JOB-HUNTING 101

Q102: Welcome now back to the show Rowan Manahan, and he's the author of the new job-hunting book Where's My Oasis? Hi Rowan.

Fortify: Hi Aidan, hi Venetia.

Q102: For many students now, with exams out of the way and recovering from post-results hangovers; now they're going for their first job. What are the things you need to know when going for that all-important interview? What's important? Learn about the company before you go in?

Fortify: You've hit the nail on the head - that is the heart and soul of it Aidan. What I see when I am interviewing on behalf of companies - and we work both sides of the fence, we serve as interviewers on the one hand, working with industry and on the other end of the scale we work with job-hunters, teaching them what to expect and how to navigate their way through the process; and that's what the book is about.

Working in both of those capacities, the biggest mistake I see, all of the time, is under-preparedness. Candidates are just not taking the process seriously - and certainly nowhere near as seriously as the employer sitting on the other side of the table. And the result is fairly obvious. With the best will in the world, the employer is looking to narrow down the list of applicants and, if you give us a reason, we are going to draw a line through your name on the spot. The process of hiring staff is called 'screening and selection' and I think it would be more accurate to call it 'screening and elimination'; because that is what is really going on. If an employer gets a pile of 100 CVs in response to an advertised position, he or she is looking to interview about 10 of those. So, with no malice intended, that employer is looking to dump 90 out of 100 of those CVs in the bin. And if you give us any reason to, we will. And the same holds true in the interview room ...

Q102: In my experience, most people put their own CV together and they seem to think that "More is better" which is obviously not the case.

Fortify: No, not at all. Because, let's face it, no one is interested in your life story. The translation of Curriculum Vitae from the Latin is 'the lap of life' - the history of your life - but no employer wants to read that. No employer wants a long delineation of all your responsibilities and "my tasks and duties included" and "my brief expanded to include the following." Who cares? No one wants that. What they want is "What were you? Who did you report to? And what difference did you make when you were there?"

Q102: What did you bring to the table?

Fortify: Exactly!

Q102: How about some top tips for students going in for a first interview? What would you recommend?

Fortify: OK, first last and always remember that this process is not about you. This process is about the employer on the other side of the table. It's about their pressures and stresses, their headaches, their ulcers, their waking-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-with-a-nightmare because there is a problem in the company that they are trying to solve. If you walk in there asking about your salary, your training, your holidays and how big your company car is going to be; you are positioning yourself as self-centred and only whingeing and moaning about your own needs. No potential employer cares about your needs - they are only interested in their own. Remember that and gear your preparation with that in mind.

So, referring to what you said earlier on - research the company. And that doesn't mean have a quick look at today's newspaper headlines and a quick gander at the company's website, because any schmuck can do that. You have to do this seriously; you have to find out what's going on in this arena, this sector, because the people who are going to be interviewing you ..? They live and eat and breathe and sleep this business and they understand everything about it. So if you want to position yourself as something other than an outsider, as not being outside with your nose pressed against the glass, that takes a bit of work ...

Q102: How do you then prevent yourself from coming across as being too cocky? Because you've looked at this - you see you can do a good job, you know you can do a good job, you've done the research and you know that this job fits for you. How do you hide that sense of "If I get this job, I'm going to be superb" or do you need to?

Fortify: Well, you need a degree of confidence and a degree of - not quite brashness - you are walking a tightrope between being arrogant and being self-deprecating and that is quite tricky, as you would expect. Bottom line: you must have that self-belief, that's fundamental. If you really understand what that job is about; if you really understand what that sector is about; if you are genuinely interested in the job and going forward with this ... Rather than it just being a 'beer-money' job, a 'pay-the-bills' job. Well that enthusiasm will come across - you will communicate it almost subconsciously.

Q102: What else should you watch out for? For your own protection. For example, you like what you see, you want the job, but then you begin to realise as the interview unfolds - hey, the signs aren't great here. Possibly there won't be pay increases, possibly this guy in front of you (who may be your line manager) isn't good at sharing the credit, this other guy seems insecure and may stifle your career. Is that the time to start asking pertinent questions ...?

Fortify: Very much so. And we have been talking primarily about younger candidates so far, people coming out of formal education. Typically they are not going to be in a position to ask those questions or to imply "When I rule the world, every day will be the first day of Spring, goddammit!" They can't do that. They clearly have to toe the line, put their heads down and do what they are told.

But for those in more senior roles. If you're in your late 20s or early 30s and you've already demonstrated your worth in another organisation and you are now transferring across into this one. I would say, if the potential employers are not behaving impeccably, through the recruitment process, which is after all analogous to a seduction ... If they are not behaving well on the first, second and third date, what what chance is there that they will behave well when you are married to them? That's a big warning flag and if you don't like the look of what you see during screening and selection, WALK AWAY!

Q102: Useful as always Rowan, and on that note, Rowan Manahan MD of Fortify Services and author of Where's My Oasis? - thank you very much.

Fortify: Thanks guys. Good to talk with you as always.