Many job applicants view the job
application process as a separate step from the job interview process.
In my opinion, that's a big mistake.
So let me convince you why in this video.
Hi there, I'm Dr Anthony Llewellyn.
Yes, I'm a real doctor who also happens to have close to 30 years of H.R.
and management experience, whether you're watching on YouTube,
Facebook or LinkedIn, I'm here to help you manage your career.
A question for you, which you should feel
free to leave a reply or comment about below.
Do you review your job application after you have put it in?
Or do you just kind of forget about it and wait to hear about an interview?
Have you found yourself a bit mystified about the interview process and at a bit
of a loss to what sort of questions the panel might ask you?
Please be honest. It's okay.
It's not as if we all went into,
in my case, medical school to learn how to apply for jobs.
Going for jobs is just kind of a necessary
extra thing that we all need to do in our careers.
But rarely, unless you're actually inside
H.R., is it a core part of your knowledge and skill set?
About half of my coaching clients come
to me when they have already been called for an interview.
And whilst there is still a lot we can do in that time between an interview call
and the actual interview to improve performance, it would obviously be ideal
to have a bit more leading time to prepare.
The other half of my clients tend to contact me much earlier in the process,
and if I'm being honest, I do tend to like working with these sorts
of clients a lot, partly because I get to see them a bit moretime-efficient
and know them a bit more, but also because we're normally going
through the entire job application process together.
And you should see it as a process as
well, not just as a series of steps in this video.
I want to help you connect the dots, so to speak.
And in so doing, you'll also see how this
makes it a much smarter and more time efficient process.
You see it all start with a thorough review of the job description.
You should always spend some time
reviewing the job description, in particular, the selection criteria
and any well thought out (i.e. good job) will have a clearly set out selection criteria.
And here's a pro tip and a bit
of a challenge to any hiring managers who might be watching my videos.
If you can't easily identify the selection criteria or you find them confusing or
overwhelming, by which I mean, there seems to be an endless list
of criteria, then this is possibly a bad sign about the actual job.
Think about it. Why would you want to work for someone
who doesn't take the time to clearly work out what they want in an employee?
What I recommend that you do do with any job that you're applying for is this. three-column. One.
Find the selection criteria to put them in the first column of a three column table.
Next, write out exactly how you meet
and or exceed each of these criteria, preferably using achievement focus
statements, be specific and use quantifiable measures wherever possible.
Put this in your second column, following in the last column,
jot down the best examples you can think of in your work that demonstrates that you
meet or exceed these criteria if you have more than one.
Even better now you want to review your
resume and make a new copy for this particular job.
Make sure that this includes evidence that backs up all the things you've put
down in the second column and if possible, also list or hinted some of the examples
that you've come up with and try to use some of the exact language
of the selection criteria in your resume, then you will apply for the job.
And in most cases, this involves uploading
your résumé to an applicant tracking system or a recruitment system where you
also have to make some statements about how you meet each of the criteria.
So you already have this information, your second column.
Now, you might think you are finished
with your three column table now that you've put your application in.
But no, here's the beauty of my system.
Now, you can start preparing for the job
interview by practicing telling each of your examples.
You actually now know what sort
of questions or things you'll be asked for or about in the interview as you've
taken the time to consider the selection criteria.
And it's the selection criteria which will
form the basis of the questions you get asked.
You will be particularly prepared for past behavior questions.
These are the ones where they ask you
to provide an example of something that demonstrates one of the criteria.
But you also have plenty of examples
to offer, even if it is a hypothetical question.
And that's it. That's how to effectively prepare
and train the job application as a process rather than a series of steps.
You do this by making the selection
criteria the core part of your approach all the way through heavy job hunting.
And I'll see you in the next video.