Are you a recent graduate or a junior? In our latest podcast, we discuss our top tips and advice on how to land your big break as a junior designer. Applying for your first role can be a daunting experience, we’re here to help!

Tips for junior and graduate designers:

Final tips:

In our latest podcast, we discuss whether or not to include a Cover Letter in your job application.  If you do include one, how do you create one that gets you noticed and hired?

· When researching for this episode I asked the consultant in our business for an honest opinion on whether they read cover letters or not? It wasn’t as cut and dry as you might think - most answered- sometimes.

· However, digging a bit further I found that there is definitely value in a cover letter, if it is great!

Cover letter Vs email

· Your introductory email can actually be a good substitute for a cover letter.

· But I do see value in a really well structured and presented cover letter.

What to avoid

· Generic letter that adds no value

· Don’t make it too long.  Nobody likes a rambler

· Mistakes - grammar, spelling, incorrect names etc

Purpose of a cover letter

· With a recruiter - it’s to get you through the door.  We become the walking talking version of your cover letter.

If applying direct it can serve a number of purposes:

· You can tell them exactly why you are right for the role

· Gives you the opportunity to showcase your personality

· Can show that you really have researched and understand the company

How to make the cover letter count

· Address is specifically to the person advertising the role

· Tailor the cover letter for every role you are applying for

· Go beyond the platitudes and highlight exactly why you are right for the role

· You might want to play around with layout and design (don’t go crazy with this but make it look really presentable)

· Don’t be afraid to insert personality maybe even humour

We hope this episode inspires you to make your cover letter count! Tune into the full episode and visit www.becomerecruitment.com/podcast for more information and other great episodes.

This week, we dive deep into 15 of our trickiest interview questions. Here are the list of questions, a hiring manager may ask during the interview:

1. What is your biggest weakness?

Here is part 2 of our interview with Adele Leah Career Coach.  

You can find out more about Adele right here - https://www.adeleleah.com

Adele has been very kind and put together a PDF guide to accompany this episode.  You can download your own copy here.

More about Adele:

Adele Leah is a career transition strategist and career development coach with twenty years’ experience in the recruitment and coaching industry. 

With a gift for rescuing people from jobs they don’t fully enjoy, she’s a slayer of limiting beliefs, a champion of “I love my job” syndrome, and a believer in you deserving a better career.

She works with people feeling stuck, unhappy, or lost in their jobs to help them transform their wild career dreams into living, breathing REALITY.

Adele specialises in the UK, US and Australian job markets, where she’s placed thousands of candidates in positions that harness their unique skillsets, passions, and ambitions. 

When she’s not helping job seekers break into the careers of their dreams, she’s hiking in the Italian mountains, running the occasional marathon, and entertaining her energetic one-year-old daughter.

https://www.adeleleah.com/

We are very lucky to have Adele Leah with us this week who is a career coach and mentor.

In part 1, of this 2 part interview, Adele breaks down her top 10 tips to become a top candidate.

There are some golden nuggets in here so I would suggest that you have a listen.

You can find out more about Adele right here - https://www.adeleleah.com

Adele has been very kind and put together a PDF guide to accompany this episode.  You can download your own copy here.

More about Adele:

Adele Leah is a career transition strategist and career development coach with twenty years’ experience in the recruitment and coaching industry. 

With a gift for rescuing people from jobs they don’t fully enjoy, she’s a slayer of limiting beliefs, a champion of “I love my job” syndrome, and a believer in you deserving a better career.

She works with people feeling stuck, unhappy, or lost in their jobs to help them transform their wild career dreams into living, breathing REALITY.

Adele specialises in the UK, US and Australian job markets, where she’s placed thousands of candidates in positions that harness their unique skillsets, passions, and ambitions. 

When she’s not helping job seekers break into the careers of their dreams, she’s hiking in the Italian mountains, running the occasional marathon, and entertaining her energetic one-year-old daughter.

https://www.adeleleah.com/

About Georgia Hart

Georgia moved to Melbourne from the UK, about 2 years ago. She recruits for the digital and tech sector, in particular in the roles of web development, IT, dev ops and software engineers. Georgia works across a wide range of companies, small to medium size businesses, including eCommerce and retail. 

What are the biggest challenges in your particular market? How to stand out?

·  Increase in competition 

·  You really need to make yourself stand out from the crowd

·  In the dev space, the candidates can be in very high demand, they often get headhunted a lot

·  Keep your LinkedIn profile updated and include the latest technologies you’re using 

·  If you keep your details current, you will be contacted for the right roles

·  Everyone knows everyone, it’s all about who you know rather than what you know

·  Networking is so important, it’s about contributing to the community

·  Go to conferences and attend meet-ups, talk and get to know people 

·  Keep your CV short, and to the point, 2 or 3 pages is more than enough

·  People want to know and see what your technology experience is, bullet point this rather than writing paragraphs after paragraphs 

What trends are you seeing?

·  Everyone is loving React, and Javascript frameworks

·  The product space is popular, everyone wants to work on longer-term projects

·  Product companies and the start-ups

·  Up-skill where required to show your passion and desire to learn

·  Personality traits are favoured, more than your technical capabilities 

·  Go to meet-ups, candidates working on their own projects outside of work. It’s not just a job but because they love it! Evidence of personal projects may get you the job

·  Clients want people who are engaged with the company 

·  Technology has become a lot more creative

What really impresses you?

·  Probably the places where they have previously worked

·  Their technology stack and broader knowledge 

·  Demonstrating you can do the skills but also have a desire to learn 

·  Be honest and transparent of what you can and cannot do

·  Being very specific with their project examples and responsibilities

In this episode we talk with the brand new Become Brisbane team.  Here are some of the topics discussed....

Any trends in the Brisbane recruitment market?

·  People in non-agency background are starting to move into agencies in Brisbane

·  As a candidate you need to be open and aware of what you’re going in for

·  You might lose creative control, you need to be prepared 

·  If you’re willing to weigh up, the exciting brands you’re going to work for, over salary package, then it will be a great experience

·  Increase in cover letters, we will present the candidate in the best possible light

·  Work history on your CV, showcases the nuts and bolts

·  Don’t over design your CV, it can make it difficult to read

·  Keep it clean, simple and aesthetically pleasing

We’re here to land you your dream job. What are your top tips in helping candidates to land their dream job, and not just simply being hired?

·  Start to take those roles, that may move you up. Move laterally, you have to align yourself with a clear pathway

·  Identify what you truly want to do, even if it is to move side-ways

·  Be honest with your recruiter, so we know what your priorities are

·  We help you come up with a game plan

·  It’s helpful to know what candidates haven’t liked or enjoyed in the their past jobs, e.g. environments, particular work styles etc. 

What are your thoughts on “your biggest weakness” question?

·  It comes down how you phrase your response

·  Rethink it as, what do you want to improve on? 

·  Don’t be over confident with yourself. This question, can show great self-awareness if you answer it correctly

·  No one expects you to know everything. You don’t need to pretend to know everything

Top Tips for candidates when preparing your CV?

·  Be precise and concise with your CV, don’t be so floury 

·  Use key wording 

·  Storytelling CV – mention what the company does, your role etc.

·  Know what an achievement is, something above and beyond, be specific in your CV

·  Remember to spell check, it matters

·  Any type of social media, does it pass the ‘mum test’? Make sure it’s on private 

·  Ensure you’re on LinkedIn, be active on it and add value

If you want to hear more please visit www.becomerecruitment.com/podcast

About Alaina Virag:

We ask Alaina to share with us some of her industry insights and answer these big questions….

Listen to the full episode and visit www.becomerecruitment.com/podcast for more information and more episodes.

Why is it important to make a good first impression?  

If you’re applying for that dream job you want to stand out from the crowd.  Hiring managers often will be receiving many applications. You were invited and shortlisted for an interview, so you really want to make a great first and lasting impression!

Admin/reception are not the ones making the decision but the chances are, the impression you leave with them, will rub off onto others and build a great reputation for yourself as a candidate.  This is from a recruiters viewpoint but it's no different if you are going direct.  

We share information internally, then externally with our clients. You want a positive image to be associated with you.

Different ways of making a great first impression: through the phone, resume, email and face-to-face meetings. 

What would you say are the most important things if you want to make a good first impression? 

· Be polite and courteous – not aggressive or rude 

· Smile – this really resonates on the phone – they can feel it 

· Do your homework and know who you are talking to 

· Know the role you are applying for 

· Speak clearly and confidently 

Phone 

· Introduce yourself 

· Be polite, courteous and conversational   

· Be clear about what you want and give context

· Treat every person you are talking to like they are the hiring manager – don’t assume they are junior or don’t matter

· We know it can be frustrating looking for work but you have to treat every call like it’s your first

· Be patient – we don’t always know the back story but will do our best to help with what info we have 

· Try to find a quiet spot – prepare for the call

· If you have put effort into applying, you should put as much effort into the call

Resume 

· Refer back to our first episode about CV hints and tips

Email 

· Be clear.  Remember that emails can be quite flat and we can’t get a feel for your personality

· Remember to use a greeting in your email

· Tell us what you want in the body of your email

· If you are applying for a specific role, know who you are addressing the email to.  The consultant’s name should be on the advertisement

· Keep it warm and keep it brief and concise   

· Tell us why you are right for the position

· Make sure your attachments are good to go and not too big

· Email can often be a proxy for the cover letter and more likely to get read than a cover letter 

· Very good opportunity to capture the attention of the hiring manager or the consultant.  There are a lot of emails coming every day – sell yourself well! 

· Don’t write war and peace – people are time poor these days – less is usually more

Face-to-Face 

· Dress appropriately for the job that you want. Not always about being corporate   

· Make sure that your dress reflects your level and brand.  How you are dressed will make an impact on what people think of you

· Arrive on time – take a breath before you come in. It’s your responsibility to get there on time. Don’t come too early either!

· Handshake – still amazingly important – rapport, connection – makes a big difference 

· Come through the doors with confidence and a smile. Remember to introduce yourself

· Find a connection with who you are meeting – small talk

· Be prepared – portfolio, copy of resume, hard drive, laptop etc

For more great podcasts visit: www.becomerecruitment.com/podcast

Using LinkedIn effectively – Why does it matter?

Almost every recruiter and hiring manager is using LinkedIn for their recruitment needs. So it is important to know how to use it effectively. Today’s podcast explores why it matters! We will cover how to stand out from the crowd and how to best use Linkedin. As recruiters, we use it daily to find the top talent.

Important things to consider:

LinkedIn as a professional platform

• Have a profile to begin with, having just a CV is just not enough

• LinkedIn is a professional platform, so your profile needs to be accurate and needs to reflect best what you have done in life

• This is your chance and opportunity to really sell yourself

• Make that first impression on why you should be hired over everybody else

• Some companies may not read CVs but will go over your LinkedIn profile

Use of photos

• Photos – represent your best self, no sunglasses, keep it a nice facial shot

• Keep it simple, it should reflect you, it still has to be professional

• It doesn’t have to be a corporate photo but definitely no selfies. A decent picture is important

• Ask yourself: Is it professional? Will it put people off? If it raises questions, hiring managers may look at your Facebook and Instagram

Keep your CV accurate

• The layout and ordering of CVs can often be quite messy

• The dates, start and finish need to be very clear and accurate

• Your LinkedIn dates need to match your CV dates

• Skills and keywords are important on your CV

• LinkedIn is a search engine and to ensure you show up on searches, you need to use keywords on your profile

• As a recruiter, we use specific words to find you

• Ensure if you have particular specialisations e.g. Ad word certifications, eCommerce, digital marketing etc. that these are noted on your LinkedIn

• What are your key strengths? This information should be in your opening summary profile

• The more tech, tools and skills the better

Endorsements and Recommendations

• You can ask other people to endorse you and your skills

• Public endorsements can often be more effective than private references

• Quality over quantity in terms of recommendations, especially if it’s a specific campaign stand out as this really paints a picture for hiring managers

• Specific recommendations are more real, more telling about a story

• We do search on location, ensuring your location is up to date is important

• Be industry-specific e.g. Branding Account Manager

• Are you open to opportunities? Do you reply?

• You can include links to your portfolio or LinkedIn on your CV

• Link to portfolio is up to date, ensure the link works and ensure the work presented is the latest copy of your work

Be pro-active and make meaningful connections

• LinkedIn is a networking site too, build a profile and make meaningful connections

• Hiring managers will look at: How good is your network, how many connections, how active are you?

• No sharing rubbish on LinkedIn. Posts that should go on Facebook should not go on LinkedIn necessarily

• Consider: Will your posts help you get hired?

• Be pro-active on LinkedIn and share articles that are relevant

• Always be genuine as there is a possibility your connection can lead somewhere

• Keeping it simple at the end of the day, quick summary of your achievements in that time and position

• Draw us in to ensure we want to know more about you and your experience

• Join the mini-communities, businesses and forums and interact with other people and peers

• Being pro-active adds to the chance for you to stay on top of mind