Even though some of your question can be answered during the process of the interview, you can always state something to the effect that you were interested in knowing about, but that has already been addressed during the interview. Also, you can ask for additional clarification if the situation allows you to.

Another great turn-off for the interviewers is untimely questions related to benefits and salary issues as those should be brought up only by the employer. Prioritisation of the remuneration package speaks badly about the candidate.
Here are several ideas of interesting questions to ask. However, make sure that you are really concerned about this information as the opposite will be obvious to the employer.

•   Can you describe an ideal employee?
•  What kind of work can I expect to be doing the first year?
•  What are some of the skills and abilities necessary for someone to succeed in this job?
•  Who will review my performance? How often?
•  Can you describe your company’s management style and the type of employee who fits in?
•  How much opportunity will I have for decision-making in my first assignment?

As for the employers, what you need to remember is that looking for a job is like shopping for shoes – you are looking for the pair that will best fit you, not the one that first catches your eye. This is where good and timely questions can help you sift the pool of “appealing” candidates.

You are at your desk, or at home watching TV when you get a call from a recruiter who has found your contact information using the many secrets of the trade (sorry – that’s one secret I intend to keep). Before you hang up the phone, remember that recruiters can hold the keys to the hidden jewels of the job market. Use them and they may just open the door to a new career opportunity. I am not saying this because I am a recruiter, because I’m not – I just work for them. What I have learned working behind the scenes is the important role a recruiter can play in a person’s career path. Even if you are not looking now, you may need their help later, so this applies to those who are blissfully happy with their careers, as well as those looking for a new opportunity. Here are the top 5 reasons why you should use a recruiter.

Hidden Job Market. I said earlier that recruiters hold the hidden jewels of the job market, and here they are – undisclosed jobs. Many times, especially with senior level positions, companies have confidential roles that are for restricted eyes only. Companies then turn to recruiters for help with these positions. You cannot find these positions listed on Reed or Jobsite, or the various other job boards on the web. Imagine – your dream job may just be a recruiter away.

1. Connections. Recruiters have clout with hiring managers and senior level executives – many of us do not. You send your resume to numerous companies, and post your resume on various job sites to no avail. You still haven’t heard a peep. Recruiters have the connections to not only get you in the door, but also get feedback – whether positive or negative – rather quickly. Think of how many others are applying to the same job you are…tons. Hiring managers and HR personnel simply cannot and do not have the time to review every resume. A recruiter can guarantee that you won’t be just another resume in a pile; you will be sent to senior manager who will review your resume. Don’t you love recruiters just a little bit more now?
2. Expertise. Are you underpaid? Overpaid? Are you ready for a senior role? Are your technical skills up to par? There are a number of questions that can help you make an informed decision when it comes to strategic career planning, and a recruiter is a great resource to utilise. They can help you find answers and ask questions that will guide you to the right job and the right steps to take in order to advance your career. Best of all, this information is free, unbiased and essential when determining your position and worth in today’s job market.
3. End Game is the same. You and your recruiter have the same goal, and that is to make sure you are putting your best foot forward, meeting the right people, and hopefully getting you an ideal role that is a perfect fit for both you and your future employer. Their on your side.
4. Long-term ally. Let’s say you found a recruiter, you find a job (whether it was their role or not), and you are now perfectly content, remember this may not always be the case. Come 3-5 years down the line you may decide to try your hands at a new company/role again. Or you may spend the rest of your days in the company you are working for, but may need advice when it comes to compensation, employee rights, etc… You now have an ally that is there for you to utilise. Recruiters (meaning legitimate, professional recruiters) are in it for the long haul. They are in the business of building relationships with both candidates and clients, and making sure both parties are equally satisfied. Therefore you not only gain a new role, but you also gain an important ally to guide you through your current and future career path.

So the next time a recruiter calls you, you just might want to pick up the phone.

Thanks to Laura and Sherriden at ‘YourRecruit’ for listening to my job requirements and securing me a position.

1. Photograph

Discrimination in hiring still exists today, by adding a photograph; one reveals information about themselves that falls into protected classes which could lead to employment discrimination (age, gender, race, origin, etc…). In addition to the discrimination argument, adding a photograph to a resume (I have seen it done a number of ways, never good) looks obnoxious.

2. Personal Information

This rule also most definitely applies to cover letters along with resumes. Personal information such as age, date of birth, social security numbers, marital status, national origin, or anything else that is self identifying have no business on a resume. Not only does personal information open doors to potential hiring discrimination, it is irrelevant to searching for a job.

3. Irrelevant Job Experience

It is important to limit irrelevant job experience on a resume. If listing experience to fill gaps of employment on a resume limit details to a couple of sentences or highlight details that are relevant to the new job search. For people fresh out of college searching for the first job in a new career, it is okay to list some college work experience, it can even look good. Make sure to keep details to a minimum and focus on details such as results of school projects, internships, etc… The goal is to make the prospective employer focus on relevant job experience. Also, make sure to add any quantitative metrics of performance, such as a good GPA (3.8 and above).

4. Over Embellishment of Qualifications

Making a resume read well is one thing, but flat out lying is another. Lying will only hurt candidates in the long run. Candidates should write resumes in a way that is positive and reflective to their skills and abilities.

5. Hobbies

Personal hobbies should always be avoided; no one cares what a candidate does in his/her free time. Hobbies that are highly relevant to the job search are okay if mentioned properly. For instance, an IT candidate might develop open source projects in his/her free time. Open source development experience for an IT candidate looking for a software engineering job would look great on a resume.

6. Rants about former employers or places of work

Explaining why one left a previous position should be explained in a positive light. For those candidates who have bad things to say about a previous employer, congratulations for not working there anymore! Furthermore, congratulations on taking the next step to finding a more positive or better job! Prospective candidates should never rant about a former employer to a prospective employer. This rule applies to resumes, cover letters, job interviews, and even in the workplace at a new job.

7. Bad grammar and spelling errors

Resumes should ALWAYS be triple checked to ensure everything reads properly, all words are spelled correctly (nothing worse than reading collage vs. college), and all punctuation is where it needs to be.

Don’t kill your job search by violating your resume with any of the above mentioned resume “sins”. There are many ways to write a bad resume, and many great resources online to writing a great one.

The last time I gave you all an office update we were heading into our 3rd month and now we are very nearly in our 4th month.  Time is flying!

This time of year is so busy for us and we have recently won a contract to provide call centre and admin staff plus temps for a Company within the M25 corridor so we are all running about like headless Easter Chicks!  Even though we have not started April yet we have already smashed an all time high with our permanent placements and really can’t believe how well the year is going for us.

Our temporary team has reached an all time high as well and we are in urgent need of fresh new temps who can be ready at a drop of a hat to start their new assignments.  We have recently started supplying temps to a large Company based in Redhill and there may be more temps needed there in the coming months.

All of the team are thriving and enjoying their jobs even though they don’t get time to breathe and with Year End coming up as well things are just going to get busier and busier.

Our new I.T. Company in Brighton is doing extremely well and we are earning a great reputation for our amazing candidates.  We are now recruiting all over Europe with clients in Greece, Germany and Switzerland so the girls are brushing up on their foreign languages.  A big well done for the immense success that has been achieved in a relatively short space of time!

There are several ways to handle job advertisements. Applicants can start by first narrowing the number of announcements to the ones that are of greatest interest and benefit in terms of professional realisation. This can be done by choosing only several types of media – online job boards, newspaper ads, television or radio ads, etc. Pick the information channel that best suits the specifics of your career and your preferred position in the job hierarchy.

Also, pay attention to the language that the ad is written in. If the content is in French, German, Spanish, etc. and you feel you are not fluent enough, then don’t even bother applying. It is not rocket science to get the idea that proficiency in that language is a crucial requirement.

The next, and actually the most important aspect of the recruitment process, is the name of the job position. Automatically exclude advertisements that are not of interest to you or logically require education or experience that you do not have. However, do not eliminate job positions, whose wording you cannot immediately understand. Read carefully through the content and pay attention to the requirements, and only after that decide whether to apply or not.

A crucial word of advice – concentrate on the requirements for the job position. Go over them several times until you get the message hidden behind clichés as “communication skills” and “ability to work in a team”. Do not miss phrasings such as “flexible working time” – this may mean serious work load or even working through weekends.

Make sure you send all of the required documents. If the advertisement says a CV and recent photo, skip the traditional Thursday after-work drinks and go to get your photo taken. Do not wait to send your application till the last day of the indicated deadline – this may cost you the position.

I am sure there is much more to “deciphering” a job advertisement. What is certain is that details matter. So, read and listen carefully as this may get you employed.

Some advice you may find useful

CV databases work along the same lines as search engines like Google and Yahoo; you search for keywords and it returns CVs containing those keywords, often filtering by context and frequency of those words.

So what should you do to make sure that your CV does not fall into a digital black hole? Here are my top 3 tips for making sure your CV is easy to find online:

1) When you are composing you CV ask yourself this question: ‘What job do I want to get?’ With this in mind write down as many words or phrases that you would associate with that job and then ensure you incorporate those phrases or key words into your CV. If a CV contains all the words that an employer or recruiter is likely to search for, then you are more likely to be found in their searches.

2) Always keep things simple. Don’t over complicate your job title or the way you phrase your experience as people will not search for long winded terms.

3) Put a synonyms box at the bottom of your CV text and include a list of alternative job titles. Different organisations use different names for the same job role, so having a list of these in your CV will mean it will be visible to a wider range of recruiters.

I hope you find this information useful and that it helps you in your job search.