CV & Application

Beeing interviewed is the last and hardest part of applying for a job. You are now been judged – not only on your skills but also on your personality and behavior. Companies and businesses are always looking for the right candidate for the position and a perfect fit that meets the firm values and culture. Most of the recruitment tactics are taught when pursuing high degree studies, like a Master degree in management, it gives a better understanding of what you, as a future manager/director, should expect. Learn more about the different online courses available for a MBA degree, by trying this site.

However, if you don’t have the time to take a class, here are some recurrent questions asked during interviews. When looking for a job, maybe even desperately, there are few things you can prepare for every interview because one of these questions will be asked for sure. It is not only the preparation for the job offer, the new company and so on, you want to be ready for some personal questions which will come up and you will have to answer them right away. You don’t want to spend too much time thinking about the answer, knowing that under stress it might take you longer than usual and create a discomfort – don’t let that discomfort overcome your confidence. So here are 10 standard questions popping up in nearly any interview.

  1. Can you list your 5 core competencies?
  2. Can you list 3 – 5 positive characteristics about yourself?
  3. Can you list 3 – 5 negative characteristics about yourself? (Very Important: Be honest with yourself)
  4. Can you tell why especially you should get the job and nobody else?
  5. Can you explain which additional value you can bring to the company?
  6. Can you list your 3 biggest successes in your career?
  7. Can you list 3 failures during your career? (same as point 3, be honest)
  8. Can you describe why this particular position is perfect for you?
  9. Can you explain why you want to join a new company
  10. Can you have a 30 to 60 seconds, inspiring, convincing speech about yourself?
With answering these 10 questions yourself before an interview you will cover probably 90% of all personal questions that the interviewer will ask you during the job interview. By having the answer in your mind already the power is in your hand how to answer the question, quick and dirty or pretending to think a bit about it. Its up to you how you handle the situation, the important thing is that you are prepared and successful in your interview.
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All of us know that HR managers have less and less time to check CVs (Curriculum Vitae) and that’s why it makes sense to really invest time and effort into your CV, in fact 32% of all applications are turned down within less than 60 seconds and 13% of the HR managers even decide within the first 30 seconds after viewing the application if the applicant will or will not get the job. HR careers and jobs in management are in the rise, and that’s why your application needs to stand out, without breaking any guidelines and by following the basics. Soon there will be some blog posts about how to stand out from the rest and how education plays an important role. Here are some basics to go by, which should fulfill your application, simply by taking the negatives and transforming them into positives. Why do HR managers turn down applications so fast? What are the top reasons for that? Educating yourself and taking a Human Resource Management course can help answer that question. Remember HR managers must obtain great management and leadership skills in order to be successful.

Why do HR managers turn down applications so fast, what are the top reasons for that?

  1. (43%) Requirements and competences are copied from the job opening into the application
  2. (42%) The CV is too long and has too big, hard to read text blocks
  3. (25%) The CV is 3 pages or longer
  4. (23%) Only a CV was attached to the application, no motivation letter
  5. (16%) The CV just did not match the job opening
  6. (11%) The email address in the CV seemed very unprofessional

Of course there are other clssics that lead to be turned down such as too many typing mistakes within the application or obvious fake facts which can be simply identified by overlapping timings.

So what you can take out of these 6 top reasons why a CV gets turned down and you might not get the job. It is as simple as turning the negative facts into positive and simply do it right. Let me have my suggestions.

  1. Mark the important requirements and competencies and give the answer in your CV and / or motivation letter but do not copy them 1 by1 rather show by your experience and knowledge that you have these requirements. HR managers will see that.
  2. KISS – Keep It Short & Simple. Of course not too short but for example list your experience and give examples on the last 2 what exatly you did there. This even leaves you space to talk about your space in the interview about something that the interviewer does not know yet.
  3. Similar to point 2, even if there have been many steps in your carreer and you have done a lot try to point out the highlights, what you are most proud of and what is the most reputable for you.
  4. Of course a motivation letter belongs to every application only if it is stated differently in the job offer. Even than do not send a blank email with “Attached is my CV” to the HR manager. Use the space and every possibility to present yourself because an application is nothing else but putting yourself in the right light.
  5. Of course your CV should match in general the job description, though it does not have to be 100% but you should have some experience in the field you are applying for.
  6. This point means not that you are not allowed to have a free email address such as gmail.com, hotmail.com or in Hungary freemail.hu but register your name as an emailaddress, e.g. apply with firstname.lastname {at} youremailprovider {dot} com/net/org/hu. An email from cuteflower1981 {at} emailprovider {dot} com/net/org/hu will land in the trash within seconds.

I hope these 6 steps help you to improve your CV and application a bit. This is just the first resource about how to apply best I also try to get some voices from HR persons about that in order to give you more resources and tricks what makes your application crispy and successful.