I was asked yesterday, by the parent of a recent school
leaver, what I believed were the best tips for helping their son to get a job in
today’s market.
My answer… Preparation!
You have to make sure you are organised and prepared, before
you even send out your first job application. Not only do you need to ensure that your CV is up-to-date,
easy to read, and well formatted, but you also want to set up a well presented
cover letter template, which you can then use to adapt to each particular job you are applying for.
In addition, the one thing that I cannot stress enough, is
that you need to take the time to make sure that your contact details and any social media
accounts are professional and appropriate. What do I mean by this? Check out my three tips below.
- Make sure your answer phone messages are friendly but professional. Calling someone and getting their answer phone if the message sounds rude or unprofessional is a real turn-off and could be the difference between me leaving a message or hanging up the phone and moving on to the next applicant. If you need to, record a new message and remember to smile as you are doing it. You’ll be amazed at how friendly it can make you sound. Extra tip: Make sure your contact numbers are written correctly in your cover letter & CV – you’ll be shocked at the number of people I’ve failed to get hold of, because I couldn’t get through to them using the contact details they had provided.
- Keep your email address simple & professional. There are plenty of free email accounts out there, such as Gmail (www.gmail.com). There is no excuse for an unprofessional email address that is going to turn a potential employer off straight away. We are all different, so something you might find is really funny, might be considered inappropriate by someone else. Keep it simple and try and use your name where possible.
- Social Media: It’s a known fact these days, that many employers will check out social media profiles when reviewing a candidate’s job application. I’ve done it many times as it can help to give an insight into what a person is like. So be sensible – my advice is ensure your security settings are set to private, because even the most innocent of photos can give people an opportunity to judge you – whether it’s fair or not! If it is not set to private, be careful about the photos and comments you post, as well as photos that other people may link to you.
Cheers
Shannon :)
