If you’re starting a journey to a new HR role, (or any other role!) then there are lots of things to think about.
We want to break the process down into manageable chunks, so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. So, over the next few weeks, we will be updating this page with all the things you need to consider when starting that journey to a new role.
Your personal profile
First things first – your personal profile needs to show you in the right way, your skills and experience as well as your personality. LinkedIn is the number 1 tool recruiters use, and prospective employers are likely to look at your profile, so it’s important you get your LinkedIn profile right and utilise it in your job search.
Here you can not only share your experience and skills but engage with your network and raise your personal profile.
How you can achieve an All-Star profile on LinkedIn:
- Make sure you have a professional photo – forward-facing, clear background, smiling.
- Headline – utilise all characters to tell people what it is that you do.
- Summary – here is your chance to sell yourself (more on this later).
- Add your location – so you’ll be found in searches for roles in your area.
- Experience – list your relevant experience, with main achievements.
- Skills – pick your most relevant skills to showcase.
Here are top tips for successful job searching on LinkedIn from Ellie Rich-Poole – the recruitment coach.
It’s worth checking your settings on LinkedIn to select what is shared and what people see. If you have any other social media accounts, it’s probably a good idea to check the privacy settings on there too.
Your CV is the other part of your personal profile which is crucial to your job search. It’s often the first thing a potential employer sees of you, so you need to make sure you get it right.
Things you can think about before writing or updating your CV include – your biggest achievements, why they should employ you, what you can bring to their company and what desirable skills you have.
- Demonstrate your skills and experience – commercial success, problem resolution and achievements.
- Keep it simple – your font and layout are important, simple works best.
- Don’t be generic –
- Check and check again for mistakes – anything from spelling and grammar, incorrect contact details or employment dates that don’t add up. It doesn’t give a great impression.
- Keep it up to date – you should regularly review your CV, so it’s not outdated and make it specific to the roles you’re applying to.
Here are tips on how you can stand out from the crowd with a commercial and impactful CV.
Your summary or personal statement sits at the top of your LinkedIn profile and your CV. This should not be longer than a couple of paragraphs, succinctly showing off your strengths and aspirations. It’s important you keep to the point, market yourself well and reflect the job specification in your statement. Don’t overuse buzz words, waffle or mix the grammatical person – use either first person or third person, but not both!
Transferable skills
Don’t forget that some skills can be applied to any role or company – portable skills could have come from your current role or a past role, educational background or from hobbies or voluntary work. They might help in roles even if it is not obvious at first that they are directly relevant. Having examples of the transferable skills you’ve developed, can help to show you are right for the job.
Here are some examples of transferable skills:
Leadership – strong interpersonal skills and the ability to inspire others.
Analytical thinking – or problem-solving skills – are desired by businesses, to help solve challenges and problems within the business.
Communication – good communication skills are so important in all roles, as they contribute to smooth operations. These skills include verbal communication, written communication, listening skills, presenting, and negotiating.
Technical skills – it is important to keep up to date with technological advances, so you have at least a basic knowledge of computer systems in a digitally evolving world.
Teamwork – being strong in collaboration, relationship building, communication, motivating, problem-solving and conflict resolution are all key skills to have.
Management – this doesn’t only cover people management, but time management, project management, organisation skills and budgeting too.
All of these transferable skills are important and desired by businesses, so don’t let these be forgotten in your job search planning. Sometimes organisations will use psychometric profile testing in the process to check personality type as well as skills and ability and will measure potential as opposed to just experience.
Networking
Networking can be key in finding that next role, you can get a lot out of networking, whether that’s through online profiles, talking to your networking, reaching out to a wider network or attending networking events.
These points are important to bear in mind before you start networking:
- Know what you are looking for in terms of the role, the company and the culture. Have an idea of the things that are non-negotiable and the things that
- Use your existing network – think about who you already know or have worked with.
- Create profiles and keep them updated to reach a wider audience.
- It’s always good to ask for feedback, to check you’re coming across how you want to and so you know if there are areas you can improve on.
- Get out (or online!) to networking events.
If you find networking intimidating, you don’t need to – here are tips on how to navigate them effectively.
You can gain a wide range of things including:
- Grow your self-confidence
- Build long lasting relationships
- Sharing ideas and creativity
- Find new opportunites
There are all different kinds of networking events, so find one that suits you! We run a breakfast event – in person and online – which is informal and fun. You can find more info here.
It is worth considering setting up a profile on some of the sites below, with your up-to-date CV, plus any other important info, to broaden your network, so recruiters have a higher chance of finding you.
• Jobsite
Interview tips
Once you make it to the interview stage – well done, it takes some work to get here. Now make sure you do the right preparation work and smash your interview.
- Make sure you do your research – get to know the business, the role and be prepared to answer questions on both.
- Dress to impress – find out what their culture is and what is deemed appropriate.
- Know your CV inside and out, so you can confidently and articulately talk about your background and experience.
- Be in control – it’s not just them grilling you, you want to find out about the company and find out if it’s the right fit for you.
- Ask good questions – it is so important to ask the right questions.
- Practice examples to key questions and prepare your answers using the STAR model (Situation, Task, Action and Result).
Being resilient/dealing with rejection
Unfortunately, it won’t always go the way you want and you will get rejections, which is why being resilient in your job search is important. It is important you control what you can – and realise what you cannot. Getting feedback is always good, so you know what you can improve on.
Many things that affect resilience and that you need to factor into your quest to be more resilient include:
- Physical energy: falls into 3 categories – sleep, nutrition, exercise.
- Emotional intelligence: the higher the intelligence, the higher the resilience.
- Multitasking: has a direct negative influence on work and negatively impacts resilience.
- Inner voice: internal commentary can be a negative force.
- Purpose in life: high purpose in life acts as a protective factor against stress.
- Recovery: Recovery in all dimensions, agility, physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and recovery are dependent on the creation of new individual habit.
You can see more about these tips from organisational psychologist and resilience expert Fran Costello here.
Resilience is closely linked with looking after yourself physically and mentally, so here are some tips on looking after your wellbeing throughout that new career journey.
Your wellbeing throughout
A routine is important for many people as a foundation for good mental health. These simple steps apply in all situations, but between jobs, they are even more important:
- Start your day well – get dressed, have your normal breakfast, get ready for a working day.
- Get some direct sunlight.
- Stick to your regular lunchtimes and eat well.
- Don’t sit for too long – get up regularly and go for a walk at lunchtime.
- Even when job hunting set a time to switch off. Close your laptop, enjoy your evening, and continue tomorrow.
Tools that can help:
Mind – mental health charity, giving advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem.
Headspace – a meditation app with a mission: to improve the health and happiness of the world.
Speak to people – Speak to a family member, friend or loved one, or call the Samaritans on 116 123. Alternatively, you can text Shout to 85258 and a member of their team of crisis volunteers will call you back as soon as they can.
Here is a blog we wrote on managing stress in the workplace.
James Cumming is our MD, Interim and Transformation Search specialist. If you’ve got a hard-to-fill role and need some help, get in touch. Connect with him on LinkedIn here.
If you would like to find out more about re:find and how we can support you and your business then please get in touch.
