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MBA 2014
- 1. Paul McClatchie May 23rd 2014 MBAs- finding a job in 2014
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- 3. Agenda INTRODUCTION YOUR CV WHERE AREALL THE JOBS SPECIFIC ADVICE FOR MBAs
- 4. Recruitment is apeople business • Here is €20 you can keep it under one condition, you have to share some of it with a friend, it is up to you how much and your friend has no say in it. • If your friend rejects your offer you both get nothing, if he accepts you both keep your share. • How much will you offer your friend?
- 5. Our approach totransition Your CV
- 6. CV – initialthoughts “I did not have time to write you a short letter so I wrote you a long one” Most cvs are a First Draft If a recruiter does not understand your cv or does not like the layout – its your fault 89%
- 7. CV Format CONTACT DETAILS PROFILE CAREER& ACHIEVEMENTS EDUCATION & TRAINING OTHER SKILLS & INTEREST CAREER OBJECTIVE REFERENCESX
- 8. Visual SIZE MATTERS < 900WORDS FONT WHITE SPACE/ MARGINS
- 9. Content Biographical Key Words Complexity What doesan employer want to see Begin with the end in mind Can someone out side your industry understand your cv
- 10. Evidence & Credibility ●Organised budgets and targets for the group ● Recruited and interviewed staff ● Motivated and built morale ● Responsive to customer queries and issues
- 11. Evidence & Credibility ●Organised budgets and targets for the group - never got one number correct ● Recruited and interviewed staff - the main reason people did not join ● Motivated and built morale - told awful jokes that no one liked ● Responsive to customer queries and issues - Sent all calls to voicemail What’s the difference between what you did and the guy who got fired?
- 12. Spelling & Language Wrongspelling vs wrong word Organized / Color Your vs You’re Led vs Lead Jargon
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- 15. There are only4 ways to find a job Direct applications to companies Advertisements – online / offline Recruitment Consultants / Headhunters Using Your Network
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- 17. Publications & UsefulWebsites TH E INTERNET
- 18. How do getthe most out of a Recruitment Agencies/ Executive Search firms
- 19. Recruitment Consultants –what can you do Identify the recruiters you believe can help you Provide a professional perception of yourself Listen to their advice Ask for feedback Be professional (again)
- 20. ”They just wantto put me into a box” An agency only makes money when they put the right candidate in front of a client If this is not you….why not? Recruitment Consultants
- 21. Amrop Merc Partners Dalriada P-E Searchand selection Deloitte PwC Heidrick & Struggles Executive Search
- 22. Think of youremail/ cover letter ….. Its not about you – its what you can do for them What problem can you solve? What need do they have that you can help them with? You are not your job title
- 23. Network – sotry where possible to avoid the cv
- 24. Online Network Have apicture Are you an “all Star” on Linkedin Have you reverse engineered your profile Ensure your headline is customised
- 27. Online Network Build aword cloud of your cv
- 28. Online hare some contentand join the debate Wordle.net
- 29. Online Network Share somecontent and join the debate Connect responsibly
- 30. Tips for MBAstudents Understand the other person in the interview process
- 31. Tips for MBAstudents What you hear: I have built a great network I am much more comfortable with financials now Its been really hard work but I have enjoyed it I want a job that is strategic ( or any mention of the word strategy)
- 32. Tips for MBAstudents Key interview question Why would I hire you over someone who is currently working? Answer •Give an example of a challenge, project you had prior to the MBA. Highlight what you would do different know with the experience that you have gained through the MBA
- 33. Actions Prepare a worldclass cv Understand how to interview well and prepare prepare prepare Connect responsibly with third party recruiters/ executive search Know your value to an organisation Follow up – show determination Start networking
- 34. Thank you andquestions Name: Paul McClatchie Twitter: @paulmcclatchie Email: paul.mcclatchie@cpl.ie Phone: 01 5005913
Editor's Notes
- #3 Turn off mobiles All slides will be provided online Please take actions not notes Fire exits
- #4 My slides are not detailed and everything will be available on our website – today is not about taking copious notes its about taking away actions so I would prefer you to only write down actions as there is 100s of books that can give you advice on this but it needs to be pertinent to you. Also – this could be a one day talk so you are not going to get everything you ever wanted but I will try to touch on everything Here is the agenda We will take a break at… There will be questions at the end and the opportunity to one-no-one with recruiters
- #5 People are not rati Ultimatum The ultimatum game is a game often played in economic experiments in which two players interact to decide how to divide a sum of money that is given to them. The first player proposes how to divide the sum between the two players, and the second player can either accept or reject this proposal. If the second player rejects, neither player receives anything. If the second player accepts, the money is split according to the proposal. WWTBAM PASSPORT story Given I don’t hear these stories very often I quickly realised the details HE was a money lender or a heavy The amount in question was 2k The guy in my end of the phone was not interested in excuses And as he lowered his voice even further so I could just make out the conversation he was clear what would happen if the money was not repaid – its hard not to be some what intrigued by this while also feeling sorry for whoever was on the other side of the phone! When my number came I had a Mr bean moment where I tried to get up and fell back again – who came to my help but yes you guessed it the guy on the phone and all I hear as he assists me is “isnt that lovely, chivalry&apos;s not dead yet” If only she knew! So we are not easy people to work out and that is our job and our skill onal
- #6 This is what the average recruiters cv piles look like - now realise that the person running through these cvs wants to discount as may as they can – so essentially they are de-selecting not selecting. While the room here may seem a bit unrealistic we are now living in the electronic age which means one person can apply for about 3000 applications in an 8 hour period – that’s why you may not get responses to everything you send through and we will come on to the right way to apply later. Now that the internet has made us truly global companies like Google get over 2 million unsolicited applications every year – even though they employ loess than 20,000 people
- #7 So who likes talking and writing about themselves – hands up (so no politicians are in I see) First things first if I find your cv annoying, hard to read, confusing, too long, too short, in a form I don’t like – this is all YOUR problem. Just like when you were in school teachers always praised good easy to read handwriting as it made their job easier. Think about it do you want someone to feel relaxed reading your cv or annoyed – so it makes sense to get it right! Secondly – most cvs are a first draft, we do not rewrite it Remember the phrase – “I did not have time to write you a short letter so I wrote you a long one” again like school rather than answering the question we wrote down everything we knew just so we could be the first to put our hand up and say “more paper” and scare the bejeesus out of everyone else 89% of cvs still coming into Cpl have errors either in formatting, typos, or grammar errors
- #8 So while lots of people will argue – here is my view based on seeing 1000s of cvs and talking to employers CONTACT DETAILS PROFILE CAREER & ACHIEVEMENTS EDUCATION & TRAINING OTHER SKILLS & INTEREST…in that order Career Objective can be a negative as it may take 6 months to get a job yet your original objective may have changed References: the person reading may not like one of your references or call them without your permission – no need to put on at the cv stage – it rarely can help
- #9 No photo – it adds to the file size, it nothing to do with your looks, I have had this photo on a cv Less than 800 words if you have less than 5 years experience, less than 1000 words if you are a senior manager Font – make it easy to read and not 9 font Use the nomal margins Formatting – lack of use of page breaks or keeping lines together, tables that corrupt Margins and cramming text – use the less than 1000 words rule – they notice that the page looks really long and wordy and they dont like it. Actions: have colleagues print off on their printer, ask recruiters to forward you any cv that was sent to the client, get feedback from many sources.
- #10 Again its not about you its about them, it does not mater how wonderful you were 15 years ago most employers when they look at a cv start with one think your current or last job, so have that on the first page – remember you have 30 seconds! While there are different types of cv ie functional (where you highlight all your skills on the first page) and then highlight the jobs that you were in, the problem is that most employers want to see a biographical cv – so give it to them – in reverse chronological order, ie last job first. Once you get past this millennium the interest level drains especially if you have stayed within the same profession – so if you were once a HR Administrator and are now a HR manager the chances are that the roles in your proviso job can be taken as read and don’t need elaboration The next point is key and again this is to understand the rules. Many cvs if they go to a company or a recruiter get put into a database and when they are looking for the right fit they search on key words. So why is this important. Well firstly people often don’t have them in their cv. I met a human resource professional who did not have it in her cv she just had HR - no one searches on HR as it brings up words like mushroom. So be careful of jargon and acronyms. Secondly if you have worked for CRH or Vodafone you may want to mention they are in the building or telecoms industries as what is being searched on is skill words, job titles and sectors – are they in your cv? So a job from 10 years ago possibly the most important thing to have is the sector. Action – focus on current roles the most, reverse engineer your cv to the job you want, check you don’t have acronyms instead of the full word at least once.
- #11 If you take one thing away from the cv it is to focus on achievements. Here is a story for you. I has two people working for me one who was an excellent salesman, one who was an incredibly poor performer, came in late, was very negative, did not perform well etc Here is 6 bullet points that they could both put down – the problem is that this says they are the same. Without evidence and achievements and some measurability you are giving an employer no way to differentiate in your favour
- #12 Even the small things matter- what does an employer want - a resilient, flexible hard worker – if you are never sick mention it! I know someone who has not had a sick day in over 10 years – that’s a positive Marketing I was told once was simply a reason for consumers to discriminate in your favour. If you just list your job spec no ones knows how good you are. If you think you can right down achievements without even thinking – you wont, its HARD What’s the difference between what you did and the guy who got fired?
- #13 But Peter you say, such pedantry, do you really think this level of detail matters Let me tell you what got through as a good cv a few years ago was different as it was a candidate market, you do not know that he person looking at your cv is not detail oriented and is looking for reasons to put your cv on the long pile of “no’s” Action – have a former English teacher look over it not only would they enjoy writing in red pen all over it they would enjoy the tutting they could do in your presence!
- #14 Final Actions: Get as many views, my view on how a cv is written comes from years at looking at them and while you may get some different views these are broadly the views you will here from professionals so take them on board. Also half of the room will still have poor cvs in a months time as its human nature, its procrastination – so don’t be one of them Remember every point in your cv should get the SO WHAT factor – why is it in there and does it say anything about me
- #16 There are only 4 ways to find a job Direct applications to companies Advertisements – online / offline Recruitment Consultants / Headhunters Using Your Network ..so lets look at all of these….
- #17 Here is a list of clients that have all been recruiting in last 6 months – many new enterprises So if you hear that 70% of companies are not hiring that means 30% are When it comes to applying to a job before you do this you should firstly identify if this is the best route to go down. It may be the only route however you are often in a position to get more information through a friend who works in the company before you apply ie using your network and going in the back door not with everyone else. Never apply to a company if you do not have a person to apply to Think of how you react to a “Dear Sir/madam” emailsecondly – if you do not apply to a person how can you follow up with a person Thirdly – if you have applied directly and then a recruiter tells you a bout a position in that company they cannot represent you even if you want them to as the company already has your details – so think before you send
- #18 Offline: If anyone has looked at the national press you will see very few ads – does this mean companies are not recruiting – No it does not, it does mean they have a smaller marketing budget. Answering a job ad directly should only be done if you feel you are a good match for the job – this may seem obvious but its not always the case Online Here is a list of places to look which may all be familiar but some may not: NCI, IDA, company websites – all places you may not look Be a better researcher – the more you look the luckier you will get, you may find roles not called HR that are HR - they may say operations Try different ways of searching as just looking for an exact job match will not always work. The first search should be long and exhaustive where you are looking for all the types of roles that you could so. For instance “operations manager” can mean so many different types of roles. Check company websites specifically companies you want to work for. Action: Know you are doing everything, ie there is not a job out there that you are suitable for that you have not applied for and choose the right application method each time. Finally try to get feedback on every application and if you have not after a few weeks consider the job is gone.
- #19 Here is how to approach dealing with a recruitment agency
- #20 Treat these just like a formal interview when you meet them, if you are late, too casual, arrogant etc they will be less inclined to put you forward to companies. Their goal is to match candidates with clients but again with the birth of the electronic age they can get 100 of cvs a ay often from China which they need to open to understand their lack of relevance hence you are not their only concern. Also in the current marketplace they may be losing their jobs so you may find jobs that when you go to apply are no longer valid – expect this. There are reasons for this but rather than complain about it just accept it. WHAT YOU SHOULD DO You should : Identify the recruiters you feel can help you and meet with them Provide a professional perception of yourself, a good cv and clear ideas of what you want Listen to their advice on salary guides and the market place Ask for feedback on your interview style and your cv And I reiterate BE PROFESSIONAL – so many people are not and it will hurt their cause This is only one route so there is no point calling them for daily updates or you will quite quickly find them not returning your calls – is it right no, is it what will happen – yes If more than one recruiter has a job that you are interested in you are best to go with the recruiter who is closest to the client. Find this out through asking questions regarding the job – have you been out to see the HR, what is the benefits package, who des it report to etc.
- #21 This slide highlights the challenges candidates have with recruitment agencies and not all of these are unfounded
- #22 Don’t call us we will call you
- #23 Remember recruiters only make money by putting the right person into the right job!!! This is critical to understand as if you do not get the job it is because: You are not right for the role 2. you did not sell yourself appropriately or come across well enough or have a good enough cv that the recruiter was able to see you were right for the role There is no conspiracy among recruiters – they want to put the best people forward as this is how they make money so remember that Also – if you do not have feedback from the recruiter it is because they have not had feedback from the client – often the client does not give feedback, we do not like this as a recruitment agency but there is not a lot we can do
- #29 wordle
- #31 They may not have even done a degree
- #34 Summary