

In the same survey, the construction sector, one of Elk Recruitment’s speciality areas, revised previous growth forecasts upwards a further 3%, from 25% last year, to 28% this year and this confidence allows job seekers in this sector to feel less apprehensive about changing position and to know that there is an assured stability for applicants.

Finally, in Germany, business confidence is stable at the highest level since 2014 according to recent figures released by the Munich-based IFO institute. The Bundesbank reaffirmed these finding by stating that growth is strengthening “considerably”.

Deciding on Change   

When deciding to change job, an applicant can feel more confident when business leaders and recruitment agencies themselves share that same mindset. Change is not always easy but in the words of Thomas Edison, “If we did everything we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”

Age & Opportunity

Staying in Jobs

As more and more workers are staying in jobs beyond the previous retirement age, this can offer firms a wealth of experience from the employer’s side, and also allow older employees opportunities in terms of new skills and, indeed, new careers.  According to William Fry’s 2016 Employment Report: Age In The Workplace, 48% of organisations, do not have a mandatory retirement age at all. Another stand-out statistic was that 63% of older employees do not wish to, nor expect to be in a financial position to retire at the current state pension age.

Security and Opportunity

This trend is reflected in worldwide statistics and is not just an Irish phenomenon. The U.S. Census Bureau is predicting a 5% rise in workers over the age of 65 by the year 2022. This makes this particular age group the fastest growing in the American economy. Another example of this trend is in Korea where new figures show that 37% of new employees are now over the age of 50.  A recent poll by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) showed that more than seven in 10 human resource professionals believe the loss of skilled older workers is “a potential problem” for their particular sectors. As the number of industries looking to keep or employ experienced employees increases, this offers older employees opportunities in terms of learning new skills, changing job or even changing career.  For employers, the benefits of hiring an older employee are easy to see. An employer can determine how loyal a candidate is. This is not the case with a graduate. An older employee also has the potential to be more flexible as their family circumstances may be more stable than a younger employee. Giving older employees opportunities also creates the ‘mentor factor’ where younger employees can gain the wisdom and insights of someone who has a depth of life experience.

Changing Perception

As a new perception of today’s workforce dynamic begins to emerge, both employers and employees alike can benefit. Opportunities for older employees can help transition a company through the current economic climate by contributing stability, wisdom and experience.    

Career Guidance

Setting Goals

The Italian artist and architect, Michelangelo, once said this about setting goals, “The greatest danger for most of us is not setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.” For many people, unfortunately, this observation remains all too real. Sometimes it is our unwillingness or inability to see our full potential that holds us back, and we stay in a rut, not realising that we are capable of so much more. At Elk Recruitment, career guidance is a process that we have been complimented on many times. Our expertise in the recruitment process means that we can offer forward-thinking advice to candidates and draw from our international experience when it comes to choosing a new job and a new career path.

Changing Direction

The façade and fenestration industry, which is one of Elk Recruitment’s niche area’s of expertise, is a perfect example of a potential career path which can incorporate new, exciting skills with a solid foundational platform. Elk Recruitment career guidance in this area is unique in that we are in constant communication with leading companies at the forefront of this sector. We are seeing and recruiting new skill combinations for an industry that is foreseeing whole new career trajectories opening up because of technological patterns and breakthroughs. The Smart Cities Mission urban renewal project in India is an excellent example. This ambitious development envisions a multitask approach to planning, building and conservation which will incorporate a skill-set involving façade and fenestration, power and water supply, IT connectivity and the latest MedTech and citizen safety attributes.

A New Path

Taking a chance on a new path can be a risk, but if you feel it is time for a change, then Elk Recruitment career guidance can offer practical advice based on years of multi-industry experience. Until we take that first step, we will not know what opportunities await us. 

Another quote from Michelangelo is a fitting final say and sums this up perfectly,

“The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has.”

Elk Recruitment, Niche Recruitment

As the economic climate continues to improve worldwide, here at Elk Recruitment, we are continuing to set the pace in relation to the recruitment and placement of candidates. In particular, our niche recruitment and area’s of expertise consist of façade and fenestration, construction and MedTech are all sectors in which the global market expects to see strong growth in the second half of this decade. 

Job Rise Optimism

This week, American statistics relating to construction provided more good news. September construction alone added over 23’000 new jobs, according to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Construction employment in The United States is now at its highest level since 2008. Another factor to consider is that pay increases are continuing to hold steady in this sector at almost 3% per year. This optimism is reflected in the Irish construction sector with CIF President, Michael Stone, expecting that 75’000 jobs can be created by the year 2020.  There was also positive news in relation to world façade and fenestration, another Elk Recruitment niche recruitment area. The Indian government’s target for over 20 ‘Smart Cities’ to be constructed will require a radical increase in the use of aluminium and other environmentally friendly construction factors. The trend for high-rise buildings will require thousands of jobs within the façade, glazing, roofing and cladding sectors. India Inc. this week identified five essential upgrades which will be required for ‘Smart Cities’. There are water, power, broadband, environment and housing.  Meanwhile, the MedTech industry continues to go from strength to strength. Brian Cole, Managing Partner and Medical Device Practice Leader at Kaye/Bassman International said that there are simply not enough qualified candidates to fill MedTech positions at this time.  Cole summed up the situation by saying, “Every company and region I am aware of is looking for talent and having a difficult time getting it.”

Career Solutions

Elk Recruitment’s niche recruitment areas of expertise are some of the fastest growing job sectors today. An examination of the latest statistics shows that this trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, which is great new for our clients and candidates.

Tough Interview Questions

Managers More Sophisticated

In a previous Blog post, we spoke about various preparation techniques which can help a candidate with nerves and apprehension relating to tough job interview questions. Recently, a survey published by Business Insider UK revealed that leading hiring managers are becoming even more sophisticated regarding gleaning information from candidates without candidates truly understanding the effect their answers can have. The reason for this, according to Tina Nicolai, founder of Resume Writers Ink, is to break through traditional interview “noise and clutter”. In other words, managers are aware that with so many free online interview tutorials available to candidates, answers to traditionally tough job interview questions can be rehearsed beforehand. This makes hiring decisions more difficult to negotiate.

First Five Minutes Crucial

A recent Harris Poll Survey is a telling dissection of employer’s attitudes to interviews, with 50% saying that they have decided upon a candidate’s suitability within the first five minutes.

Is this down to a flaw within a candidate’s interview strategy or attitude? Tellingly, it may connect to the topic of tough job interview questions. Richard Branson, writing in The Virgin Way: Everything I know About Leadership, has concluded that a manager cannot always believe what is written on a CV and suggests beginning an interview with a question like, “What didn’t you get a chance to write on your resume?” 

If this sounds like a question that might catch a candidate off-guard, then spare a thought for those interviewed by Elon Musk, the South African-born business magnate. Musk has used this geography riddle as one of his tough job interview questions, “You’re standing on the surface of the earth. You walk one mile south, one mile west, and one mile north. You end up exactly where you started. Where are you?”

The answer, by the way, is either the North or the South Pole.

The Best Advantage

Here at Elk Recruitment, our knowledge of the fast-moving recruitment environment differentiates us from our competitors. We strive to give all of our candidates the best advantage relating to industry knowledge, career advice and the best preparation for all of those tough job interview questions.

Choosing The Postgraduate Route

A Higher Degree Increase Potential Earnings.

Today’s Blog follows on from last weeks which highlighted the various paths open to students and graduates by examining the advantages of a postgraduate degree.

Having finished college, the most popular route taken by graduates is into immediate employment but deciding to pursue further education, as well as diversifying, can give a potential employee numerous advantages in today’s job market.

Statistics show that the higher level of qualification a graduate has, the higher their earnings will ultimately be. This in itself may seem justification enough to seriously consider the postgraduate path. But research also shows that a higher degree has the benefit of increasing a candidate’s chances of being called to interview when compared with a bachelor’s degree. As many graduates know, competition in today’s employment market begins with CV appraisal and well before the interview stage.

Adapt and Thrive

The range of additional skills that come with further education can also be advantageous in the areas of self-management, confidence and the ability to diversify in order to find multi-level solutions to business problems and impasses. Prospective employees with the ability to think on their feet and bring a wide range of experience to an organisation are valued highly. Gary Hamel, one of the world’s foremost business thinkers and strategists, summed this up perfectly when he said, “You can’t build an adaptable organisation without adaptable people.”

Extra Third Level Funding

Funding for third level degree courses is expected to rise significantly in this year’s budget which will be announced in October. Some figures suggest an investment of over 100 million Euros, part of which will be allocated towards postgraduate grants. This is in itself good reason to reconsider the postgraduate path. Courses can accommodate varying needs, including both taught and research-based curriculum’s so there is room for manoeuvre depending upon a graduates circumstances. Whether a graduate chooses to progress in such varying sectors such as computing or healthcare the employment statistics tell the same story; the further a candidate progresses in education, the more likely they will be to find employment. Postgraduate job statistics continue to bear this out.

Life After The Leaving Cert

Pathways and Crossroads.

Now that the leaving cert results have been announced there will be many graduates facing different choices and pathways. Some of these decisions will be determined by expected outcomes whereas for others this moment will bring uncertainty. There may be the need to reassess where to go from here. Perhaps for some this will be the first time in their lives where thinking outside of previous expectation is required. For others, it will be one step further along a chosen path.

Follow Your Heart.

There are many famous instances where classroom ability fails to reflect the intelligence, ingenuity, and potential of a student. Albert Einstein’s poor schooling record, which included an expulsion, is the perfect example. A more recent entrepreneur who did not receive a degree was Steve Jobs who had this to say, “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other opinions drown your inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Reflect, Act and Believe.

Today might be the day when you decide upon your dream and begin to pursue it. Or, maybe it will be the day you realise that the dream you thought you wanted is not for you. However, at moments like this, it is always beneficial to reflect upon where to go next. Perhaps you will look back upon your schooling and find yourself exactly where you want to be. Or maybe you will decide to move in an entirely new direction. The world is full of dream jobs waiting to be filled, and you may become the new Steve Jobs or Sheryl Sandberg or you may not. In the words of Anatole France, “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan but also believe.” Remember no matter what, tomorrow is the beginning of whatever you want it to be.

Construction Industry Using Apps & Games to Recruit Future Talent

Strong Construction Growth Expected

Figures released for July 2016 show that the construction industry continues to grow steadily. The statistics were released by the Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers Index and were compiled by senior economists at the bank. This is very encouraging news as many had predicted a decline following the first composition of data following the Brexit. Although economic predictors remain cautious there is a growing optimism that the construction sector will continue to experience strong growth going forward.  Simon Barry, Ulster Bank’s chief economist in the Republic of Ireland said that new orders have risen to their highest level since March.

New Construction Employees Needed

This predicted growth in the construction industry has led The Chartered Institute of Building to develop a novel new app based on the Minecraft video game in order to train and eventually recruit the next generation of architects and construction employees. In the UK alone, for example, over 400’000 construction workers will retire between 2018 and 2023, which will create an unprecedented vacuum in the industry unless planned for today. The app is called Craft Your Future and can be accessed at ciobmc.org. Minecraft is an open-world building game which allows participants to plan, design and construct everything from houses and skyscrapers to entire cities incorporating electricity grids and water systems.

Minecraft Designs Inspiring Architecture

According to the CIOB, construction sector employees of the future will need such diverse skills such as digital construction technologies, sustainability planning and logistics, just to name three. All of these areas are incorporated into the Minecraft app and already solid results are being observed. At a recent house design competition in the UK four of the finalists were designed using Minecraft.  Even more impressive is the feat of Guy MacDonnell, a quantity surveyor for Interserve Construction who won a major construction award for designing and building an update of the CCTV Tower in Beijing using Minecraft.  Going forward, Irish recruitment companies and the construction industry itself will be able to access, examine and recommend online portfolio’s of prospective jobseekers which are already being uploaded onto the CIOB website. 

Job Hopping Affecting Recruiters & Human Resources

1 in 3 Irish Jobseekers Are Job Hopping In The First Year 

Figures by The American Bureau of Labour Statistics have backed up what many Irish recruitment agencies and HR professionals have noticed recently, namely that job hopping, particularly in the cases of young women, is rising dramatically.

They found that the average time a person spends in a job is 4.4 years but in the cases of young employees, this time, length is halved. In Ireland, 1 in 3 job seekers will move job within the first year. Regarding reasoning, salary, change of location and fresh motivation are listed as the primary factors behind these statistics. But are these reasons actually beneficial to job seekers in the long term?

Red Lights Upon CV Appraisal

There is no doubt that the allure of new experiences can broaden horizons and add to a CV skill-set but along with restarting in a new job comes having to adapt to new rules and to fit into an already existing work environment. Valid questions are also being asked by recruitment agencies and Human Resource professionals when it comes to the appraisal of a CV that shows a clear pattern of switching jobs over the short term. How a recruiter’s recommendation might impact upon any future relationship between the agency and the company is one prominent concern, but a recruiter may also become suspicious about the reasons behind so many job changes. Many Human Resource professionals will look at this information as a potential sign of previous strife and an inability to adapt and stay motivated.      

Innovation Encourages Loyalty

Xerox’s Chief of Marketing Christa Carone has come up with some possible solutions to ensure that employees feel less need to change jobs which Irish recruiters and employers can integrate into work environments and when weighing up the suitability of prospective candidates. Carone cites clear communication, applying to both management, recruiter and employee, and the encouragement of new ideas. She also advises entrepreneurial side projects to create innovation and leadership. These tactics help in fostering motivation and loyalty in the work environment, reducing the need to job hop.    

The Growth Of Electronic Aptitude Tests

Online numerical, verbal and logical reasoning examinations are becoming more and more popular with prospective employers. These methods of evaluation are used to quantify a candidate’s skills when it comes to structured and systematic ways of thinking.  There can also be a time element involved which may be indicative of conditions a candidate would be expected to perform under if securing future employment. In particular, electronic tests are becoming the standard procedure for organisations that draw a large volume of applicants.

Electronic examinations can discover particular skill-sets and abilities related to a specific occupation. By comparing the answers and choices of candidates an employer can quickly select those most suitable to their sector. This information is then assessed to determine who will go forward into the next stage of the interview process. Although many aptitude tests relate initially to numerical and literacy skills, it is not unusual for employers to attempt to discover deeper and underlying traits in prospective employees. In this context, some tests will ask a candidate to evaluate a scenario which they may experience in employment. Some of these situational judgment questions are derived in order to evaluate psychological thinking within social anxiety situations and are particularly prevalent to careers within law enforcement, the medical profession and social work. A candidate’s answers will often reflect potential teamwork and leadership skills.   

In most circumstances a candidate will be told in advance when the exam will take place and so, as in face to face interviews, will have an opportunity to prepare. There are some differences in terms of how to prepare for an online examination, however. Participants may be asked to use a calculator and a pen and notepaper. An environment conducive to a formal examination may also be specified, such as a quiet room or a place where a candidate will not be interrupted for the duration of the exam. Finally, it is worth remembering that in most circumstances once an electronic exam has begun it cannot be interrupted so a good network connection is imperative in order to maximise the chances of a fully completed test being delivered.

How Good Communication Can Benefit Staff Retention

Employee retention can be a problem for businesses in every sector. Perhaps one of the most overlooked factors relating to this issue is the non-communication of a clear lack of vision on behalf of the employer. 

This absence of clarity can affect employees in a surprising number of ways. For example, foresight and job security are intimately intertwined and demonstrate a thorough commitment to a goal, creating a shared vision between both employer and employee alike.

In the words of renowned motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, “Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.” 

Without clear and consistent communication, however, an employee can become disconnected to a company ethos and may end up feeling isolated within an unnecessarily fractured environment. In many cases the employer may be unaware of the employee’s feelings in the first place resulting in surprise when notice is given. Time is then spent trying to stem the loss of productivity and the further complication of having to source and appoint new staff who will need to receive induction and training.

This issue can be avoided by improving work-place communication which can be instigated and amended using a variety of tried and tested methods. Assigning a time for regular meetings, for example, is a logical and progressive tactic which can maintain contact on a formal level to begin with. However, personal check-ins and memos which encourage employee questions, as well as imparting information relating to what is expected of them, is a less used but equally valuable way to encourage ongoing communication outside of structured timetables.

An employee will remember when their employer refers to suggestions that they have made and will feel that they are being listened to when contributed input they have offered in the past is acknowledged and acted upon. In turn, a reciprocal relationship develops trust and security, factors which cement the bond between employer and employee. An employer who has demonstrated the ability to be open and available to discuss the ideas and experiences of employees is much less likely to lose staff in the medium term.