In today’s economy, finding and securing your ideal job can be challenging. For a start, employers are more selective in their hiring processes, and there is plenty of competition vying for the same job opportunities. Many of these will have similar qualifications and experience to you.

Knowing how to present in interview so that you stand out can be tricky. It doesn’t just come down experience and job/academic performance. There is a minefield of techniques and tests that companies use to ‘filter’ through applicants to find the best fit for their open vacancies.

Our Interview Skills Workshop is designed to give job seekers unique insight into the interview process from both the employer and candidate perspectives, and a distinct advantage when it comes to finding and securing their ideal job.

We work with you to help you define and promote your key strengths and attributes, and how to identify where your experience can help you control the interview process.

We give guidance on how to identify opportunities that match your career goals, coupled with training and practical demonstrations that will help improve your performance on the day.

Our Interview Skills Workshop covers:

• CV Preparation and Writing Skills

• Controlling the Interview

• Competency and Behavioural Interview Strategies

• Talking the Talk (Language of the Interview)

• Finding the Right Job For You

• Cover Letters

• First Contact

• Assessment Days and Aptitude Tests

• Working with Recruiters

Individual and Group Workshops available

For more information or to make a booking call us on +612 9004 7212, or email: info@adroitpeople.com.au

Even accomplished professionals can find interviews unnerving. For many it’s like going into an exam where you are the subject matter. You know you’re going to be quizzed on your skills, experience and personal attributes, but you can never be entirely sure what is going to come up on the day.

The key to success is preparation. Here are a few tips to help you get ready for the event:

Study Up

Employers expect you to arrive at the interview knowing background information about their organisation. As an absolute bare minimum, read your prospective employer’s ‘About Us’, ‘Products/Services’ and ‘Careers’ website sections.

Prepare Questions

Formulate intelligent and appropriate questions to ask in your interview. Annual reports are great for swotting up on company histories, recent performance and challenges. Also research competitors and the wider business sector.

Prepare Examples

Skilled interviewers pose intelligent questions to assess your technical or professional knowledge, and your personal attributes. Read the job description and prepare examples for particular competencies deemed essential for the role.

Start Rehearsing

You may feel awkward rehearsing out loud, but its the best way to prepare for an interview, and to perfect your presentation.

Handling Competency Based Questions

Competency, or behavioural, based interview questions are designed to assess an individual’s personal attributes based on their handling of past situations. Unlike traditional interview questions, the focus is on examples of how you dealt with a particular incident and demonstrated a desired attribute.

Base answers interview questions on specific experiences and detail how you handled the situation. Avoid phrases like: “We normally deal with those situations by…”. Instead say: “We had a situation like that three months ago. I was working on a cross-functional team project when…”

Structured answers are key to successfully answering competency based questions:

1. Situation

Give a little background on the situation you’re about to discuss. This provides perspective and grounds the example in reality for the interviewer.

2. Approach

Describe how you approached the task – who did you consult, what research did you do, etc before deciding on a course of action

3. Action

What you did to execute your plan.

4. Result

Outline the achievement of a positive outcome to the situation.

Finally, keep your answers light on technical jargon and excessive detail. If an interviewer wants more detail they will usually ask for it.

Questions

Finally, don’t forget to ask questions when invited to do so at the end of the interview. Basic information may have been given during the interview, but this is your chance to demonstrate that you’re a better than average candidate.

Ask intelligent questions that demonstrate depth of understanding of the position, company, or impacts of the wider market. By showing an active interest in the role and company it will help you go that step further than others to impress prospective employers.

Our Virtual HR Service option is the perfect solution if you have an urgent vacancy, but don’t have the time to conduct a full advertising campaign and manage the recruitment process from end to end.

Adroit People can save you time, effort and costs by stepping in to project manage the early stages of the recruitment process on your behalf.

Working in partnership with your organisation, Adroit People will manage your ad responses, liaise with other recruitment agencies, screen applicants and prepare candidates for interview.

We will identify and select the best candidates before handing over to your hiring team to bring the project to a successful conclusion.

Advantages of our Virtual HR Service

We will:

• Partner with your organisation to acquire quality talent for critical roles.
• Work with your Human Resources and hiring team to get a full understanding of your requirements.
• Manage the early stages of the recruitment process, allowing your team to focus on their primary roles.
• Take the pain out of searching for talent.

Our role:

• Manage all advertising response.
• Conduct pre-screening and ensure suitability before preparing a selection of the best candidates.
• Manage the feedback and updates to all applicants (including communicating feedback to those who are unsuccessful).
• Thorough handover so your hiring team is equipped to complete the recruitment process.Our Virtual HR Service works on your behalf and all rights over applicant details are retained by your organisation.

Adroit People’s Virtual HR Service delivers significant benefits as it intercepts and removes the time and labour intensive early stages of the recruitment process. This will allow you to stay focused on core business, and take the pain out of searching for talent in a highly competitive candidate market.

Simply put: We help managers hire good people.

Sourcing Talent:

Our business is connecting talent with opportunity.

We connect with the market every minute of every working day. As experienced recruiters, we know the market of qualified candidates available and the positions available to them.

Over many years we have established an unrivalled network of key contacts with some of best talent across Australia, Europe, Asia and the Americas. Put simply, this gives us access to some of the best talent in the market.

Rest assured, whatever your recruitment needs, we’ll go to the ends of the Earth to find you the best people for your team, wherever you need them.

Managing Talent:

At Adroit People our aim is to become your trusted advisors in sourcing and acquiring the best talent for your organisation.

From the moment we take on an assignment we work diligently, ethically and swiftly to deliver solutions that save you time, effort and ultimately, money.

Our Screening & Interview Process is amongst the most robust and comprehensive in the industry. Our rigorous selection process ensures only the best available candidates are presented to your organisation.

As trusted intermediaries for both our clients and candidates we work diligently and with consideration for both parties to ensure that we deliver a successful hiring result.

When we’ve successfully completed an assignment we stay in regular contact with you and your new employee to continue to learn more about your organisation and your people.

We manage the post-placement process to ensure that your new employee has settled well and is successfully ‘on board’. Things don’t always go to plan, and if this happens we’re there to back up and support you.

We’re not just another agency.  We listen. We understand. We learn. We deliver. We are trusted advisors.

At Adroit People we are recruitment consultants – not just recruiters.

If you find yourself sitting down for a deep and meaningful conversation with your star performer to ask them why they are resigning, it is probably time to examine your staff retention strategy.

Retaining top talent is crucial to any organisation’s long-term success, but it is seldom achieved effectively. Below are some of the biggest complaints that get people thinking that the grass may be greener elsewhere.

• Engagement
  People don’t leave companies, people leave people. If employees feel they are not being engaged and there is poor leadership in the company they will look elsewhere.
• Personal development
  Lack of opportunity for continuous improvement, training and career advancement are among the top reasons people leave their jobs. .
• Too busy
  With more companies running lean operations, and baby boomers approaching retirement, employees are feeling the strain of heavier workloads. .
• Too many chiefs, not enough Indians
  Employees need to feel empowered in their work, not micro-managed. Micro-management blocks people’s progression and leaves them feeling undervalued. .
• Benefits Programs
  Whether it’s life insurance, health plans or super contributions, the cost of living mounts up. If your company doesn’t contribute towards some of these costs your employees will feel the pinch.
• Money
  Pay is always a significant factor when employees leave.

There are many strategies to help retain your best and brightest, however, they almost all boil down to one thing – engagement. Below are some tips on where organisations can connect with employees to help tackle retention issues.

Engaging Employees

• Have a comprehensive induction program. An employee’s perception and long-term opinion of a company will be set in the first 3-6 months.
• Conduct ‘stay interviews’. Have impromptu meetings with your top performers. Ask them what they love about their work, and what makes them successful. Similarly, ask what would tempt them away.
• Be clear about expectations. A happy employee is one who knows what’s expected of them every day.
• Involve employees in decisions that affect their jobs and the overall direction of the company whenever possible. They will never feel a part of the company strategy if they simply read it in an email.
• Give regular performance feedback. Praise good efforts and celebrate success.

Training & Development

• Up-skilling your workforce and having them participate in continuous improvement programs will ease workloads, and helps employees avoid the possibility of professional obsolescence.
• Provide opportunities for cross-training and career progression. People like to know that they have room for career movement.
• Provide for career and personal growth through training and education programs.
• Have employees share their knowledge by coaching others and collaborating in team projects. People like to share what they know, and this engenders team spirit. If people feel part of a team it results in longevity.

Compensation & Benefits

• Offering a competitive salary with a competitive holiday leave component is essential.
• An extra day off, such as birthday leave, puts a smile on anyone’s face.
• Offer a benefits package with components such as life and/or disability insurance, flexible hours and annual bonus.
• Make annual increases merit based rather than standardised. Linking increases to employee performance pushes the right buttons for motivating people.
• Instead of cash bonuses get employees to submit wish lists for achieving performance goals. Receiving a new plasma tv, or tropical holiday you wanted for your hard efforts helps focus the mind by giving performance goals tangible rewards.
• Enable employees to balance work and life. Allow flexible starting times, core business hours and flexible ending times.

Saying goodbye to friends and colleagues can be a difficult and stressful process. Although you may be eager to move on to your new role, you have to make sure you hand in your notice properly and don’t burn bridges - you never know what the future holds.

Make the move with grace and dignity. Handle yourself professionally, and try to accommodate reasonable requests from your employer.

1. Draft a resignation letter.

• Advise your employer that you are giving formal notice of your resignation effective from the appropriate date.
• Express your appreciation for the opportunities, support and successes you have over the years.
• Reassure your employer that you will do whatever you can to make the transition as smooth as possible (e.g. train team members, hand over projects, etc).

2. Make an appointment with your manager

• Prepare for this meeting as you would any interview. Explain that you are leaving and try to anticipate what your boss will say, and prepare responses to these questions.
• Most employers will say that they’re disappointed to lose you and wish you success wherever you’re going.
• However, you do need to prepare yourself that you may be confronted with anger, desperate pleas to stay, guilt trips, or may even be asked to leave immediately.
• Stay calm and express appreciation for the opportunities and successes you’ve had.
• Make sure to stress that your decision is firm and final and that you are committed to your new employer.
• Keep the meeting short and be professional, polite and courteous. Remember - you don’t want to burn bridges.

3. Exit interviews

These interviews are increasingly popular and usually take place in the final week of employment, or shortly thereafter. Although attendance is voluntary, these meetings are often beneficial for the person leaving and the employer.

The purpose of exit interviews is to help the company improve and give you some closure as you leave. If you do choose to participate, prepare yourself for the questions you’re likely to be asked.

Be aware of open-ended questions looking for suggested improvements to the business. If they touch an area where you feel there’s been some ill-treatment, keep your answers brief and make sure your criticism is constructive.

Some typical exit interview questions are:

• Why are you leaving? Main reasons – personal, professional, specific issue?
• Would you work for this company again? If not, why?
• What did you like/dislike about your time here?
• What would you change about your job if you could?
• What would you change about the company?
• Would/will you recommend this company to others? Why?
• What does your new job offer you that we cannot?

4. Future employers

Finally, never speak negatively about your old company, especially if you’re still looking for a new job. Resist the temptation to share your bad experiences with your new employers or interviewers.

Negative comments about your old company suggests to employers that you’re carrying emotional baggage and make them worried that you might say similar things about them in the future. Neither is a desirable trait and it can ruin your interview chances.

Remember: If you do everything right the transition from your old to new job will be relatively easy. What’s more, because you’ve handled yourself well you will be able to retain excellent references that you can continue to use throughout your career.