YOUR CAREER UNLOCKED

Natalia Dobias

October 23, 2014

Imagine if…

Draw your ideal job:

• What role?

• What would you do?

• Environment

• Experience, opportunities

• Culture

• People

7.5 applications per student (2013-2014)

463,000 job applications submitted (2013-2014)

Final Year BSc Management, WBS

3 month Summer Internship @ Verizon

14 month Placement @ Microsoft

50+ submitted applications

15+ online tests

10+ personal interviews

7 Telephone Interviews

5 Assessment Centres

Hello!

Application Process

Getting to the induction week

Application

• Online

• CV

• Cover Letter

Online Tests

• Numerical

• Verbal

• Logical

• Personality

Telephone

Interview

Assessment

Centre

Application

• Online

• CV

• Cover Letter

Online Tests

• Numerical

• Verbal

• Logical

• Personality

Telephone Interview

Assessment Centre

Online Forms

Clear the Formatting!

Using Copy/Paste?

CV & Cover Letter

Eye Tracking

Keeping an eye on recruiter behavior, The Ladder

“Recruiters spend only

6 seconds on their initial

“fit/no fit” decision.”

1 Name

2 Education

3 Current Title/Company

4 Current Position

Start and End Dates

5 Previous Title/Company

6 Previous Position

Start and End Dates

CV your selling tool, not a register of events

1 or 2 pages

Structured format – timeline

No sentences Bullet point list

Font (Arial Narrow, Helvetica)

Action Words (past/present tense)

Did in the past: Developed, created, presented, collaborated

Doing now: Improving, solving, handling, managing

Unexplained gaps?

Learn it by heart

Cover Letter

One page

Tailored to each employer

Do not repeat your CV

Match critical information with what the company looks for

Explain your motivation

Demonstrate that you have done your research

Be explicit, honest and never make things up!

They will find out eventually.

Cover Letter - Structure

YOU• Who are you?

US• Why did you chose us?

YOU

• What are your ambitions?

• What relevant experiences do you have?

• What can you bring to the table?

WE

• Why does our collaboration make sense?

• What you can gain and give in return?

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3

Paragraph 4

Application

• Online

• CV

• Cover Letter

Online Tests

• Numerical

• Verbal

• Logical

• Personality

Telephone Interview

Assessment Centre

TIMING!

Personality Questionnaires

Testing your reactions and finding the match of your values with the company

No timing

No right/wrong answer, but

Don’t get someone to do

it for you

you may be retested at a

later stage!

Application

• Online

• CV

• Cover Letter

Online Tests

• Numerical

• Verbal

• Logical

• Personality

Telephone Interview

Assessment Centre

Focus on:

History

Core Values

Size and Reach

Mission/Vision

Financials (turnover, net profit)

Department you are applying for

Current news, issues and trends

Extend your research

Business Intelligence = movers & shakers of the industry

What excites you about the company/role?

On the phoneBe ready and punctual

• because they always are!

First 10 second impression

• the interview starts from the very moment you say “Hi”

Don’t have too long answers

• but provide just enough information

Be articulate

• no slang!

Know the name of the interviewer!

• because they know yours

Still on the phone?

Struggling with the answer?

• Ask them to repeat the question

• Take your time to think

Have prepared questions to ask at the end

• but not about the benefits or salary!

Smile

• they can’t see you, but they can hear you!

Application

• Online

• CV

• Cover Letter

Online Tests

• Numerical

• Verbal

• Logical

• Personality

Telephone Interview

Assessment Centre

“Play to Your Strengths”

• Be vocal but not overpowering

• Ignore the assessors

• Find the activity you do well

• Be supportive of your team

1 day full of:

Group exercises

Tests & Case studies

Presentations

Individual Interviews

How to make YOU stand out?

Passion

Skills &

Competencies

Strengths

Interests/

Volunteering

Extra-curricular

activities

Working

Experience

Education

The Fit

MATCH?

Values

Mission

Vision

Culture

Plans

What are employers really looking for?

Transferable skills

Agility

Adaptability

Flexibility

Fresh ideas

Time

Challenger’s mindset

Comfort zone? What is it?

Strengths – I enjoy doing

• Hard Worker

• Punctual

• Determined

• Able to Prioritise

• Energetic

• Quick Learner

• Organiser

• Analytical

Competencies – I can do

• Teamwork & Leadership

• Problem-solving

• Time-management

• Decision-making

• Learning from Failure

• Negotiating

• Working under Pressure

• Emotional Intelligence

Am I strong or competent?

Describe a situation:

... where you have worked as part of a team.

... when you had to deal with a conflict within your team.

... when you identified a new approach to a problem.

... when you had to persuade someone to accept your idea.

... when you demonstrated emotional intelligence.

Competency Questions

And a tricky one:

What are your weaknesses?

Prepare real-life stories for each competency

Keep your examples specific, recent and relevant

How to answer them?

We

Our Team

Our Group

Our Task

Our Idea

I did

I contributed

I managed

I took the initiative

I suggested

It is all about

YOU

I ≠ We

Situation What was the situation? When?

Task What was the objective?

Action What action did you take?

ResultWhat happened as a result

of your action?

STAR Technique

Tell me about a time when you were in a conflict with a colleague and you took the lead to resolve it.

Situation“Last semester, I was working with a group on a project

for a class.”

Task

“We needed to decide on a topic and determine the data that

needed to be analysed. A number of people in the group became

argumentative and we could not come to a consensus as to what

direction to take.”

Action“I decided to take the lead and suggested that our group sit down

and outline all the options so as to determine exactly where we

actually disagreed.”

Result

“Once we had the outline, we were able to discuss the issue more

productively and make a decision. Having been proactive, I took the

lead which contributed to productive collaboration. The project resulted

in a successful outcome with a highly positive feedback. Moreover,

I have learnt the importance of not being afraid to speak up. ”

Questions you

might be faced with:

Tell me about yourself.

What do you know about the company?

What is your biggest achievement to date?

Why do you want to work for the company?

Why have you applied for this role?

Why have you decided to study in the UK?

ARE YOU ANSWERING

THE RIGHT QUESTION?

Useful resources RateMyPlacement.co.uk

Milkround.com

Targetjobs.co.uk

Wikijob.co.uk

Graduate-jobs.com

Insidecareers.co.uk

Goinglobal.com

shldirect.com/practice_tests.html

assessmentday.co.uk/situational-judgement-test/

Btw, Use Annual Reports

Make your Facebook private

Google Yourself

Informal online meetings with employers eg. Skype Roulette

CareerPlus (via my.wbs)

myAdvantage Warwick Skills Portfolio

CV check

Mock interviews

Company events

Wbs alumni network

Questions to ask

Why is this role I am going to fill important to you?

What would you expect me to achieve in the first month and in three months’ time?

What do you like about working here?

Be interested but…

Don’t ask questions you can find answers to yourself.

My key three Microsoft takeaways

| Be authentic#1

| Don’t be afraid to ask for help

#2

| Challenge things#3

2PH

• Preparation is key• Find a mentor

2PH adopted from moores.sk

Perfect

Professional

Human

‘Success is where opportunity and preparation meet.’

- Bobby Unser

www.nataliadobias.com | 2014