Skills to succeed in a recruitment process

3 Tips to stand out in the market

In the last couple of years, I have worked for different companies, mostly in the technology sector, and being able to work not only in human resources, but in recruitment, has allowed me to meet hundreds of people, hear their life stories, their dreams and I have to say… I have met excellent professionals. This has taught me that companies can have many different processes, each manager is a world in an of itself, and that each position requires a very particular person, over a job description.

Without a doubt, I have to say that changing jobs is not an easy decision, hiring someone isn’t either. I was once asked: What does a recruiter do? To which I replied: "change lives” because we live in a society where our work directly impacts the lives of many people. For this reason, here are 3 main factors that determine if a recruitment process is successful or not for a candidate:

1. First of all, you need to ask yourself: Why do I want to change jobs? Or why should I find a new job?

For this 1st point there are two types of people. Those who have a job, and are looking for a better opportunity, or those who have become unemployed or are entering the work force.

For the first group, I suggest spending some time, reflecting on the following questions:

• Why am I looking for a change?
• Is it perhaps an economic reason?
• Do I have a supervisor or leader that I don't get along with?
• Do I want to grow professionally?
• Do I not like what I do?
• Don't I get what I deserve?
• Is my job affecting my health?
• Do they not value my work?

All of these questions run through our heads occasionally, and take time, work, and effort on our part to determine whether or not a job change is necessary. Being able to find an adequate answer to the question, why do I want to change jobs? Can help you determine "What do I need to find at the other company, to be satisfied with the change?"

If we do not define our reason for seeking change, we will be one of those people who go from one company to the next, never satisfied with what a company offers, and the years will pass without being able to find what we do not even know we are searching for.

To the second group, I suggest finding the reason for this need, I write this blog in the midst of the first pandemic (and I hope the last one) that I have to live through. Unemployment has reached historic levels, and thousands of families have been affected. So at this point the question isn’t: Where would I like to work? The question is: In what area can I work?

So its important to not only look at the market, and point out the few, or many, opportunities, but to look within, and put the following in hindsight: "What do I have to offer?", "How can I make myself more attractive to recruiters?" You need to value working in areas that perhaps despite not being your area of expertise, represent a job, which, in the end, may represent a survival option, or, an opportunity.

I studied psychology. I remember some colleagues asking me: "Why are you going to work typing purchase orders – for a clothing store?" And well, that was my first job, which also allowed me to enter Human Resources area, within that same company and that was the first step in my career.

2. How am I selling myself? What kind of professional am I? (in reference to the networks I belong to, the contacts I have, etc.)

Over the years, I have seen hundreds, thousands of resumes, some have seemed enviable, worthy of admiration - how people have come to have such a dedicated professional preparation, others, mostly, concern me, and make me see the need to talk about our personal presentation.

No one goes out on a date with the person they like wearing their worst outfit, without bathing, and waiting for that person to fall in love at first sight. Same thing goes for the job market. Our profiles on social media, our resumes, our job references, are our chance to make a lasting first impression of the person we are. It is our window to better opportunities and possibilities that we were not even aware of.

Many times I have received comments from people who tell me: "I just don't understand why Pedro was offered a managerial position. I on the other hand, have greater responsibilities and am not even considered." So I ask them: "Have you updated your LinkedIn profile?" – They answer: "No ... I haven’t used LinkedIn in years." If we do not work on our image as professionals, with our network, we may be missing out on a great opportunity.

3. "Train" to win

Landing our dream job, is without a doubt, a competition. We are not the only ones with a bachelor’s degree, with X amount of years of experience, with 1 or 2 languages, regardless of the career we have chosen. There are always more professionals in the market, so its important to consider: "How can I differentiate myself from others?"

Here are a couple suggestions:

1. Add experience to your profile. Always ask yourself: "What am I doing in my current job that makes me a better professional? Am I continuously learning? Are my current functions allowing me to remain attractive in the job market?"
2. What can I do to differentiate myself? Among dozens of universities that graduate professionals with the same degree, what can I do to be better? There are an infinite amount of skills you can work on and develop, for free, via trainings, certifications, courses, and many more options that allow us to continue growing and expanding our profile. It never hurts to have extra tools.
3. How can I prepare to excel in an interview? Just as you would tidy up before a date, an interview is an opportunity to sell yourself and land the job you want, to learn, and to assess whether or not the experiences you have had are enough for a specific position. Therefore, preparation is essential, investigating the company, practicing possible interview questions, working on aspects of both hard and soft skills.
4. Learning from the processes: many times, we leave an interview and feel defeated, for not knowing an answer, for not being able to communicate well, because our nerves get the best of us.

All of these are NOT bad experiences, on the contrary, we need to take time to analyze what happened, and learn from this process, assess how we could have improved, what we can correct, and always be open to feedback so that we can improve day after day, even if we never land the dream job. The line of thought should always go towards "how can I improve for my next interview?"

 

In short, you must train to win. Going to the gym once does not make you a fit person. Eating salad once a week, does not make you a healthy person. Same goes for when looking for a job and being part of a recruitment process.

A degree does not make you a professional, and a good job does not make you the best professional. Its important to continue working on yourself, invest in your growth, work hard and have patience. The results will come but it requires discipline, effort, commitment and, above all, self-esteem.