C & C CAREER & COMPETENCE

CAREER COACHING GROUP

Session 4Application documents &

interviews

Milja Tuomaala & Tiina Hämäläinen, University of Oulu, VALOA-project

Interview

Goal achieved??

Contacting employers

Set your goals! Make your action plan!

Seeking information about employers and open positions

ApplicationsApplications

Selection

What can you do?What do you want to do?

What can you do?What do you want to do?

JOB SEEKING PROCESS

Phone callsPhone calls Career Services, University of Oulu

APPLICATION DOCUMENTS (APPLICATION & CV)

”Style” Speaks about applicant’s attitude and motives Concers both application documents (layout) and applicant’s

behaviour and dressing up (appearance) in an interview situation

Content Applicant’s acquaintance, expertise Employer gets the information he/she needs to support

selection process and decision making Readability and clear structure helps them to find the accurate

information Correct grammar and linguistic form, no misspellings

THE APPLICATION(A.K.A. COVER PAGE)

APPLICATION MAKES THE FIRST IMPRESSION!

1) Emphasize your skills and know-how related certain job and it’s requirement

2) Highlight your personality3) Tailor your application to fit into each position4) Adduce the additional value you can bring for the job5) Remember to be truthful6) If the job announcement is in Finnish, make a

application in Finnish (but only if you can Finnish!)

GOOD APPLICATION IS……seemly and relavant• Think what kind of picture you want the employer to build from you• Read the announcement carefully – what are they looking for?• Be honest and truthful, don’t ”over-sell”• Try to put yourself to employer’s position – why they should hire you?

…clear• Both outfit and content• ”Normal” fonts, font size and margins• Pay attention to the logical order of issues

…short• Concentrate on key issues• Don’t send copies of testimonial, diplomas etc unles asked• Max 1 page

GOOD APPLICATION IS…

…personal• Keep your own personal style• If your style does not fit into company’s culture, maybe you do not fit

either…• Avoid standard applications and used phrases – show that you have

paid attention to this particular application• Humour is allowed, but be careful with it

…giving the employer answer WHY?• Speaking about motivation, why you want to be selected• What in your personality, skills and know-how fits into the position

and company• If you can show your enthusiasm – you have more chances to be

picked from the mass of applicants

CV - CURRICULUM VITAE /

RÉSUMÉ -

GOOD CV IS…

…clear - both layout and structure…readable and well-defined …not too long (max. 2 pages)…updated (no old dates)…tailored for applied position

- All the important information should be easily found from the CV -

CV MUST INCLUDE FOLLOWING INFORMATION

Contact details Title; Curriculum Vitae / CV / Resume Personal details; Name, date and place of birth Education; in reverse order

Degree, educational institution and major If degree not complited; stage of studies and estimated

graduation time, if studies are in final straight If your theses work is related to the applied job, describe

the key elements of it Studies abroad; dates and gained experience & know-how

CV MUST INCLUDE…

Work experience; in reverse order Employer, time, title. You might want to give key words for

job description and responsibilities (at if it’s relevant for the applied job). Make it compact!

If you have long work experience, you may outline your experience under subtitles, which helps the employer to find the informations he/she is interested in. For example customer service work, project work, office work…

CV SHOULD INCLUDE FOLLOWING INFORMATION

Other education; Supplementary education Shorter courses Mention at least those relevant for the applied job.

Language skills; Languages and evaluation of your proficiency spoken vs. written You may want to describe your level of language skills

by giving examples.

CV SHOULD INCLUDE…

IT-skills Programs and operating systems you are familiar with Especially special skills; programming Estimeted level of your skills If it’s a IT position, must the information be detailed

Research and publishing activities Competence, know-how and strengths Most significant achievements

CV COULD INCLUDE FOLLOWING INFORMATION

Photo Military / non-military service Marital status / number of children Positions of trust / organizational activities /voluntary work

If your work history is short, you can emphasize skills and know-how gained in this kind of positions

Please note that positions of trust can also raise prejudice (e.g. political)

Hobbies Gives more personal picture of you You may have gained special skills and competences needed in

working life also in your hobbies. Pay attention to issues like ’what do your hobbies tell about you…’

CV COULD INCLUDE…

Future goals Longer term goals for career What kind of tasks you are interested in

Referees / recommendations Persons who have promised to give further

information about you Give name, title, contact details and how this person is

related to you If you have not gained work experience related to your

education, you can ask your professor, theses instructor, mentor etc. to give recommendations

CONTACTING THE EMPLOYER Think in advance what you want to ask. Don’t call just for calling,

and don’t ask for information, which is found in job anouncement or are otherwise useless. Short and punchy questions!

Remeber to make notes about most impostant issues in conversation (also name of the person you are speaking with).

Also note that the person you are speaking with might make notes.

Be prepared to tell about yourself. Make a list of the things employer should know about your skills and know-how, and the things that might raise employer’s interest.

Try to find out about things that are meaningful to you (how much travelling is required, who are you reporting to, number of subordinates if some etc)

Avoid both excessive self-confidence and ecessive humility ”Sell your competence”

EXERCISE 4.1VALUE GAME

The exercise is found on SlideShare;http://www.slideshare.net/VALOA/documents

(C&C training material)

THE INTERVIEW

GOALS OF THE INTERVIEW

Changing information – both sides

Evaluation – both sides

How the person would adapt into the job/position/team/organization (suitability)

INTERVIEW TYPES

Phone interview

Group interview

Individual interview

Work simulation

Aptitude tests / personal estimation

Combination of previous

PREPARTING FOR THE INTERVIEW Get to know the employer “Why are you interested in us/our organization?” Personal goals & motives Your skills and competence Try to predict what they’ll ask you and outline your answers Give concrete examples on your skills and experiences Try to approach negative things from positive aspects Be consistent and logical Prepare to ask questions Be prepared to be asked about salary expectation Forget all cliches Be yourself!

HOW TO PREPARE… Sleep well beforehand Not too much coffee before the interview… Take your certificates with you (degree diplomas, testimonials,

letters of reference) Be on time!! Dress appropriately (smart casual) Close your mobile phone Be positive Relax Remember that the interviewers are nervous too… Don’t be too modest or too arrogant Trust yourself!

TOP 10 – MOST COMMON QUESTIONS IN JOB INTERVIEWS

1. Tell us about yourself2. What do you know about our organization?3. What are your strengths?4. What about weaknesses?5. What motivates you?6. If everything goes as you have planned – where do you see

yourself in 3 years?7. What do you do on your free time?8. Why are you interested in this post?9. Why we should choose you?10. Is there something you would like to ask from us?

Career Services, University of Oulu

ACCORDING TO FINNISH LEGISLATION

THEY SHOULD NOT ASK ABOUT... Religious beliefs and political conviction Health, illnesses, disability Family relations / family planning Sexuality Military /non-military service Your ethnic backgroud

Only job related aspects should be asked Things/questions that are not linked in that specific work

should be arguable/justified

HOW THE INTERVIEW COULD PROCEED…

Introductions (organization, interviewers) Applicant’s background Competency, ability (education, experience) Motivation, expectations Career/Professional goals Characteristics: personal strenghts, weaknesses, future

plans How the process will proceed… Applicant’s questions

EXAMPLES:”DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ASK FROM

US…?” What kind expectations you have for employee who will be

selected? How could a typical working day look like? What are the most important tasks in this job? What do you think would be the biggest challenges in the job? What kind of possibilities there is for career progression and

personal development? How about employees’ possibilities to educate themself

further? How is the recruiting process going to continue after the

interview? What else…??

HOW TO CONVINCE THE SELECTORS…?

BE YOURSELF - don’t play any roles

Be honest

SHOW your interest and your motivationExpress your interest in the job and the company using information you gathered to prepare for the interview

BRING OUT your motives and your willigness to develope and learn

DON’T BE vague

REMEMBER THE BASICS: Be on time, behave well and be polite

And remember the eye-contact

…It’s ok to be nervous!

SOME OTHER THINGS…

Speak positively of former employers and co-workers no matter why you left even if you were fired from your last job.

When discussing salary, be flexible - avoid naming a specific salary if not asked. If you're too high, you risk not getting the job. If you're too low, you undersell yourself. Answer questions on salary requirements with responses such as, "I'm interested in the job as a career opportunity so I'm negotiable on the starting salary". Negotiate, but don't sell yourself short. Check salary recommendation and salary level data (unions, interest groups, graduate surveys etc.)

Let the employer lead into conversations about benefits. Your focus on these items can be a "turn off." But, don't be afraid to ask questions about things that you really need to know.

More: http://www.careerknowhow.com/resumes/interviewing.htm

ASSIGNMENT FOR OUR NEXT C&C MEETING

Prepare an application and CV for the job that you found for today’s session

Bring your application and CV with you to next session