Recruitment Video from SGS The Maltings

SGS The Maltings who are a packaging graphics company are a regular advertiser on oZZle and they have created an excellent recruitment video for potential employees to learn more about them before applying or before an interview.

More brands should invest in this, have a watch and if you are interested in working for them, here is a link to their current vacancies on oZZle.

CV Writing Tip: Write an attention grabbing Personal Profile

Your Personal Profile should help an employer grasp exactly who you are, what you offer and what you want from your career.

My advice to anyone writing this profile is to make it a "marmite" profile: The employer will either love it or hate it but at least you will stand out.

Some top tips are:

1. Limit your profile to 5 or 6 lines.
2. Always highlight your career ambitions.
3. Break it down into 3 areas: who you are, what you can deliver to the employer and your career ambitions.
4. Be original! - don't use over-used words like "great team player", the employer will have seen that too many times before.

Here is an example of my profile which stands out and depending on what employers are looking for, will either love or hate:

" I am a powerful Sales and Marketing personality with the outgoing nature and drive to make things happen, even if the odds are stacked against me. People are drawn to my contagious enthusiasm and big personality, which paired with strong determination can win others over. I have a talent for creative reasoning and always invite stakeholders in to make them feel at home with innovative solutions. I seek a sales role where service and innovation are the main differentiators to enable profitable sales growth."

It doesn't cover everything about me but gives the reader an insight into who I am and what I want.

Here is a good link to a website personalitystyle.com. I have used this in the past to get ideas about who I am and have copied the words they gave me in my profile. It's Free so have a look at it here.

I urge you to have a go at writing your "marmite" profile now and if anyone wants to share their profiles, please feel free to do so.

Do you have any questions?

You have done a great job with your CV and your cover letter which has got you the interview with the hiring manager. You have prepared for the interview by practising answers to some questions you know you will get asked and then it comes to the part where the interviewer says "Do you have any questions?"

As the job market is still extremely competitive asking the most relevant questions could make all the difference to your interview and potentially these questions could land you the job.

Whatever role you are going to interview for at the employer, ask about their customers first. Even if you are going for a Printer job, it shows that you really care about the customer. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

"Could I ask what it is you'd like me to do to improve the service you offer to your customers?"
"Could you explain how customers react to your current service offering?"
"What do you think makes you different to your competitors in the eyes of your customers?"

Next you want to ask some questions about their company:

"What is your biggest challenge right now?"
"Can you tell me how you have changed over recent years to deal with competitive pressure, online world or new manufacturing techniques?"
"Who is your star performer in your business and why do you think they are so successful?" This will give you a clue as to how they value and assess their employees!

Finish off with this final question which will allow you to demonstrate again why you are perfect for the role:

"Thanks for answering my questions but just so that I am clear can you tell me what is the single most important thing that whoever takes this role on must do?"

Once you have the answer to this question, you will be able to clearly summarise why your skills and experience match that single most important thing. You can also briefly highlight why you are the best candidate for the role again.

These sample questions should give you a great start to ensure you stand out during the interview as not many candidates will ask pertinent questions about the customers and organisation.

We also have a list of great interview questions within our career advice section for you to practise with your friends and family before you go along to that all important interview. To see these questions click here!

How to answer some common interview questions

Interview questions may vary but in essence they are all trying to establish the following:

Your skills and experience to do the job.
Your enthusiasm and interest for the job
Whether you will fit in

If you can answer these questions, using real-life examples to illustrate your points, then you should be able to answer most of the questions that arise including the following frequently asked questions.

Tell me about yourself?
This is a common opening question, and is designed to get you talking. The interviewer wants you to talk for approx. 2-3 minutes. You should practice this and be able to highlight key aspects of your career background relating to this job. You don’t need to go back to very early years. Start with an opening statement, describe your current job, some career highlights and details of your education. Include something about you as a person. End with asking the interviewer if they would like you to expand on anything, as it makes for a clear ending.

What are your key skills/ strengths?
Focus on what you know they are looking for, even if it has been a smaller part of what you have been doing to date. The job advert or job description will give you the information you need about their requirements. It’s useful to have 4-5 strengths available in case the interviewer asks for some further examples. For most jobs you will want to include an example of working well as part of a team.

What are your weaknesses?
Choose a weakness that:
• Doesn't matter for the job e.g. languages for a UK firm.
• Is a positive e.g. "I like to make things happen and get frustrated if too long is spent sitting around discussing it without action"
• Used to be a weakness but which you have improved upon e.g. presentations.

Why do you want to leave your current job?
The interviewer is looking for any red flags in your answer. Some people find it difficult to cope with a situation at work such as workload or colleagues, for example. Rather than address this they seek a new job, but the problem may appear again.
Your answer should make it clear that you are a strong performer in your current role and are now looking for a new opportunity. Emphasise the opportunities and challenges that this role will provide and avoid any negative comments about your company or any of the people you work with. This will only make you look unprofessional.

Give me an example of when you have taken the initiative?
This is a competency-based question and the interviewer is expecting a structured response using STAR. They want a specific example where you describe the Situation, detail the Task, demonstrate the Action you took and explain what the Result was.
Have at least one example ready of when you have taken the initiative and be ready to explain using this formula.
If you can’t provide an example from work, choose one from your non-work life. The example you share should make it clear how you took the initiative. The interviewer wants a specific example so avoid any generalisations.

Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with another individual and how you resolved it?
Companies are looking for people who can work with a range of people and can deal effectively with conflict. They will make judgements based on your reply. You need to think of a specific example that you can use. Be objective in the way you describe the situation - how did the conflict occur and how was it resolved? Discuss specifically what you did to improve things; perhaps you listened more? Interviewers like people who have learnt from a situation so a great answer here will not only include how the situation was resolved but also how the relationship then improved.

Tell me about your current job?
They want to know the specifics of your job and how it has prepared you for the job you are being interviewed for. Are you motivated to move to this job or are you moving away from a job you dislike? This could be a long answer so choose the three most important elements of your job and provide an example of each.
Make sure the examples you share are all relevant to this job you are applying for.
Possible examples could focus on problem-solving, customer service and creating action plans. You will want to ensure that all your examples are positive and end with what attracts you to this specific job.

What do you dislike about your job?
They want to make sure that you are not someone who complains too much. You need to come across as someone who remains positive when dealing with things they dislike. They will listen to see if you come across as difficult to work with.
Start by highlighting the positive and also explain how you have worked around your dislikes.
Your ‘dislike’ should relate to circumstances, such as not having enough resources, rather than to any conflict with others. Avoid any mention of problems with people and ensure you come across as someone who is upbeat and positive.

You seem over-qualified for this position, can you tell me why you are interested in this job?
The interviewer is challenging you. They want to see if you are really interested in this position. They want reassurance that you won’t get bored and leave after just a short period of time. They want to be convinced that this role will allow you room to grow. You must emphasise your interest for this job, and your answer must show how your qualifications and experience bring added value to this role.
Be clear to demonstrate your enthusiasm for this role. Play down any idea of this job being a ‘backward step’. If for example this is more hands-on than your previous managerial level job, stress how keen you are to return to grass roots work.
If this job will mean a significant drop in salary, emphasise that money is not your key driver, you are more interested in personal career satisfaction and this job will provide this.

Why did you leave your last job after just one year?
Interviewers are concerned about job hoppers - people who don't settle but move from job to job. In a recession many jobs are short-term and so this may not be a negative reflection on you. But the interviewer needs to be convinced. If you have changed jobs more frequently than average be ready to explain the reasons why and, if relevant, explain that this was due to lay-offs or because of short-term contracts. If it is a case of a job not working out, be ready to explain. Perhaps you were taken on to work in one area, such as business strategy, but the work was focused on minute details requiring different skills. It could be that you moved for a promotion but within weeks you realised the company was in difficulty, with your job at risk, hence now looking for a new job.

Where do you want to be in five years’ time?
The interviewer wants to know if you are likely to stay with the company or see this job as a step towards a move elsewhere. Your answer must be compatible and realistic with what the company can offer you. Include how you want to make a great contribution to this company as you develop experience and expertise. You can emphasise specific goals you would like to achieve such as to lead a major project or to be a mentor to junior staff.

Why do you want to work for us?
They are seeking assurance that you want to work for this company in this job. They want to know you are genuinely interested in the company and the opportunities this job provides. You need to demonstrate that you understand what differentiates this company from its competitors, show that you have done your research and analysis on other companies that work in this area and why you want to work for this firm. Think about what really appeals to you about this job and company and how you can stand out from the other people who are applying for this job. Make your passion and interest in this job clear.

What are your salary expectations?
Salary negotiations are best handled at the job offer stage so try to avoid this at interview if you can. If forced to name a price, give a realistic but wide salary range and say that you feel that salary won't be an issue if you decide to work together.

Would you accept this job if you received an offer?
The interviewer wants to know that you will say ‘yes’ if you are offered the job. It’s frustrating and costly to have to re-advertise a job. If this job involves a drop in salary for you they want to be sure you have considered the decision fully. The most important aspect is to avoid any sign of hesitation to show in your words, voice or body language. Stress your enthusiasm for the job. Think carefully about how you would feel about a drop in salary. If you want to be able to think about it before committing yourself you could refer to it being a great job but of course you would want to review the detail before formally accepting an offer.

What do you know about our organisation?
You need to know the following:
• Company structure, finances, products and services, key staff
• Customers and competitors
• Market trends and challenges.

These are just a small selection to help you practice for your upcoming interview. It's worth getting a family member to put you through your paces before you attend the interview to help you perfect your answers.

We are upgrading oZZle and welcome your feedback

We are in the process of upgrading oZZle and would welcome your feedback as to how we can improve your user experience.

We have created a short survey on SurveyMonkey and would ask you to take 2-3 minutes of your time to add your comments on how we can improve.

If you are a Job Seeker using oZZle, please click here.

If you are a Recruiter using oZZle, please click here.

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey, we really do appreciate it.

Will the candidate fit my company culture?

Lou Adler has written an article about asking one critical interview question and then delving deeper from this single question.

This question and article is an excellent one and is well worth using but as always you need a box of tools available to you when interviewing potential employees. This question will answer your question about experience and achievement but in order to understand if this person will fit into your company culture you first you need to understand what the culture at your company is.

How do you do this?

If you don't have time for a formal assessment, here are some questions you could ask yourself and your employees.

Mission and Purpose
Is there a clear vision of where the company is headed that is shared and understood by all employees and customers?

Communication Styles
What styles are used by everyone for both internal and external communications? Are they assertive/ aggressive or cordial and sympathetic? How easy is it for outsiders/ newcomers to be integrated into the company?

Control Systems
What "control" mechanisms are used within the the company? Are they tight (formal rules with no leeway) or loose? To what extent does technology used influence the control systems?

Strategies for coping with external influences
Are you flexible and adaptable when dealing with customers and suppliers or is your approach more rigid? To what extent is it possible for employees to change and manage the customer or supplier in order to meet or exceed the goals and objectives. Maybe a better way of looking at this is, can your employees "master" the detailed processes you may have in place or do your employees simply go for the easy option of adhering to the way things are done?

Individualism or collectivism
What is the relative importance of individual accomplishment or autonomy versus group dependent accomplishment within the company? This can be measured by looking to see how important team and group activities are in the structure and processes, how rewards are allocated to members for their actions and the extent to which people work well together and help each other with difficulties. NB. This could vary dependant on the role you are looking to fill!

Even these questions can seem daunting so another way of looking into culture is:

Ask your employee's and customers some questions around "personal culture", does your company feel like a family or not?.
Is your culture a competitive and achievement based culture, or is it entrepreneurial and takes risks?
Is your culture controlled and structured and does it truly reward and recognise employees who would do anything to achieve customer excellence.

Once you have a broad understanding of your own culture, you will then be in a better position to understand if this person with the relevant experience and achievements will excel in your environment.

Visit oZZle now to understand how we can help you attract the best people to your vacancies! Click here!

Tips on approaching passive Job Seekers

Finding an intelligent way of approaching someone who already has a job with a value proposition that clearly demonstrates why the grass is greener can be daunting.

Here are some tips to help you approach these people:

Firstly gauge their interest and see if you can get them to give you 5 minutes of their time.This is best done by email using our communication tools as this is much less intrusive and personally, I'd be more willing to respond to an email rather than making an instant decision via the phone.

Something very simple along the lines of:

"Hi {name}, my name is Heidi Whitelock and I work at ABC Co(insert a link to
your website). I have read a little bit about your experience via oZZle. We currently have a fantastic oppportunity based in {town} that I believe you may find very interesting given your experience. I wanted to contact you to see if you might be open to learning more."

Always put your contact details and email address at the end so you make it really easy for them to contact you. You could also attach the job description or job advert to give the person more information before deciding to contact you.

If you don't hear back from the person within 5 days, I would send a follow up email along the lines of "I sent you a message a few days ago and haven't heard anything back. If you are not interested in talking to me, I absolutely understand. However since you seem to be well connected in the {direct mail} industry, please feel free to forward my email or contact details to a colleague or friend who may be interested."

The truth is good people know good people and using the "passive" database for networking means you have left no stone unturned in your quest to find the best possible candidate.

If the candidate is interested in learning more, tread lightly when talking to them on the phone. It should be a soft sell ensuring you have done your homework and know what your value proposition is for this particular candidate and use probing questions to find out more about them instead of a normal telephone interview. If at the end of the telephone call you agree that this role is not for them, then again say "As you seem so well connected within the {direct mail} industry, please feel free to give my contact details to any friends of colleagues that you feel may be interested in this role."

I hope you found this information useful as the more tools and information you have available to you, the more chance you have of finding the best person for you.

Improve your CV - A CV Makeover

Did you know that on average, your CV will have less than 15 seconds to make an impact!

Often you will be pitching your application in competition with many other job seekers and it is common for most positions to attract multiple candidates.
Before you even think of uploading your CV on to any job site for the world to see, you need to make sure that it provides you with a strong professional image. Your CV is your biggest sales tool and possibly the only opportunity you have to sell yourself to an employer.

Sit down and take 20 minutes to make over your CV with these easy steps;

Strip it down
Remove any photographs, graphics and tables, flashing lights or other obscure colour or imagery that might be lurking within your CV. Unless you are applying for a modelling or acting job then a photo is just not necessary. Adding colour or other graphics just makes it look like you have something to hide. If you have the words ‘Curriculum Vitae’ anywhere then remove that too, it’s a self explanatory document.

Value yourself
What’s your name again? Make sure that employers know who you are. Your name is your identification so make sure that it is large and bold. Your name should be the first thing that an employer sees as it immediately gives your CV a personality. Do you have a degree or professional qualification that allows you to use letters after your name? Use them! They immediately let an employer know that you are an educated, intelligent individual.

Be professionally contactable
Make sure that an employer knows where and how to contact you. Include your full address (where you actually live, not the address of a parent or friend), a landline number, mobile number and your email address. Make sure that your email address doesn’t give the wrong impression of you, sexykitty99@hotmail.com is really not appropriate for the purposes of job hunting.

Add a Profile
A concise and powerful profile should tell the employer exactly who you are and what you can do for them. Avoid generic statements at all costs! ‘A self motivated team player who thrives under pressure’ has been seen a million times and has no value. Think about who you are, your core strengths and what you want an employer to know about you. Show the employer what you can do for them. Your CV is as much about your future as it is your past.
Remember, this is your sales tool and an employer has not met you yet so there is no room for modesty.

Example:
A skilled and highly experienced Key Account Manager with an unrivalled ability to manage an extensive client portfolio within extremely demanding environments. A strong communicator and firm negotiator with a talent for building solid relationships at senior level with many blue chip organisations.

Demonstrate your achievements
Back up your profile with evidence and demonstrate your intelligence. An employer wants to know what you have achieved and by providing substantiated evidence in the form of a ‘key achievements’ section you can exhibit your career highlights. Be careful not to waffle and don’t overkill this section. About 4 to 6 strong bulleted achievements should get your message across. Much like your profile, concentrate only on what you know you can offer.

Example:
"Negotiated and implemented preferred supplier agreements with key UK clients resulting in additional revenue of £250k per annum.
Initiated cost saving of £100k through the delivery of improved wastage control methods
Project managed the implementation of advanced technology to track sales and marketing information, dramatically improving key data analysis."

Inject Power Words
Each new bullet point in your key achievement or career section should start with a ‘power word’. A power word is used to make a statement stronger and to sell ideas or beliefs; it is a ‘doing’ word and deepens the emphasis on your achievements.

Example:
Negotiated, Implemented, Devised, Developed, Initiated, Led, Managed, Trained, Sourced, Advised, Established, Influenced, Enforced, Encouraged, Transformed, Restructured, Focused, Promoted, Spearheaded, Performed, Persuaded.

Keep it relevant, concentrate on the recent
An employer will not be interested in what you achieved at school in 1989 or your position as the office junior in 1991. They want to know what are doing now and what you have achieved recently. When writing your career or education section, always start with the most recent first and work backwards. Be tough with yourself and remove any information that is just not relevant.

Leave something for the interview
Don’t forget that your CV should only be designed to get your foot in the door of the interview room. An employer doesn’t want your life history, just a synopsis of you as an individual and what you can bring to their table. Your CV should be the basis for further conversation. Give enough compelling and powerful information for an employer to want to call you in for the interview but always leave them wanting more...

Check, double check and then check again
It can not be stressed enough how important it is to proof read your CV! If possible, get a friend or colleague to have a look over it as even the most obvious mistake can be missed. Set your spell check to English UK and not English US and be aware of words such as ‘there’ and ‘their’, ‘weather and whether’. There is truly nothing worse than receiving a CV that is full of spelling or grammatical errors.

Visit our latest jobs here!

What to do if you don't have the exact skills an Employer wants.

How or even should you challenge the "must have" skills the advertiser is
seeking?

The world, technology, business, processes etc are changing so fast these days
that surely it is better to employ someone who can learn and adapt to new
skills than someone who has the exact skills today but hasn't shown an ongoing
ability to learn and adapt easily.

As a candidate you need to demonstrate that you can pick up skills quickly
using specific examples, whilst highlighting other really important qualities
like understanding the latest business processes and creating market demand.

You need to be mindful that the potential Employer has put a lot of thought and
effort into what skills they think they need, so challenge this carefully and
positively through demonstrating your past success, your ability to learn and
your desire to succeed.

View our latest Jobs here!

Candidates - take a little more control of the interview

Many Employers use job descriptions during the interview process to determine whether the candidate they are interviewing is the right "fit" for the job. This process can be fraught with problems for you as the candidate, the key to your success is to find a way to turn it to your advantage and sell your skills and knowledge against what they really need.

A statement that can be used fairly early on in the interview process goes something like this: " As well as answering your questions you have prepared, would it be possible for me ask a few questions early on to determine how my skills and experience can bring value to your role?

Questions you should be asking are?

1. Could you explain why this job is available?
2. What are some of the challenges that the person will be facing in this role?
3. What is the most important one thing that the person you hire needs to achieve in the first 6 months?
4. How does this job fit into the overall Company strategy?

Once you have the answers to these questions (note: the interviewer may not be able to answer all these questions) you can then give compelling reasons using the answers the employer gave, with specific examples of your key skills and experience as to why you are the perfect fit for their job.

This technique allows you to take a little more control of the interview situation rather than simply responding to their interview questions and hoping that your experience fits with what they are looking for.