You have filled out your job application, you submitted your CV through the portal, then after a couple of days, you get an invitation for the first stage interview.  One of the first questions you can expect from the interviewer is “why did you apply for this job?“

The same question can be phrased in lots of other ways. Examples:

What brought you to [name of the company]?

What attracts you to the [role/company]?

Why would you be interested in a [role/company]?

It sounds like a simple, straightforward question. But many candidates still struggle to include relevant details in the answer and sell themselves as the right person for the role. Let’s narrow it down to what the answer should include:

1. Research about the company, products, services, mission and vision of the company

Preparation is the key! You need to research the company before you attend the interview. Reading a few lines from the first page of the website it’s not enough! To answer it skillfully, you need to build up some knowledge and better understand the place. Read the news, learn about the products and latest announcements, and check all the social media channels.  If you have done your research well, you should be able to determine what you like about the place and be sure that you really want that role. 

2. Research about company’s culture, values, and your reflections on how that resonates with you

Try to understand what the company stands for, and what is its purpose. Learn what the shared ethos and values of the organisation are, and how people feel about their work there. In that context, think about your values and how do you demonstrate them in your day to day life?

3. Relevant details about the job that have attracted you to apply and how does that fit with your skills and interests.

Read the job description properly before you attend the interview. It is a most underutilised source of information for your preparation for the interview.

If you applied for few roles in the same company, make sure that you know exactly what role you are discussing during the interview.

What should you include?

• Bring specific examples that are related to the company explaining why do you like the company. During your research and preparation, uncover and learn interesting facts about the company and bring those elements to your answer.
• Express your cultural fit, show why you’re fit by giving specific values and how they resonate with you.
• Bring the skills that you have, show the elements of your previous experience, that are unique and can be stream to the next role.
• Use strong phrases, like:

I’ve always been impressed…

I’m very passionate…

What not to say?

• You should never attend the interview without the research; an explanation that you didn’t have time or was busy won’t work!
• Don’t jump straight into your work experience explaining that you did a similar role before and that’s why you applied.
• Don’t speak negatively about your current or previous employer. Bring positiveness and learnings from it!
• Don’t say that you are actively looking for a job and applying to every possible company.
• Avoid generic answers that would match every company in the industry.

Meet Kamila S. Kucharska, Recruitment and Employer Branding Specialist, working with thousands of companies globally, helping them manage their online recruitment strategies more effectively to find and hire the best people in the world.

Job seeking is one of the most stressful experiences in our life. Kamila shares her tips on how to search for a job and how to feel more confident during the whole process.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I have people around me, personally and professionally, who are always saying that I am a “people person” with the ability to build long-lasting relationships. When I heard it for the first time, I realized that it may be a good choice for me to study International Relations, focusing on Foreign Trade as I was always passionate about Sales and helping others solve problems. As the people aspect in the organization started to be more and more interesting for me, I worked hard to finish my second Master’s Degree, in HR.  Going this extra mile was a great choice as I have been working in this field for 12 years already. I may say I am lucky to connect my interests of Recruitment and Sales in my current role – as an Account Manager, supporting companies to find the best Talents on the market.

Where to start if you are looking for a new job?

When you start looking for a job, you need to understand your own professional needs and career goals fully. It’s essential not only for people searching for a job for the first time but also for those who are changing career paths completely or want to be promoted to a position in the new company. Make your plan, analyze things you may improve to reach your goals, f.e., additional training (improving your soft/hard skills), work on your CV and LinkedIn profile.

Why is customizing your CV so important?

Imagine the situation that you are a recruiter, and you are opening CV nr 57 today? If it is not customized, it won’t grab anybody’s attention. Think from the recruiter perspective – it should be easy to catch the experience and skills relevant to the specific position you are applying for. It is good to hear you have communication skills while talking with clients but is it really nr 1 skill when applying for the Data Analyst position?  Built your personal brand for the role that you are applying for.

What do you mean by Personal Brand?

In my opinion, a personal brand is very similar to a corporate one. It is showing who you are, what your values are and how you express them. It is your chance to communicate with future employers. What is important? Before you start to work on your Personal Brand, think about who is your audience. Create content (for example, on LinkedIn ) about the industry you are working in, participate in groups and connect with people who share similar interests.

How to stay on the top of the job search?

Whether you are currently working, you are unemployed or finishing your education; you have many sources where you can look for a job. It is good to use a few of them at the same time to increase the chances to find your next employer.

Recruitment Portals

If you are searching for a job on websites like Indeed, LinkedIn or Monster, do not forget to set up the job alert to make sure that you are aware of any new opening in the field you are interested in.

Upload your CV to their databases – your profile will be visible for recruiters and Hiring Managers that are looking for a specific set of skills, title, or education;

Social Media

Join the groups but also be active to connect with people. They may know about job openings.

Recruitment Agencies

Contact them and ask about the possibility to speak about your background, they have a wide pool of clients who are looking for candidates, and they may match your job expectations with the expectation of the company;

Networking

Create a list of companies you are interested in, connect with people who work there, follow their social profiles – may be, for example, there is a coming Open Day or they will be a part of Job Expo (once we will have them back :)),

Unemployment offices

Your local Intreo Centre can also provide additional support, especially for a job search in your area.

A lot of people struggle to craft a resume when they are thinking about a career change.  What details should you include? What is relevant, and what is not?

When you consider how many resumes each recruiter or a single company receive daily, you realise that they don’t spend much time reviewing every single bullet point on it. They scan them very quickly, looking for keywords that grab their attention. If you are thinking about a career change, you will have to revamp your CV and show the skills that apply to the new job. 

Put yourself in the state of mind that the intention is to create a resume that stands out.  Your resume is a “brochure” of what you have achieved and how you can use that for your new employer in the future. Its main purpose is to sell your skills and experience, and the product you are selling is YOU. You have to think about it as your sales pitch. 

If you are going into a new line of work, here are some best practices that you should follow when you start working on your CV. 

1. Craft your resume based on the Job Description.

Read the Job Description and analyze the keywords, key qualities, and competencies required for the role. Look for matching traits. Use the right language in your resume that matches the language of the Job Description. 

2. Write your summary statement to explain what type of position are you looking for.

In a couple of sentences, you have to answer the question of why someone should hire you! It doesn’t have to be long but include a brief description of professional you.

3. Highlight the skills that are directly related to the work objective and position. 

I know that the career can be a rocky road, but focus on skills directly related to the role that you are applying for. Don’t use the same standardised CV that includes all you did so far in your life- you limit your chances to be selected to the next stage of the interview. 

4. Articulate clearly your previous work history. 

It sounds obvious, but it’s a widespread mistake that I still keep seeing. Make sure that your resume includes all company names, length of the service and position titles. If you moved internally in the same company or got promoted, make sure that your CV reflects that too.

5. Quantify your achievements.

Instead of listing your main responsibilities, show your direct impact during the time with the tie company. It’s important to include in your CV your responsibilities, but when you do that, tell the story showing your direct impact on the business within your role and relevant to the role that you’re applying for.

Related topics:

5 tips on how to plan financial flexibility for a career change 

Job interviews can be a stressful experience for anyone who is looking for a new job. There are plenty of different types of interviews, but I’m sure that you’ve heard about behavioural interviews in the past. If you are looking for a job now or preparing for this type of interview, it should be your priority no 1 to understand it. Well build CV can tell the recruiter if the candidate has the skill required for the role. However, an interview is a critical step to evaluate this skill. Don’t panic! We have some practical tips on how you can be more tactical and master your skills here.

What is a behavioural interview?

A behavioural interview, known as competency-based, is an interview where the candidate is asked to give an example from their previous experience to predict their future performance. The best way to answer them is to use STAR methodology to help people structure their answers for behavioural questions in a specific and easy to understand compile way.

Let’s break down the STAR framework.

STAR stands for:

STAR Framework is invisible but gives you structure and strategy to come up with impressive answers. It’s practical in application, helping to articulate your experience and tell a meaningful story. It’s challenging to know what type of questions exactly the interviewer will ask you. Questions are designed based on the competencies that are required for the role and usually  start with:

“Can you tell me about the time, when…?”

“Describe the situation when …”

Based on the Job Description, you can predict some of them. Having that in mind, it’s important to have a few examples, you can adapt to a different situation. Mastering how to use the technique will help you organize your thoughts and ideas and build your confidence during the interview.

Nail the STAR framework

1. Be tactical! Learn how to read the job description and aim to find the required competencies for the role. Look for the keywords that will lead you to those competencies.
2. Think about the examples of your success and practice telling the story using the methodology. Great to have a few examples you can adapt to a different situation.
3. Have a mature reflection on your failures. How would you speak about them using the STAR framework?
4. Quantify your success, use numbers and data to show your direct impact on the result.
5. Be specific and concise- 1-2 sentences to each part is enough!
6. Do not memorise the answers; learn how to answer questions using the technique!
7. Practice, practice, practice!

Have you applied for a sales role, and the recruiter has reached out to you inviting you for the first stage interview? You haven’t been interviewing for a while, and you don’t know what type of questions you can expect? Feeling nervous?

Of course, the more you prepare- the less nervous you will feel on that day. I’ve been interviewing for sales roles for almost 2 years, and here are 5 tips that can help you prepare for the first round of the interview process:

1. Read about the company.

Always prepare for the interview, research the company, and understand its culture and mission. A quick look over the company website isn’t enough. Know the product and service that they offer- you don’t have to be an expert but can have a good discussion around it.

2. Understand the role.

Remember to read the job description carefully and be able to discuss it. If you are interested in more than one role- that’s perfectly fine! But be familiar with both of them! Map your skills against each of the job descriptions. Think about why you want this role and why you think you are a good fit.

3. Be able to sell your previous experience.

Usually, you have only 30 minutes to make your first impression and make sure that you sell yourself as a strong candidate for the role.  You need to have a story to tell about yourself. We want to know what was your sales cycle in the past. Have you been in a farmer or hunter role? Did you focus on net new business or existing accounts? How big were your customers?

4. Speak about your targets and previous deals.

The best way to show your success in sales is through your previous metrics. Be ready to walk the recruiter through your previous KPIs and the most successful deals you’ve closed. Any deals that you are proud of?

5. Ask questions.

I love questions, and I ALWAYS leave some time in the end for a candidate to ask them! Please have a good set of them ready.

If you haven’t been interviewing for a long time, remember, practice makes perfect! Here is a list of the most common sales job interview questions and how to answer them.  You can ask someone to help you practice answering them!