Photo by Cytonn Photography on Unsplash
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been involved in a number of interviews for students applying for placements in professional sport. The students have some guidance around applying for jobs and interview conduct and the majority interviewed excellently.
Despite this, there were still a handful of issues, which occurred with some frequency. Today I’ll provide a few tips on applying for jobs initially and then how to conduct yourself should you be invited for an interview.
Align yourself to the role – You’re given a job description, so use it! You should go down the job description and provide an example of something you’ve done that ticks every one of those items. Then write your CV and cover letter accordingly. Some things will be a more obvious match, but you want to make it as easy as possible for them to see how you’re the right person for the job.
Learn about the company – This is an easy one. You don’t need to know the ins and outs in huge detail but if you get an interview sprinkling in a few acknowledgements of who they are shows you’re prepared, and you’ve gone a little beyond simply thinking how to answer questions.
Prepare for the favourites – Some questions are almost a certainty to come up. Why do you want the role? What makes you the right person for the job? Tell us a little about yourself? You don’t want an obviously scripted answer here, but you can prepare well enough to deliver the headlines in a clear, succinct way. Again, not only does it show them that you’re a good candidate, but it shows you care enough to have thought about it and prepared.
Bonus Tip – Use available help – Most universities will have a careers centre. Give yourself enough time to seek their support. Can they look over your CV. Maybe even run through some interview questions with you. Take advantage of all that you can.
With these simple steps in place, you’ll give yourself the best chance of selling yourself to the best of your abilities. There’s absolutely no shame in a more suitable candidate getting a role over you, but not singing your own praises as well as you can is not what you want!
T.Brownlee@bham.ac.uk