The challenge of Covid 19 & the hunt for a job
According to the Bank of England, as the Job Retention Scheme comes to close in October, over 7% of the UK workforce could be unemployed by end 2020, with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimating a huge unemployment rate of 21% in some areas of the country.
As high street giants like John Lewis and M&S, car manufacturers, airlines, hospitality and more shed staff, it is wise to use extra time gained by being furloughed or homeworking – the time you would have spent travelling to work you can use to prepare, prepare, prepare!
Get ahead of the competition… if you want to get that job
After all, there are still jobs on the market, but with so many candidates, you will need to pay extra attention to the detail and presentation of your CV and ‘rehearsing’ for interview.
Begin before you begin!
Before you even see a post to apply to, there’s lots you can do. Then you’ll have a head start when something comes up. You will of course need to adapt your CV, application and interview preparation and presentation to the role and organisation.
Sharpen your CV
- The law of attraction: make it good to look at & easy to read, paying attention to spacing, font and point size
- Highlight your skills and achievements – don’t hide them in the text as excessive modesty won’t pay off! Be specific in your examples: eg “increased funding from £1million to £2million in the first year” rather than “ran highly successful fund raising campaigns”
- Career to date: show logical career development with your current role first
Remove photos of those midnight beach parties
Go systematically through your social media, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram etc and remove from public view any photos, tweets and comments that could adversely affect your chances.
Prepare, prepare, prepare … be ready for interview
Start preparing for an interview long before it takes place.
- List common questions and decide how to answer: eg ‘Tell me about yourself’, ‘Why do you want this role?’, ‘Where do you see yourself in three years’ time’. Review what to say in relation to each post you apply for.
- Understand the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) of answering competency questions and think of great stories to tell to illustrate what you have done and therefore what you can do
- Make sure your professional knowledge is up to date and that you’re ready to explain how you do update it, such as through CPD (Continuing Professional Development)
Presentation at the ready
Some roles require you to do a presentation as well as interview. You may be practised at speaking or perhaps your nerves kick in at the thought. Either way complacency is the enemy and early preparation and practice pays off.
- Well before you know the title or topic, it’s worth creating short presentations on relevant matters with slides and practising them aloud.
- Make sure you have a strong start and ending
- Speak at pace that others can follow, don’t race as you’ll leave others behind
No firefighting
Early preparation and practice can save the day once you get that call: ‘We’d like to invite you for interview in 4 days’ time’. If you’re in a fulltime job and have only the evenings left to familiarise yourself with the role, the organisation, it’s mission statement and culture, prepare for an interview and a possible presentation (once you know the title), you’ll end up firefighting, dealing with too much in too short a time.
The work you do beforehand will strengthen your chances and help you feel more in control as you approach and attend the interview. The sooner you start, the calmer you’re likely to feel.
