Kickstart your 1st job search
The following are just ‘words on a page’ at this stage. I’m trying to write enough content that someone who is not a specialist can facilitate a 20 minute session for each module. This will obviously be stripped back for on line resources.
Modules:
1 Personal Brand
2 How to look for a job
3 Positioning
4 CV Basics/LinkedIn basics
5 What to expect and how to attend an interview
6 Follow up after an interview
Module 1 – Your Personal Brand
First Impressions
Your application, whether in person or in writing is the first opportunity you have to make a good impression on your potential employer.
Often overlooked by the candidate, but definitely noted by the recruiter or potential employer is:
Your email address (is this professional and appropriate)
We all love a good novelty or nickname email address, but again, this is part of your personal brand. Partygirl@gmail.com or petrolhead@gmail.com may create an unconscious bias of who you are.
We want you to look professional and this might mean setting up a professional email address, that you use when applying for roles. Gmail is commonly used and compatible with most applicant tracking systems. We suggest that you avoid Hotmail (for two reasons – Hotmail is not compatible with a lot of the more modern technology systems and Hotmail has been around since the invention of email, so can potentially cause some unconscious age bias).
For security reasons, please don’t use your name and birthday or date eg johnsmith1811@gmail.com as this can lead to identity fraud, when coupled with your academic transcript, etc on line.
Go with a neutral format and you will be just fine.
Phone Voicemail Message
Whilst you are in job hunting mode, it is important that potential employers can get hold of you in the easiest way possible. We know that most people don’t actually check voicemail these days (preferring to communicate via text or a message app), however, your potential employer might be a bit more old school.
Recommendation:
Record a professional voice mail message:
Hello this is xxx. Please leave a message and I will return your call. If its more convenient for you, you are welcome to send me a text which I will respond to.
And do ensure that you regularly check your voicemail. It may be your future employer calling to invite you to an interview.
Your social media presence
Have you ever ‘googled’ your name to see what information about you is in the public domain?
Potential employers may well do just this and often also check the likes of Instagram, Facebook and more often LinkedIn, before the meet you, to get a bit of a sense who you are (and your reputation).
There is no issue at all with having a social media presence, however, we do suggest you ensure that your socials are set to private (excluding LinkedIn) whilst you are in job search mode (unless you are applying for a digital content type role!).
Your personal style
Having a unique style is absolutely fine. Depending on the type of role that you are applying for, will determine how you dress for your interviews.
A general rule of thumb is to be ‘over dressed’ rather than under dressed. Personally, I wouldn’t turn up to an interview too casual (ie not in Jeans for a first interview), however, unless you are interviewing at eg a law firm or one of the big4, a suit and tie are not generally required.
Dress for interview as you would for your first day at work (except if there is a uniform)! If unsure, go with smart/business as a default.
The accuracy of your application (formatting and spelling and grammar)
In this day and age of technology, it is easy to check for spelling and grammar mistakes in your cover letter or cv.
We say that your application (including your cover letter and cv) gives us an early insight into the care that you might take in terms of your attention to detail on the job. If you are prepared to represent yourself with typo’s, grammar and formatting issues in your documents, you may find yourself very quickly in the ‘no’ pile, for something that is completely in your control to check.
Module 2 - How to Look for a Job
There are many ways that you can identify potential job opportunities, depending on the type of job you are looking for.
Job Boards (if possible, add links to the various job boards)
The most common places are Job Boards, for example Seek and TradeMe, and LinkedIn
Here is a list of job boards that you might like to check out:
Specialized and Niche Job Boards
Setting up your profile on Seek
With Seek (and potentially other job boards) you can set up a Seek Profile as a Job Seeker. This adds you to the Seek Candidate database, from which recruiters and direct employers can search to find suitable candidates for vacancies.
If you apply for a role via Seek, you are asked if you wish to add your details to the Seek Talent Pool. At this stage of your job search, we recommend that you say yes to this and go through the process to set up your profile thoroughly. (we could walk them through this in the session)
You can also set up job alerts so that when new roles that match your profile are advertised, you will be notified and you can decide whether you want to apply.
https://www.seek.co.nz/profile/me - we can help you with this
Your Networks
Your ‘network’ is people that you know who may directly or indirectly be able to assist with your job search. This may be people in your family, your social circle, your university/education cohort, including teachers and lecturers, or friends of friends who are working in companies that you would like to work for.
Networking is not always easy, but we know that more people find their jobs through their networks than in any other way.
How do I have networking conversation?
If there is someone in your direct network (ie known directly to you) that you think could offer advice or perhaps a referral to a company that you are interested in working for, we suggest that you prepare for a conversation with them.
Suggest script might go something like this:
Hi xxx
As you may be aware I have recently left school/completed my degree (name of degree) and I’m now looking forward to finding employment and starting my working career. I am searching for xxx roles. You have always talked really positively about (current/past employer) and I wonder if you would be able to give me some time to discuss them more (or if you would be comfortable introducing me to the relevant person at xxx to see if there are entry level opportunities that might suit me? Here is a copy of my resume including my personal statement that introduces me.
If they are not in your direct network, but are ‘a friend of a friend’ (ie your network’s network), then you might start with something like:
Hi xxx
Our mutual connection/friend xxx, kindly suggested that you would be a good person to connect with as you work at xxx, which is an organisation that I am interested in working for. I have recently left school/completed my degree (name of degree) and I’m now looking forward to finding employment and starting my working career. I am searching for xxx roles. I wonder if you would be willing to give me some time to discuss them more (or if you would be comfortable introducing me to the relevant person at xxx to see if there are entry level opportunities that might suit me? Here is a copy of my resume including my personal statement that introduces me.
Your aim with a networking conversation is to find out more about a particular organsiation that you might like to work for. If you impress your network connection, they may be willing to either provide information regarding who you should talk to, or may be happy to refer you, so ensure that you approach these opportunities in a very professional manner.
Careers Pages and Google Advanced Search or Tools such as Chat GPT
Most corporate companies will have a careers page on their website, where you can view and apply for available roles. It can be time consuming to go to multiple websites regularly, although if you have identified some target organisations, this should be part of your process, rather than relying on job boards.
A more advanced approach is to utilised Google Advanced Search or tools such as ChatGPT with well constructed prompts to identify roles and organisations that match your job search criteria.
An example (needs work) in ChatGPT might be: provide a list of all available jobs for Chartered Accountants in Public Practice firms in Auckland. This will hopefully scrape all the websites that you would spend time visiting to bring a list to you in one place.
Walk Ins
Some entry level roles may be best targeted by walking in to the store or premises. This would work well in retail type environments and in some trade environments where they may be open to receiving your application in person.
How to apply
Our best advice is to follow the instructions on how to apply. For example if you see the Ad on Seek, apply through Seek. If it asks you to email your resume to an email address, do that.
As you can imagine, there are many ways to get in contact with the recruiter or employer, so make their lives easy by sending your application in the fashion that it is asked for.
If you are asked for a cover letter, please ensure it is addressed to the right person and is tailored to the role that you are applying for. More on this in CV/cover letter workshops.
If there is a phone number on the advertisement, we strongly suggest you call before you send your application and ask some questions about the role to ensure that it is something that you are interested in. This might be asking about the location, the hours of work, why the role is available (add more in here). By making the effort to call, you will standout from everyone who just applies on line’. The call has two purposes – one is that you can get some more information to decide whether to apply and the other is that this is your first interaction with your potential employer, so you get to impress before they receive your application. This simple call, creates some familiarity with your, your name and your experience, so when your application is received, it has more chance of making it into the yes pile as they are already familiar with you.
Module 3 – Positioning to succeed at Interview
Positioning to put your best foot forward at Interview
So you have secured an interview. Fantastic!
How are you going to prepare for this? Here are some tips that will help you to put your best foot forward.
Before the interview
Research
A few days before your interview, we recommend that you research the company and the person (s) who you will be meeting with.
There is a lot of publicly available information on most companies. Have a thorough review of their website, looking at the products or services that they provide, the structure of the organisation, locations, anything unique about them. If you really want to impress (if a corporate/white collar organisation), find their latest Annual Report and have a look at this, being ready to demonstrate that you have done your homework.
Also see what you can find publicly about the people that you are meeting. Look them up on LinkedIn or Google them for some context on their position and style. This will help you to ask some well thought out questions in the meeting.
Be prepared
We will talk more about this in interview preparation, but before you attend an interview, have a think about what questions you might get asked to assess your suitability for the job. For example, will you need to work in a team, or will you need to work to tight deadlines? Think about examples that you can share that demonstrate your capability. Some of these examples will come from your educational experience, particularly where you’ve had to work on group projects, or manage multiple assignments, etc.
Dress Code
Know what you are going to wear to your interview. We always suggest being overdressed, rather than underdressed. That means, turning up looking professional and as polished as you can be. Pay attention to detail – clean and tidy, polished shoes, ironed shirt. This goes a long way to creating a good first impression.
Leave the clubbing outfits and active wear in the wardrobe at home!
Wearing Jeans to an interview is a controversial topic. My rule of thumb – if the company is a professional/white collar environment, then don’t wear jeans. If you are applying to a trades related company, eg mechanic, electrician, painter, etc, jeans and a nice shirt would be perfectly acceptable.
Be on time
Ensure that you have allowed more than enough time to get to the interview location (if in person). Allow extra time to find parking or for public transport delays, so that you are not in a flap when you get there. If it means that you are super early, go for a walk around the block, or sit and wait away from the premises. Only go in 5 minutes before your scheduled appointment.
If you are greeted by a Receptionist, please be polite, introduce yourself and who you are meeting with. Receptionists are the eyes and ears of the business and believe it or not, they will have an impression on how you interacted with them that they will share with your potential employer.
If for any reason you are running late, please make contact with the company to let them know. And apologise when you get there!
Module 5 – What to Expect at the Inteivew
WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE INTERVIEW
There is no one interview format that you can prepare for, however there are some standard questions and things that you can expect and be prepared for.
In a formal interview, it is likely that you will be asked a ‘tell me about yourself’ as an opening question. This is what we call a rapport building question and can set the tone for the rest of the meeting
Navigating the ‘tell me about yourself’ question.
Prepare your ‘elevator pitch/value proposition so that you can answer this question with confidence.
It might go something like this:
I am a recent graduate from Auckland University and I’m excited to be getting my career in xxx underway. I achieved solid marks in all papers which I am really proud of. My key area of interest in my study was xxx and I’d love to be working with this interest in my next role. I’ve supported myself though university by working in part time xxx roles which has enabled me to learn skills in xxx. It has also demonstrated my reliability and work ethic to commit to both my study and my work. I am also a keen sportsperson, actively playing xxx sport, which demonstrates my ability to work with a team. I have enjoyed having the responsibility as captain of the team for the last xx years, which has allowed me to develop some leadership skills.
This doesn’t have to be an extensive description, but should demonstrate your key skills and competencies (as they are related to the role). About 30 to 60 seconds is enough to get a lot across and to establish a good first impression.
Next you might get asked about any previous work experience
What did you do?
What did you enjoy/not enjoy?
Why did you leave that role?
Be prepared to answer these questions about all roles that you have held.
Behavoural/Situational Questions (The S/TAR) formula.
It is common for interviewers to ask what we call Behavioural or Situational Questions in an interview. These are questions that ask you to provide an example of where you have been in a particular situation. What these are designed to assess is your level of competency in a particular area related to the role.
There is a method to answering these questions well. That method is call the S/TAR formula.
An example might be:
Competency: Performance Under Pressure (how well do you cope with pressure).
Question: Give me an example of a time when you have had to manage multiple tight deadlines and there were other people involved?
How to answer this question
| S/T (Situation or Task) | Action (What did you do) | Result |
| In my last semester at University, I had a three group assignments, related to different papers, so I was working with different groups of people who also had busy schedules. All of the assignments were due within a few days of each other. | I took some time to establish a plan thinking about which assignment was likely to need the most input and also when each one was due. I then talked to the others in my groups check on their timeframes. Together we agreed on a plan that worked for all of us. And agreed that we would hold each other accountable. There were a couple of times where someone missed a deadline, but we were generally able to stay on track. | All of the assignments were submitted on time and I was happy with the quality of them. |
We will be looking for a real example (something that did actually happen), rather than a generic or hypothetical response.
Examples of general responses include - ‘ that happened all the time and what I usually do is….’
Example of hypothetical response include – What I would do in that situation is…..
Neither of these gives us the opportunity to assess your competency, so we all these Imitation STARS.
Remember – we want past examples – A time when that did happen.