Last week I had the opportunity to chat with Callie Ewin, a Recruitment Consultant in the Kelly Executive division, specialising in IT. Callie, originally from the UK, has been working for the Wellington branch of Kelly for the past 2 years, and recruits temporary, permanent and contract staff for her clients mainly in the Wellington area. During our chat, I asked Callie about her recruitment process and what's important to her when it comes to reviewing job applications and interviewing candidates. Callie provided some great tips & advice for me to share with you all.
What was the last position you recruited for?
A 2 year fixed term IT Help desk position.
How many applications did you receive?
125.
From that 125, how many people did you end up interviewing?
I interviewed 5 people for the role.
Wow, that's a lot of applicants to review! So it goes to show you need to make sure your job application stands out don't you?
It is! Particularly for entry level positions such as Junior IT roles where I often have a lot of students who have completed their degrees or diplomas applying for the same positions. It is very competitive.
How do you source your applicants?
I will generally place an ad online on various job websites, after I have run an internal database check to see if we have any suitable candidates that are available and already on our books. Once I have established which candidates may be suitable, I will do a telephone screen, which is basically a mini interview over the phone. One reason I do this is to assess an applicants communication skills and their telephone manner etc which is really important for help desk and support type positions. I also use social media as a tool to see if there are any passive candidate opportunities.
Do you believe cover letters are important?
For the roles I'm recruiting for, I don't spend a lot of time on them – I need to hire people who can hit the ground running so I'm more interested in going straight to their CV so I can see their qualifications and experience. However, I did chat to some of my colleagues prior to our interview and many of them do put emphasis on the cover letter, particularly for permanent roles. One thing I will say is if you are going to include a cover letter in your application, please make sure it is addressed properly and that it refers to the correct position that was advertised. You would be amazed at the number of cover letters that I receive that state they are applying for a role completely different than what I'm recruiting for. This shows a real lack in attention to detail.
What are the three most important things you look for in a CV?
More and more, my clients are looking for applicants with specific qualifications, so I like to be able to clearly see the qualifications the applicant has achieved and any training courses they have attended.
Work history and experience is also really important. When it comes to work experience, this needs to be clearly defined. I like the information to be set out well, e.g. Job title, organisation/ company name, dates of employment (including the months) and responsibilities. With the responsibilities section, I'm also looking for more than just a couple of brief bullet points, so it should outline the main responsibilities and tasks of each role so I can get a good understanding of what they involved.
We also receive a lot of applicants from overseas which is great, so I like to see the applicant's eligibility for employment clearly stated at the top of the CV.
From your experience, are there any "no-no's" when it comes to submitting job applications?
I'm surprised at the number of people who put their mobile number down as their means of contact and then never answer their phone. I can understand that people may be working and can't always take the phone call, but in that case, they must ensure they have a clear and professional answer phone message and then make sure they call back as soon as they can. Unprofessional answer phone messages are a big no no. I've heard answer messages that are jokes, or even one that had screaming in the background and it's not a good look at all.
Email addresses should also be professional. I've seen many rude and quirky email addresses attached to applications, so I'd really advise that people keep them simple and appropriate.
I also personally advise people not to put their date of birth on their CV as this is irrelevant to the employment process. It's skills and experiences that count.
Lastly, I see photos on CV's from time to time, and to be honest I think it is best to leave photos off.
Have you got any tips you can share on how you believe people can enhance their job applications?
Keep the format of your CV clean and easy to read and avoid duplicating information e.g. you don't need to write your name on every page.
List information in chronological order, placing the most recent job history first.
Really focus on spelling and grammar. One mistake in an application might be ok, but when there are multiple mistakes throughout, it shows their could be a problem in this area.
Lastly, I like when people put their address down, so I know where they are based.
How many pages do you think a CV should have?
I generally expect 4-5 pages, I know we were taught 3 pages is the norm, but it is frustrating to see someone list a job where they might have been for 10 years and then only have 2 bullets points to cover what they were doing in that time. You need to include the key responsibilities, outcomes of what you actually achieved and what you were doing on a day to day basis, and for IT roles, the technologies you were using and what versions etc.
Have you got any tips on how people can impress during a job interview?
It's important that you arrive on time, but not too early. 5 minutes early is fine, but avoid arriving 20 minutes early. If you can, go to the interview location the day before and work out where you need to be, how long it will take you to get there and things like parking.
I also encourage people to arrive prepared. Bringing a notepad with you shows that you are interested. It also means if you are nervous (which is natural) you can write down any questions you would like to ask and you wont forget them.
Dress smart! I expect smart business attire e.g. dress trousers (or pants as you seem to call them in New Zealand) or skirt, dress shirt & appropriate shoes. I don't expect a tie but always remember, first impressions last!
Also, you need to try and come across as confident (but not over confident). We understand that people get nervous, and I'll sometimes ring my client and let them know if an applicant is really nervous. Make good eye contact, relax and be personable.
Thanks Callie! If there are any applicants out there who are looking for IT roles, where can they look for your vacancies?
The main portals I use are our own Kelly website and the Seek and TradeMe Jobs websites. Vacancies are listed on our website: www.kellyservices.co.nz
To register with Kelly you can call them on:
0800 4 KELLY (0800 453 559)
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Wow, that's a lot of applicants to review! So it goes to show you need to make sure your job application stands out don't you?
It is! Particularly for entry level positions such as Junior IT roles where I often have a lot of students who have completed their degrees or diplomas applying for the same positions. It is very competitive.
How do you source your applicants?
I will generally place an ad online on various job websites, after I have run an internal database check to see if we have any suitable candidates that are available and already on our books. Once I have established which candidates may be suitable, I will do a telephone screen, which is basically a mini interview over the phone. One reason I do this is to assess an applicants communication skills and their telephone manner etc which is really important for help desk and support type positions. I also use social media as a tool to see if there are any passive candidate opportunities.
Do you believe cover letters are important?
For the roles I'm recruiting for, I don't spend a lot of time on them – I need to hire people who can hit the ground running so I'm more interested in going straight to their CV so I can see their qualifications and experience. However, I did chat to some of my colleagues prior to our interview and many of them do put emphasis on the cover letter, particularly for permanent roles. One thing I will say is if you are going to include a cover letter in your application, please make sure it is addressed properly and that it refers to the correct position that was advertised. You would be amazed at the number of cover letters that I receive that state they are applying for a role completely different than what I'm recruiting for. This shows a real lack in attention to detail.
What are the three most important things you look for in a CV?
More and more, my clients are looking for applicants with specific qualifications, so I like to be able to clearly see the qualifications the applicant has achieved and any training courses they have attended.
Work history and experience is also really important. When it comes to work experience, this needs to be clearly defined. I like the information to be set out well, e.g. Job title, organisation/ company name, dates of employment (including the months) and responsibilities. With the responsibilities section, I'm also looking for more than just a couple of brief bullet points, so it should outline the main responsibilities and tasks of each role so I can get a good understanding of what they involved.
We also receive a lot of applicants from overseas which is great, so I like to see the applicant's eligibility for employment clearly stated at the top of the CV.
From your experience, are there any "no-no's" when it comes to submitting job applications?
I'm surprised at the number of people who put their mobile number down as their means of contact and then never answer their phone. I can understand that people may be working and can't always take the phone call, but in that case, they must ensure they have a clear and professional answer phone message and then make sure they call back as soon as they can. Unprofessional answer phone messages are a big no no. I've heard answer messages that are jokes, or even one that had screaming in the background and it's not a good look at all.
Email addresses should also be professional. I've seen many rude and quirky email addresses attached to applications, so I'd really advise that people keep them simple and appropriate.
I also personally advise people not to put their date of birth on their CV as this is irrelevant to the employment process. It's skills and experiences that count.
Lastly, I see photos on CV's from time to time, and to be honest I think it is best to leave photos off.
Have you got any tips you can share on how you believe people can enhance their job applications?
Keep the format of your CV clean and easy to read and avoid duplicating information e.g. you don't need to write your name on every page.
List information in chronological order, placing the most recent job history first.
Really focus on spelling and grammar. One mistake in an application might be ok, but when there are multiple mistakes throughout, it shows their could be a problem in this area.
Lastly, I like when people put their address down, so I know where they are based.
How many pages do you think a CV should have?
I generally expect 4-5 pages, I know we were taught 3 pages is the norm, but it is frustrating to see someone list a job where they might have been for 10 years and then only have 2 bullets points to cover what they were doing in that time. You need to include the key responsibilities, outcomes of what you actually achieved and what you were doing on a day to day basis, and for IT roles, the technologies you were using and what versions etc.
Have you got any tips on how people can impress during a job interview?
It's important that you arrive on time, but not too early. 5 minutes early is fine, but avoid arriving 20 minutes early. If you can, go to the interview location the day before and work out where you need to be, how long it will take you to get there and things like parking.
I also encourage people to arrive prepared. Bringing a notepad with you shows that you are interested. It also means if you are nervous (which is natural) you can write down any questions you would like to ask and you wont forget them.
Dress smart! I expect smart business attire e.g. dress trousers (or pants as you seem to call them in New Zealand) or skirt, dress shirt & appropriate shoes. I don't expect a tie but always remember, first impressions last!
Also, you need to try and come across as confident (but not over confident). We understand that people get nervous, and I'll sometimes ring my client and let them know if an applicant is really nervous. Make good eye contact, relax and be personable.
Thanks Callie! If there are any applicants out there who are looking for IT roles, where can they look for your vacancies?
The main portals I use are our own Kelly website and the Seek and TradeMe Jobs websites. Vacancies are listed on our website: www.kellyservices.co.nz
To register with Kelly you can call them on:
0800 4 KELLY (0800 453 559)
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