Executive Job Seekers' Biggest Mistakes

With the UK economy showing little sign of emerging from recession in 2009 the job market is still tough going especially for high earning executives as companies are becoming increasingly selective when making executive level hires and the interview process becomes ever more intense and prolonged.
When we recently helped a senior IT professional back into the work place we found that an article posted on Forbes.com proved a real help

Executive Job Seekers’ Biggest Mistakes

The main points highlighted in this article are extremely helpful and should be adopted when conducting your job search whether you are embarking on your first role since leaving university or seasoned campaigner within your industry sector.

For reference keep these points in mind when conducting your job search:

1. Candidates are poorly prepared, ensure thorough interview preparation

2. Ensure your CV is well constructed, develop a strong brand identity and USP

3. Don’t not appear desperate

4. Keep answers to questions concise and to the point

5. Pay attention to information covered in the interview, try not to keep going over “old ground”

6. Don’t apply for roles you are over qualified for

7. Follow up interviews with a thank you email and letter

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Tell me about yourself? The most frquently asked interview question

“Tell me about yourself?” The most frequently asked question at interview and often the first to be asked, setting the tone and direction of the interview process.

Another one of those make or break interview questions that employers use to separate the men from the boys. But, once again by taking some time to prepare before your interview, researching the company you have applied for then a great opportunity to separate you from the competition and an bring that offer of your dream job closer.

As this is such an important interview questions I have put together some useful links so you can gain a cross section of views and examples on how this question should be answered:

www.actingforbusiness.com/interview/JobInterviewtips/interviewtips/tellmeaboutyourself.htm

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_answer_

www.professional-cv-writingservices.co.uk/int/job-interview-tell-me-about-yourself.html

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-answering_one_of_the_trickiest_interview_questions-663

www.job-interview-site.com/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-questions-and-answers.html

http://cuberules.com/2009/10/02/interview-question-tell-me-about-yourself/

www.datsi.fi.upm.es/~frosal/docs/25mdq.html

www.careerknowhow.com/interviewtips/tellme.htm

www.employmentblawg.com/2009/the-tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question-answer-it-with-a-memorable-story/

Talent Emporium offers transparent, low cost flat fee recruitment services matching talented individuals with dynamic organisations. To find out how we can help your organisation acquire the talent they need to move forward visit www.talentemporium.com to view our fixed fee recruitment services.

If you are looking for a career move view our job vacancies at

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or if you have any questions relating to your CV or the interview process email your questions to Interview Questions

Mickey Mouse Tie = Mickey Mouse Interview

Interview feedback from earlier in the week has promoted me to publish this post. A talented software developer with great references and an excellent academic background has turned up to an interview with a cartoon tie! What on earth possesses these people to opt for a cartoon character tie when getting ready for an interview?

When has business and interview attire included a tie with a cartoon character plastered all over it? Is the latest fashion accessory to a Savile Row suit a daffy duck or Mickey Mouse tie? I have just checked the website of the Savile Row Bespoke Association and I can’t find any evidence.

Without sounding sexist men are normally main the culprits, committing the worst interview fashion sins, but micro mini skirts are definitely an interview no go for women and especially men! To ensure you don’t make any interview fashion mistakes we have made a list of what not to wear to an interview:

1. Heavy use of make-up on women (or any makeup on a man)

2. Briefcases: A small leather briefcase or portfolio is recommended to carry your notebook and resume. Do not bring a large briefcase or bag with you.

3. The wrong tie: Wear a tie between 2 ¾ and 3 ½ inches wide. They should have a traditional pattern and be made of pure silk. No "trendy" ties or anything made of something besides 100% silk. Your tie should reach, but not exceed, the top of your belt buckle. Do not wear a bow-tie to an interview.

4. Overly bright or large-patterned clothing: it's best to stick with navy, black or grey.

5. Earrings on men: In fact, men should avoid wearing any jewelry unless it is a wedding ring, class ring or metal watch.

6. More than one set of earrings on women

7. Facial piercings, tongue jewellery or visible tattoos

8. Ill-fitting clothes. Few people can wear things straight off the rack. Spending a little extra to have your garments tailored is a worthwhile investment.

9. Long fingernails, especially with bright or specialty polishes. Nails should look clean and be trimmed to a length that doesn't leave an observer wondering how you keep from stabbing yourself.

10. Unnatural hair colours or styles

11. Short-sleeved shirts, even worse when worn with a tie

12. Fishnets, patterned hosiery or bare legs, women should stick with neutral colour hosiery that complements their suit.

13. Men whose socks don't match their shoes, or whose socks are too short and leave a gap of flesh when they are seated. Socks should be dark and coordinate with your suit.

14. Rumpled or stained clothing: If interviewing late in the day, try to change to a fresh suit beforehand.

15. Scuffed or inappropriate footwear, including trainers, stilettos, open-toed shoes and sandals

16. Strong aftershaves, perfumes or colognes: Many people are allergic to certain scents. For a subtle fragrance, use good quality bath soap.

17. Belts and shoes that don't match: Shoes and belts should be made of leather or leather-like materials

18. Telltale signs that you’re wearing a new suit, remove all tags and extra buttons -- and remember to cut off the zigzag thread that keeps pockets and slits closed!

Don't be a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen. Plan and lay out what you're going to wear several days before the interview, so you'll have time to shop or get garments pressed and cleaned.

Save "innovative" or revealing garb for the club (or your couch) and strive for crisp, clean and professional. Remember, you want the interviewer to be listening to what you're saying, not critiquing what you're wearing.


Talent Emporium is a transparent, low cost, flat fee recruitment solution providing helpful resources to help job seekers into the work place as well as providing companies with a opportunity to hire multiple candidates from a 4-week, low cost, fixed fee recruitment cycle.

Talent Emporium’s unique transparent, low cost, flat fee recruitment solution enables companies to hire multiple candidates across Admin & Secretarial, Banking & Finance, Construction & Engineering, Energy & Utilities, HR & Recruitment, IT & Communications, Logistics & Transport, Media, Oil & Gas, Production & Operations, Public Sector, Sales & Marketing, and Warehouse & Distribution.

To find out about how we can provide your company with a transparent, low cost flat fee recruitment solution visit

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Make or Break Interview Question: “Why Should We Hire You?”

“Why should we hire you?” Basically, this question is one of the master strokes during an interview, this and similar interview questions such as, “give us reasons to hire you” or “what can you bring to our company” is something that differentiates the best candidates from the other, good candidates.

This question can be a real surprise to candidates who new to the interview process and have not done their homework! Companies also like to use this and similar questions as it is an excellent way to separate those who are casually looking for a job and whose who are 100% on seeking new employment.

For those who have done their homework, he or she would certainly come across this question as one of the most commonly asked question and also know how to handle it. In fact, handling this question is one of the symbols that a person has done their homework and is not just casual job seeker.

How to Answer “Why Should We Hire You?”

When answering this question, ensure your answer does not come across to be arrogant, egotistic or unrealistic. You should focus on providing reasons to hire you over someone else in the best way you can.

Bear in mind the following:

1. Make a short list of all your advantages and create a paragraph that would point out the positive aspects that you have for the new job position.

2. Highlight the similarity of the job profile you are interviewing for to previous roles you have excelled in.

3. You can also take the interviewer’s attention towards your key skills and strengths, name – quick learning, excellent communication skills, etc.

4. Highlight your professional ambitions– the motivation and dedication that you have for the profession and the opening position.

5. The body language when you answer the question is important too. For example, your body language should make it clear that you have thought about the answer and given a carefully worded answer, instead of coming up with a made up, dummy answer.

An approach I would highly recommend is to break down the job requirement into a set number of skills and attributes. Then concentrate on each of the skills required for the role on offer highlighting how your skills, strengths and experiences complement the requirement, giving detailed examples and success stories on past experienced to support each point.
The “why should I hire you?” question could determine your success or failure at interview, so be prepared to shine and blow the competition away, while being mindful of the following:

1. Before this question, you’ve already talked about your experience, your education, your strengths and weaknesses and your skills. What else can you say?

2. Keep in mind that probably other candidates answered this question and this is your best chance to separate yourself from the others.

3. “Why should I hire you?” – Here is your chance to perform – go and sell yourself!! This question is not an open invitation to repeat and describe your profile. Your answer should not focus just about you – It should reflect back to the job requirements and to the company.

4. The interviewer wishes to observe what you can bring to the company – what is your real value. They’re offering you a ladder to a professional career with a good salary and benefits. What are you offering them?

Talent Emporium offers practical advice for job seekers from optimising your CV, conducting a job search, networking tips and interview techniques; you can join our mailing list to keep up dated with advice to ensure you keep ahead of the competition in your job search email info@talentemporium.com

Talent Emporium offers a low cost, flat fee recruitment solution that is more productive than advertising directly and more cost effective than using a traditional recruitment agency. Our expertise utilising online advertising, social networking and media as well as good old fashioned networking ensures your job opportunity is marketed across a networking of over 700 online mediums and is given maximum online exposure using tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

To find out how Talent Emporium can save you £1000’s on your annual recruitment spend contact info@talentemporium.com

Reasons why you are not getting an interview

Online mediums-Multiple Job Boards

Solely relying upon online mediums to land a job just isn’t going to work! There are numerous online job boards and even more people using them, so how are you going to stand out from the crowd? If you think you can post your CV across a number of job boards, sit back and wait for the phone to ring to land an interview you will certainly come unstuck. Posting your CV across numerous online channels doesn’t increase your chances of an interview it actually has the opposite effect. We all know that people always want what they can’t have and recruiters and hiring managers are no different. Recruiters especially, always like to think they are working with a unique commodity i.e. you the candidate something that is so unique it will open doors to new clients and for you a new job. If your CV is on every job site under the sun, you are no longer unique and the chances are recruiters will pay less interest in you and will not work as hard to find you’re your next position. We suggest market your CV on one or two job boards which you believe targets your industry sector and bin the others!


CV-Your calling card and unique identity

As mentioned in previous blog posts, your CV or resume is your unique calling card and the most important document you can use to get you foot in the door and make a lasting impression at interview. Your CV is your one opportunity to market your personal brand and captivate your audience; this is a real opportunity to demonstrate your background and your ability to deliver. Make your CV a compelling read, ensure it is clear and concise with examples of successful projects, career highlights and defined results this will certainly encapsulate the audience and ensure they invite you for an interview to find out more! And always ensure there are no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.


Apply for roles that fit your skills

All too often we see fork lift drivers applying for C# development roles! Wise up, it is never going to happen, recruiters and hiring managers are looking for people with the skills to fill a specific role within an organisation. Therefore you’re CV and background has to demonstrate the core competencies required for the role on offer, your CV needs to tick the right boxes. Without effectively demonstrating your ability to do so, then I am sorry, no interview.

Networking

We keep banging on about networking, but networking on and off line is a must in today’s saturated employment market. Networking ensures you are continually engaging with friends, family and peers within your chosen industry and has several positive effects:

You are keep up to date with your industry
You here of upcoming projects
You know which companies to target
You do not become retracted from society

You can keep up to date with today’s employment news by following us on Twitter www.twitter.com/talentemporium

Talent emporium provides a flat fee recruitment solution that enables companies to hire multiple candidates from a 4-week recruitment campaign from £500, for more information on how we could help your organisation slash £1000’s from your recruitment spend contact info@talentemporium.com

Talent Management-steroid powered job search

Fed up with recruiters who try and pump you for information on where you are interviewing and who your line manager is? Like to know which companies local to you need your skills? Then our Talent Management offering may be what you are looking for!

Talent Emporium is looking to change the world of recruitment by offering a flat fee recruitment solution to clients and an individually tailored Talent Management offering to job seekers across the UK and Ireland.

Our Talent Management offering is a STEROID powered job search which will cut out the middleman (i.e. the recruiter) and decrease the time of hire ensuring you find your next role, quicker with the minimum of fuss. Our Talent Management offering provides:

CV clinic to ensure maximum impact when it lands in the clients inbox

Articles of improving your job search, networking and interview techniques

Individually tailored list of companies hiring in your area

Individually tailored shortlist of hiring managers within your specific industry

CV proactively marketed to an individually derived list of employers

Talent Emporium’s Talent Management offering is guaranteed to save weeks from you finding your next job and thousands of pounds if you are out of work.

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Illegal Interview Questions

As the recession bites and competition for jobs is on the increase you may find yourself having to answer more probing questions from your future employer which may not always be on the right side of the law. This was the experience of one of our candidates who had recently been on interview.

During interview it is important for both employer and candidate to gain as much information as possible of either party to ensure the correct decision is made and the right candidate is hired for the job. However, during the process it is important that the correct questions take place, questions that probe applicants qualifications, education, experience, past times and availability. But, all too often in an employers attempt to get to know the applicant they begin to probe areas which are off limits!

Questions relating to family, marital status and children seem relatively harmless on the surface but are definitely a non no! And this type of questioning seems to be more pertinent to female applicants.

How do you deal with questions outside the law?

More often than not candidates are unaware of employment law and even if there were they may put themselves at risk of loosing the job they are interviewing for they are not prepared to answer the questions at hand.

An approach would be to determine if there is any bad intention on the part of the employer, if you believe there is none, and then provide a direct answer to the question at hand. However, if you believe there is bad intention then focus on the relevance of the question to the job qualifications and role on offer and look to switch attention to you qualifications, experience and your suitability for the role.

Talent Emporium provide SME’s and Blue Chip organisation with a flat fee online recruitment solution. We enable companies to make multiples hires from a 4-week recruitment campaign starting at just £500, helping companies save £1000’s on their recruitment spend.

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Dealing with redundancy

The old adage of a job is for life certainly looks as if it has gone out of the window as companies are now in a constant state of flux as they are shaped by a multitude of external factors and are continually having to evolve to maintain competitive edge and stay afloat which often results in down sizing, staff cuts and redundancies.

If you are one of many who find their job is now redundant, DO NOT take it personally and try to take keep the following in mind:

Grieve
Loosing your jobs is certainly a traumatic experience as most of us spend more time in work during the week than any other activity. So if you are in the unfortunate position of loosing your job this may impact on your mental and physical wellbeing in a similar way to the passing of a family member. Remember it is not your fault, give yourself time to put events into perspective and then begin to construct a work plan to get back into the work place as soon as possible.

Work Pan
Studies show that high proportions of us actually dislike our job so redundancy can provide the impetuous, to re-invent yourself and look to explore new industries and career paths. Redundancy may provide the ideal opportunity to re-skill or cross-train in order to follow that new career you have been thinking about for some time!Work on your USPTake time to work out your Unique Selling Point, what makes you stand out as an individual and more importantly why an employer will hire you over another candidate in the market. Once you have established your USP, your strengths, core values and what you can offer, look to consistently market your personal brand and USP both on and offline. There are a wealth of social media and networking tools for you to market your USP and personal brand to the widest possible audience, ensure you are conveying a consistent message and your profiles contain as much up to date information as possible.CV/Resume creationI have read numerous online articles about the death of the CV or Resume as people create online video content for employers to view, but do not under estimate the power of a well crafted CV or Resume. A well crafted CV is an opportunity to create a powerful marketing document that highlights professional expertise and experience through your success and achievements. Your CV or Resume is your opportunity to build on your USP and personal brand to make an overwhelming first impression, opening the door to an interview.

Market Knowledge
As they say “knowledge is key!” and that is so true when you are embarking on your job search. Treat your job search as a full time job, take time each day to research the specific industry you are targeting, keep abreast of major industry news and study key players within your chosen industry. In our previous article we discussed the importance of networking, both on and offline put these principles into practice to ensure you are a knock out candidate when you are called for an interview.

Company Research
When you get that call for an interview be prepared! Find out as much as possible about the company you are interviewing with firstly to establish if they are the correct fit for you and secondly so you can demonstrate your company knowledge as well as being able to construct a set of well crafted questions to ask the interviewing panel.

Interviewers like a candidate who has done their research and a set of well crafted relevant questions about the company, competitors, up coming projects etc is a sure way to demonstrate you are on the top of your game and an excellent way to demonstrate your ability to perform.


Talent Emporium is a leader in providing flat fee online recruitment solutions enabling companies to hire multiple candidates from a 4 week individually tailored recruitment campaign with offerings at £500, £750 and £1250.

Talent Emporium also has a unique candidate offering, our Talent Management service provides a CV clinic, targeted CV marketing campaign, industry and location specific employment news. To find out more about either our client our Talent Management offerings please contact us at info@talentemporium.com