You’ve had enough, the straw has definitely broken the camel’s back and after months of toying with the idea, you are ready to look for another job.
We all know you’ve got talent but what are the tricks of letting your potential employer see that?
Here are five tips to make sure you’re on top of the game:
1. Get that CV in order
Let’s face it nobody has ever got excited about writing their CV. Even though we all know it’s a key to another life equally it’s dull making sure all those i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. However, what they say about checking for spelling mistakes and grammar is true. Your future employer wants to know that you can be let loose on a client or supplier and send them the simplest of emails that sounds professional and clear. If you don’t care about your own first impression why would you care about the employer’s?
Make sure that you include up-to-the minute details of all of your labour, highlighting award-winning work, what you were responsible for if it was part of a bigger team and if the job you are looking for is creative and visual then ensure you add details that would highlight that.
Don’t be shy. In the rush to squeeze everything into one sheet of A4 people miss out too much in our view. What type of clients do you tend to work on, shout about a celebrated project and your role in it.
2. Why are you leaving?
This is not only important to know, in case you’re asked by the recruitment consultant or employer, but also for yourself. Is it money, heavy workload or just the commute that’s getting you down? Or perhaps you just fancy moving to a different part of the country. If you work out what it is that is driving you to leave your current job you can be more confident that you won’t have history repeating itself.
Money makes the world go round, but think about if that really is your main motivation in leaving. Recent research by Business Linkedin was conducted amongst 10,000 people and results showed that it’s not low pay or an unreasonable boss that causes employees to flee but instead it’s not having career advancement. If that’s you then it makes sense to find out how your potential employer helps staff with regards to training and development.
3. What does ideal company look like?
We’re going to ask you to do one of those mind transformation tricks now and sit down, close your eyes and visualise where you see yourself working. Is it a company that you have in mind specifically and if so why? They may offer a free bar on a Friday, away days to Florida or it could be that the work they are producing is consistently brilliant.
All these things may seem small but put them together and you can get a portfolio of favourites together pretty quickly. Research trade magazines and content of companies on the web to see what stands out. Your preferred workplace doesn’t have to be in your industry particularly, if you like the idea of working for a vast company like Virgin or you can see yourself enjoying life at a small consultancy in the Cotswolds then you need to say.
4. Interviews: appearance, manner, confidence, knowing your script…
The best way to excel in an interview is to be yourself of course, except what we really want is a polished, shiny, keen and superhuman you. If you’re feeling that you can’t get enthused then you need to find the energy to give it all you’ve got for the interview. You can collapse in a heap afterwards. If you’re not excited about the interview you need to think why because in your head you should want to run into the potential employers arms yelping ‘pick me, pick me’.
On that note, the employer may seem approachable but they don’t want to really hear all the problems you’ve had – they want positivity and energy. If they ask you for any obstacles you’ve had to face in your current job, we all know that what they really want to hear is the the solution to the problem and how you personally helped fix it.
This goes for meeting recruitment consultants too – even if you are asked to meet for an informal coffee, make sure you project the best of who you are. There are other candidates who may be suitable for the same job so make sure you stand out from the crowd…..
5. Do your research
Imagine you’re pitching your work to someone and they say ‘yeah, looks ok I guess’. You’d be irritated because a lot of work went into that. It’s how a client will feel if you don’t know anything about the company or any of the work it’s produced. We’ve all got egos.
For the reason that people tap into Facebook, we just want people to say ‘that’s brilliant’ but be authentic too. Talk about campaigns they’ve run with authority and what you enjoyed about them but don’t flatter falsely, if you didn’t like a campaign then pick something else you did like.
You could even discuss the merits and pitfalls of their competitors’ work – they need to know that you know their industry inside out and that you are excited about it.
Above all, be passionate about the move, be brave, be creative….this is a start of a brand new chapter for 2016.