They are scarce, the people who descend confidently to a job interview. Understandable, because you want to show your best side. Especially if you want to land that job ab-so-lutely. But net that thought keeps you from Of showing you as you are.
Holding the purse strings yourself - that's the secret. How?
1. Create your own filter
One minute, you're typing 'job vacancy' into Google's search bar. The other moment, your inbox is bulging with offers, your socials transform into one elongated carousel of job offers. Or your phone is ringing red hot. Like stepping onto a rollercoaster you didn't know was going overhead. Take a breath and undergo.
It can be done differently. Getting carried away by every proposal is madness. Rather, keep a firm grip on the wheel and decide which proposals, companies or offices you are happy to accept.
Our advice:
- Screen different aspects of the companies or parties you want to make a deal with.
- An online image is one thing, how it came about is two: we all know the catfishes, phishers or tinder swindlers of this world. Stay critical.
- Tap into your network. You always know someone through-via who has contacts in a particular company or with a particular firm. That's where you hear the trivia. But again: stay critical.
- How futureproof a company is? Look for how a company stacks up in the market in terms of innovation and innovations.
What helps? That is an independent look at who you are and who the companies are. A careermate Who helps you filter, organise and structure. And who looks for the real fit. Thus, at CTRL-F, we have known the companies for longer and have a razor-sharp sense of where you belong.
2. Mirror, mirror on the wall: cleverly put yourself in the spotlight
If anything is important during your application process, it is the image you create about yourself. Both in your CV, your cover letter and at your interview. OK, it is time for companies to look beyond your education and successive work experiences neatly listed on an A4 sheet. But then you have to show yourself from a different side. Don't you?
How then?
- As you prepare, go beyond a look back at what was. Focus on your ambitions and the competences you want to develop further.
- Consider the training which you want to pursue in the future.
- Who you are and how you do your jobjust those aspects are becoming more and more important for companies. Show how you do things, what your values are and what keeps you awake.
What helps? That is someone who brings your identity to life. A identitybuilder that helps you tell your story. This is how we at CTRL-F create a soft skills report on which you can demonstrate during the interview that you are someone with a unique life journey, personality and assets. Nice touch: we will create a application video in which you literally put yourself in the spotlight.
3. Get organised like no Marie Kondo ever did
It can already be disappointing. Your smartphone crashes just before departure, causing Waze to fail. Or you just drive into a traffic jam unexpectedly. Also possible: you got lost in the formatting of your avatar and lost all sense of time and space. Too late! Shit happens. But much less frequent when you have your act together.
Preparation is key and is mostly in the little things:
- Check well in advance how far the drive is, where the parking is located and how you feel about your register.
- Do you have a videocall? Then provide a well-kept setting and above all: remove that clothes rack behind you 😉.
- Demonstrate that you get your act together have. Make a mind map in advance of what you definitely want to talk about: when can you start, what conversations do you have pending. Which festivals or trips can you definitely not miss?
What helps? An application assistant: someone who creates order out of chaos. This is how CTRL-F manages your application calendar, helps you prepare for interviews and goes after concrete feedback from your potential employer very quickly.
4. Avoid one-way conversations: be the grillmaster
Nothing more stressful than the prospect of an interrogation coming your way. Conscientiously nodding yes and no. Doubting the answer you can best score with. Being paralysed because you slip up. Indeed, the perfect cocktail for an interview that stays on your stomach. No need for it.
A successful job interview is a balanced conversation in which both parties get to know each other. Kind of dating actually. In which you both probe whether you like and complement each other. So dare to put your interviewer on the grid as well.
How to make the conversation interactive? Dare to ask questions.
- Check to what extent and how employees can growing in the business. How do they see training and development?
- How does the company stand on flexible working hours? And work from home?
- How important is open communication? What does the feedback culture look like?
- How does the company handle diversity and inclusion?
- How does the team out?
What helps. Someone who maps your values and can assess the corporate culture at different companies. That's how we at CTRL-F help you identify the right questions to ask.
5. Focus on the good
The fact that you change jobs has a story, of course. Maybe you had a hard time digesting your colleague's dinner sounds or your boss excelled at being absent. Maybe the work wasn't distributed fairly. But guess what? It doesn't matter.
Your new employer does not care about your company's dirty laundry, because - spoiler alert - there is a pile of dirty laundry to be found in every company. Nobody is perfect, right?
It is important to name what you hope to find in a new job. Talk only about yourself, about your ambitions, values and vision. Being humble in front of your current employer shows your integrity. And that? Now that's something your interlocutors appreciate écht.
Some guidelines:
- Get ready to the question: 'why do you want to leave your current employer?'
- Indicate that you function better in an environment such as the company you are applying for (name the cases specifically).
- Put the focus on what you have learned in your previous work experiences.
What helps? Someone who puts things into perspective for you and helps you translate into a positive story. This is how we at CTRL-F engage with every career story personal get started and help you shape your application story.
Move over buckling knees
Dropping off to a job interview with clammy hands? That is a thing of the past from now on. Being well prepared and having an open, curious mind is all you need. And do you like to count on a running mate? CTRL-F got you covered.