How well do you prepare for an Interview?

"You have an excellent CV! You've conveyed your experience well, your academically at the level we're looking for, plus you've highlighted your soft and transferable skills. We're impressed and would like to invite you for an interview!" 

The hard bit seems to have been accomplished, you've gotten the attention of the Hiring Manager and they have shortlisted you for an interview. So what's next? the next thing would be to prepare!

You would be surprised at the level of preparation that goes into nailing an interview successfully. While we take on board your personal presentation, your time keeping and body language (including the delivery of your voice, it's tone and it's clarity) there are other fundamentals that needs to be taken into consideration.

Every organisation has its various styles of interviewing, some are more formal, some are informal, some are based around your technical ability, and if they are happy with that, then they would proceed to determine whether you are a good cultural fit. In most cases, organisations use a combination of all to identify the right talent that they feel will assist in achieving their business objectives.

Whatever the case may be, it is clear that in all hiring processes, 60% of an interview is based on competency while the other 40% is made up of your knowledge of the organisation, and your aspirations (i.e. your drive for career progression, and learning and development)

So my question is " How well do you prepare for an interview?"

Let's assume (and I would like to believe) that before you applied for the position within the organisation that you would have done some level of research about your prospective employer, but how far did you go?

When researching about an organisation you want to work for and represent; it's all well and good knowing the products/services that they offer but have you looked at the following:

Company Turnover: You should be interested on how well you're prospective employer is doing for two major reasons. Firstly, if it is an SME, you should use these figures to attain knowledge on their growth and also their stability. If their revenue is increasing year by year then obviously they are doing something right, and it is a great time to come on-board. However if they are not, then you need to ask yourself if you are ready to take a calculated risk. Secondly it shows the interviewer that you really do care about the organisation. You can also use this information to form part of the questions that you may want to ask the interviewer.

For example: " I can see you did really well last quarter with a turnover of...... what was the product/service that contributed to that success? and do you see it as a front runner as the key product/service that will sell next quarter?"
In most cases, these details can be found on their company website and if not use the most powerful search engine called Google (it is your best friend!)

Their Current Success: Everyone likes to feel special and the representative of an organisation is no different. A Hiring Manager wants to know that you are aware of what they have been up to, and their current successes. It shows that you have been following the growth of the brand and also why you want to be a part of a winning team. Find an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge, if there is a suitable opening in the dialogue to pitch, then take advantage of it. If there isn't then poise it in form of a question, when you are given the opportunity to ask the interviewer questions.

For example: "I was reading the article on your organisation that you won the innovator of the year award, that is amazing, it would definitely bring in more business. So how will it affect the structure and dynamics of the team to ensure that we win next year?"

I used the word "we" on purpose; this subliminal message shows the Hiring Manager that you already see yourself as part of the organisation and this subliminal remark coupled with a sensible question should be a winning combination.

The Hiring Manager and the Organisation Structure: You will be surprised at how many people do not know the name of the CEO of the organisation they could potentially be working for. It is actually alarming and one of the key things that can let you down in an interview. Some people may wonder "why is it important ?" For those who might be thinking that, let me give you an example: If someone came to your house, sat down, ate your food, wined and dined with you, exchanged a meaningful/interesting dialogue and at the end of the night they asked you for your name, i'm sure you'd be pretty upset. It's the same kind of scenario, you cannot expect to work for an organisation without knowing about the person who governs it, it demonstrates a lack of interest in the organisation as a whole.

Do a little digging on the CEO, their professional background and their career to date, the same goes for the Hiring Manager. Doing research on the Hiring Manager can give you an insight into his career, his personality etc. (Social Media, including LinkedIn are always useful tools!) even taking note of the kind of posts they like on LinkedIn can also tell you a lot about a person. This can make you more relaxed as you prepare for your interview knowing that you have a little edge over your interviewer.

Company Objectives: Every organisation has current and future business forecasts, and use this to build business modules/departments and identify key hires. Knowing about their business objectives is very important. It shows that you are walking the journey with them, and that you understand where they are going. So use this as a marketing tool to sell yourself, showing them where you can fit in to meet those business objectives

For example: If their objective is to build a data recovery centre before the end of the year, they would definitely need experienced talent in IMAC (Install, Moves and Changes) to fulfill this project. This can be made up of desk support staff, software developers, System Engineers etc. Selling your skill set and your soft skills based on your knowledge of their future projects shows that are ready to jump on board and integrate well with future projects.

The objectives of an organisation as a whole can usually be found as part of their mission statements on their website. In other cases, short term projects and objectives can also be found in online media interviews, and press releases.

All companies have goals for the next 5 - 10 years, and your knowledge of what they are will differentiate you from other candidates.

So when you have been shortlisted for an interview, take your time to really understand the organisation want to represent.

As much as they are looking for key talent to meet their business objectives, they also need to feel that you want them just as much as they want you.

An organisation will not compromise on that enthusiasm because in the long run, if you do not demonstrate what is expected and they have to let you go, it will be a costly hire for them and as a result will have to go back to the drawing board.

Recruitment Blunders - Are you selling yourself short?

In a climate where talented professionals are many and the opportunities for career growth are very few, we seek various methods to get ourselves noticed by organisations we aspire to work for. Whether it's cold calling, reaching out to prospective hiring managers on LinkedIn, or attending networking events to pitch yourself. Professionals are going beyond the job boards and company career job portals to differentiate themselves from the competition.

Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with being innovative in your job search, in fact I actually applaud it. However if you want to be noticed for all the right reasons. there are certain innovative job hunting traits that one should avoid:

Bulk CV Sending: Sending your CV to 8, 9, or even 10 recipients in one email doesn't really convey a high level of professionalism. You lose your exclusivity as a valuable candidate. No consultancy, in-house recruiter, or hiring manager wants to feel 2nd, 3rd, 4th or even 5th best.

If you want to work with a consultancy to secure your next role, do your research on the best consultancy that you feel will work best for you. Consider the sectors/roles they recruit for, their candidate engagement level, and their credibility.

If you want to approach an organisation directly, do some digging; Find out who handles the recruitment on a local (in-country) or regional level. ( for example EMEA, or West, East, or Southern Africa) In some organisations it's the HR Manager that oversees the recruitment locally and in others, they have dedicated recruitment teams who look after a region, (it does vary from company to company) Send them individual messages expressing your interest in working for their organisation and your suitability if you are applying for a specific position.

Applying for the same position several times: This gets you noticed all for the wrong reasons. Making multiple applications doesn't make your CV look any different from the first time you applied, What applicants need to understand is that hiring managers receive hundreds of applications and it is very time consuming to go through them and select the candidates that seem best suited to be shortlisted. Seeing 7 applications from one person doesn't help speed the process up. What you should be focusing on is ensuring that you capabilities, competencies and transferable skills are well conveyed in your CV so that you will be noticed for all the RIGHT reasons (even when you apply once).

Applying for jobs that do not fit your Skill Set: Soft skills that are transferable but skills that are acquired from working in a specific sector are not. For example, Project Management skills are transferable, and can be applied to a role in any sector. Working as a Paediatric Doctor and then applying for a Civil Engineer job is not a transferable skill because they are specialists.

Don't just send your CV to any role advertised to get noticed, unless an organisation doesn't have a talent pool in place ( a place where they keep talented professionals for possible upcoming vacancies) it will actually go unnoticed because you do not fit the bill for what they are currently looking for.

Salutations: In our very diversified corporate world, you need to be careful about how you address people, especially when writing a cover letter or introductory email. Not every hiring manager is a man "Dear Sir," not everyone is married "Dear Mrs" and not everyone likes to be addressed as "Ma" or "Maam" This is the first line (the attention grabber of every correspondence) so how you start means a lot.

Open your letter/message with Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening (name) or To whom this may concern or to the Hiring Manager or HR Department. This is a more universal approach because you are not discriminating against any gender and you're not assuming anybody's marital status.

The market is very competitive, the growth of talent is increasing with professionals gaining diversified experience and furthering their education by obtaining a specialist accreditation to differentiate themselves.

Even the smallest details are taken into account when hiring managers are shortlisting candidates for a position. Someone can have the same experience, educated to the same level, obtained the same accreditation but the deciding factor can be as a result of your written communication and how you can applied yourself during the initial stages of the recruitment process.

Transferable skills and its benefits in a highly competitive market

When we are looking for a new opportunity in our career, we tend to focus on the strict deadlines on what each job description requires in order to be eligible to apply. Now while that is very important, do not sell yourself short by not validating your transferable skills.

What are your transferable skills?

These are skills that a variable and not specific to a sector or type of job. These are skills that can be applied to across the board and should not be ignored because they are additional attributes that are an asset to both your professional and personal development, as well as the organisation that is blessed to have you utilise them to meet their corporate objectives.

Skills such as Leadership,Time Management, Prioritisation, Delegation, Listening, Communication and Analytical skills are all valuable in the workplace and shouldn't be downplayed on your CV.

In this very competitive market where there more professionals looking for the next step in their career than the opportunities that are available to them, one needs to differentiate themselves to be the more preferred hire. By including your transferable skills in your CV, your prospective employer can see your versatility and can also make a constructive judgment about how well you will fit into their team and the value to add to their organisation.

Transferable skills are learnt along the way, either in previous employment, voluntary work or natural attributes that people are born with. For example when someone is referred to as a "born-leader" this generally means that this natural attribute has been capitalised on to become an asset.

To convey your skills successfully in your CV you can include them in the following places:

Cover Letter: As you are summarising your experience, you can mention your transferable skills and how it has enabled you to be successful thus far

Summary: At the beginning of your CV, where you are summarising your experience you can bullet point your skills and how it can be of value to your prospective employer

Job Responsibilities: As you list your experiences include your attributes or your transferable skills that enabled you do that task successfully for example

"I am in charge of the payroll for the regional office, this task requires careful attention to detail as well as excellent prioritisation skills to enable that accurate figures were produced within the designated time frame"

If you are unsure of what your key attributes or transferable skills are, ask a friend, family member or colleague. It is always best to receive constructive criticism for those you engage with on a regular basis, they will be able to give you their candid experience which you will be able to ponder on and evaluate.

What you may find from this exercise is that your weaknesses may also be identified which is alright, because we all have weaknesses. We all have areas that we are don't excel in but that as well can be used to our advantage if applied correctly. For example

"I'm a perfectionist, so I always spend time on tasks to ensure they are done perfectly and as a result, some tasks do not get done and my workload increases. However I have learned the art of time management and prioritisation which means I prioritise my workload in accordance with their deadlines and ensure they are all given the necessary attention they need."

So revisit your CV and ask yourself "Are my transferable skills really conveying my true abilities?" and if not work to to demonstrate how much of an asset you can be to any organisation.