Job-hunter's Top 3 Mistakes made during recruitment
Episode 176 - The 3 critical mistakes job seekers make during a recruitment process: Feedback from recruiters
This is a rebroadcast of Episode 94
The 3 critical mistakes job hunters make during the recruitment and selection process
In this week's episode, I'm focusing on the 3 biggest mistakes job seekers make during the recruitment process. If you are a long-time listener of this podcast, these mistakes may not come as a surprise to you, but they may be worth listening to anyway.
If you're anything like me, sometimes it's good to listen to advice on repeat to let it sink in!
Resources Mentioned in this Episode
Episodes with recruiters:
Other resources from RenataBernarde.com :
About the Host, Renata Bernarde
Hello, I’m Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I’m also an executive coach, job hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach professionals (corporate, non-profit, and public) the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress.
If you are an ambitious professional who is keen to develop a robust career plan, if you are looking to find your next job or promotion, or if you want to keep a finger on the pulse of the job market so that when you are ready, and an opportunity arises, you can hit the ground running, then this podcast is for you.
In addition to The Job Hunting Podcast, on my website, I have developed a range of courses and services for professionals in career or job transition. And, of course, I also coach private clients
Timestamps to guide your listening
03:08 - About Job Hunting Made Simple
06:34 - Mistake #1
09:29 - Mistake #2
12:45 - Mistake #3
16:47 - Bonus
Transcript of this episode
Renata: Hello, everybody. I hope everyone is doing well. And I'll have a question for you. Do you think the sound of this podcast is good enough for you? Can you please let me know, send me a message reply to one of my emails, if you're subscribed to my newsletter, I am asking because I know that there's a lot of people that have just now started doing podcasts from home and they make such a huge kerfuffle fall out of it and get mattresses around them and put pillows everywhere. And I have never done that. And I'm sort of thinking to myself, should I do this? Because as you know, the job hunting podcast is recorded from my home office, giving you expert advice behind the scenes secrets, a lot of interviews with experts, tips, anecdotes, to ensure that your job hunting experiences as simple as possible leading you to a rewarding career.
Renata: But I would love to know what you think of the quality of the sound. I'm happy to improve it, put some mattresses around me, or I don't know, find a way to make it better. I'm just really obsessed with this right now. So I would really appreciate your help. Today I'm here recording an episode, which if you're a big, long time listener of this podcast, these ideas won't be new to you, but how I package it is probably a good way of positioning it. I'm going to talk to you about the three critical, most crucial, most talked about mistakes. That job seekers make doing a recruitment process. And this is feedback that comes to me straight from recruiters. And I can validate that by the fact that a lot of people that work with me through consultations really come with these ideas. And of course, if you're doing private coaching with me, we would have self-corrected this along the way.
Renata: But before I move on to tell you what these three things are. In fact there are four, well, they're just, there are way more than four, but I'm giving you the top three and I'm adding a bonus there as well, because I just, in the end, I couldn't make, um, a list of only three. Sorry. I I'm very, um, excited to share you some of these ideas, but before I move on, I need to let you know that the job hunting made simple programme is back on enrollments are now open. They're only open for a very short period of time. I was going to close it on Friday, this the 13th, but I decided to postpone it to Monday the 16th, mainly because I really don't plan to work over the weekend, quite frankly. So if it allows some people to have a better think and reflect and lock it in on Monday, it's fine by me.
Renata: I'd read a you take your time and lock it in, but please don't come later telling me you want to enrol after the deadline, because it's really complicated for me to add people once the program is in place. So have a listen to this podcast, think about the job hunting made simple program. I will tell you very quickly about it because some of you may not know it it's my online course and group coaching program for executives that are very serious about finding a job. That's what it is. It's called. Job hunting made simple. So make no mistake. What we're trying to do here is to help you find a job in a more straightforward way, easier, simpler without the guesswork that you would have to do on your own. Having a lot of feedback from me and other experts that step in to support us at least three, if not four people that will come in to help you along the way, um, and helped me deliver this programme.
Renata: This is my IP, my coaching framework in a step-by-step way delivered over seven weeks to you. You can listen to it at any point in time from now onwards, once you're registered and the program starts, it starts on the 23rd of August. You can listen to, um, my coaching live as I'm recording them, or you can listen at your own time. In addition to the recording of the sessions, there is a lot of resources and workbooks and things inside the platform for you to access, not just during the seven weeks, but whenever you need that in the future. Okay? So this is very important for me to let you know, because I only opened the online coaching program twice a year. I did it in February, March, and now I'm doing it August, September, beginning of October. And that's it. Um, I of course design it so that let's say you're not looking for a job right now, but you're very keen to work on it at the end of the year.
Renata: Then you should join right now because I'm not gonna run it again before March next year. Right? So it is a very good step-by-step way of doing this. And I, you know, would really, really love if you could at least have a look at the, um, website and see if this programme is the right one for you. There's a list there of, you know, who is this programme for. And, um, if you can identify as somebody that would benefit from it, then you know, I encourage you to register and do the programme with me. I'd love to have you. I'd love, love, love, love to have as many people as possible and help you get your next job.
Renata: Okay. Let's talk about the three critical mistakes job seekers make during a recruitment process. And this is, as I said, feedback from recruiters, some of which you may have listened to in previous podcasts, I've interviewed lots of recruiters and, and other experts along the way over this, almost two years now doing this, and I've identified that these are the top three, the number one mistake that I really need you to understand and turn around is this. You are not a generalist, very rarely recruiters and myself find job seekers that are true generalists. You may have become a generalist over time as you've progressed and advanced in your career, but you have a DNA. What we call a DNA or a vertical, or, um, the sort of key profile of where you came from. You may have come up the corporate ladder, uh, originally as an accountant or a finance expert, or as an HR expert or marketing expert. Um, that is your DNA. You need to address that when you talk to recruiters and there are ways of, um, bringing that, um, bringing that up in a way that shows your executive leadership. If that's where you are in your career, as much as your, your vertical or your DNA, where you came from, if you present yourself too much as a generalist, that's the baseline.
Renata: That's the minimal that you need to provide in order to make an impact in the job market. There's a sea of candidates out there. You need to be memorable and find your pitch. That's why in the job hunting made simple programme. The first two weeks is really about honing in who you are, what you bring to the table. What's the biggest strains and how to position that in the industry sector country that you're moving into. So we really fine tune that pitch until it's flowing out of your mouth and you're completely comfortable with it. It needs to be authentically yours, and it doesn't need to be like anybody else's. This is the most important thing to understand. If you want to stand out and impress, um, a recruiter or a hiring manager, don't be afraid to, um, to set yourself up in a, at a different light, in a different light.
Renata: And I find, and I've addressed this in recent episodes that everybody's copy pasting and becoming more and more vanilla. And it's hard to identify true talent true diversity of, uh, backgrounds, skills and experience to add value to the organization that wants to hire you. So that's number one.
Renata: Number two, applying for jobs or wanting to meet with recruiters before or thinking things through this is happening a lot during the pandemic. And it was always happening in the past as well. But right now we have found that people are made redundant are laid off and the packages are not as substantial as they used to be. And this impacts the job seeker because they want to find a job faster. Also, because now there's really not much to do. If you lose your job before 2020, you would lose your job and you would think, okay, let me take a break and have a holiday and go somewhere.
Renata: Now, you know, many people are in lockdown mode and there's not really a lot that you can do. It's not as enjoyable traveling anymore. At least not for now. We need to wait until people get vaccinated and, um, borders ease, and you can travel with more certainty about what's going to happen, right? So I think for that reason, people are moving from job to job very quickly. And without thinking things through, you're not again, making a good impact on your, um, in your conversation. When you talk to recruiters and employers, sometimes when we lose a job, we grieve. I have, you probably have experienced that before, uh, uh, before as well, our bodies and our minds don't really differentiate grieving. It's all grieving, you know, and when you lose a job, you feel rejected. You feel undervalued, you don't feel like yourself, you lose your status quo.
Renata: Our personas are very much attached to the jobs we have. If that's gone, it takes, it takes a while for us to find ourselves again. And sometimes we need a little bit of help. So I would recommend that you take some time off, um, relaxed, sleep in, try to find your centre again, and then talk to people. You can talk to me. You can talk to mentors and former colleagues really identify, um, where you want to go before approaching a recruiter. And when you talk to a recruiter, you need to present yourself with confidence in the best of light, with good energy, so that you make the impactful, uh, presentation to them. And it can take a while until you feel ready with the right energy and the right enthusiasm and knowing where you want to go. The recruiter is not supposed to find that piece of the puzzle for you. Their clients are not you. Their clients are the employers and they have assignments that they need to fulfill. They're incredibly busy. There are hundreds and hundreds of people that are wanting to talk to them. So if you have a little bit of their time, you need to make it. You make good. You need to make sure that you don't waste their time and that you don't waste your time as well.
Renata: Number three, number three is an interesting mistake. It is one that a lot of people make, and that's why I wanted to add it to this list. It's the fact that when you are talking to recruiters, sometimes you are at a job interview, or even when you're doing your application, you don't make abundantly clear that you want the job. And the reason why I believe some candidates don't make it abundantly clear that they want the job is because they don't actually know if they really want the job or not. It has to do with number two, you know, walking into job search and job opportunities without thinking things through. But it also has to do with maybe too much stress and incite excitement, and a bit of fear and, you know, losing track of what the important things are that you need to say. When you walk into those important interviews and important conversations and making sure that they know that you really want the job is important.
Renata: The other reason why I think some candidates forget to say that is because they have maybe been in senior positions for a long, long time, and they are used to being schmoozed. I know I have been in the past, I've been incredibly spoiled. Um, having been in situations where I had a team and, you know, I, I was always giving praise, but also receiving praise. And I, you know, maybe you lose your humility during that time. I don't know. And then you walk into a job interview and you just feel like they would be, you know, honoured to have you, it would be a privilege for them to have you join them. But you forget that you are actually the one who needs the job. And the balance of that situation is that they have lots of candidates to choose from. And you may not have as many jobs to choose from.
Renata: So you need to eat the humble pie. If that feels like you, and let them know that you are very keen on this opportunity that you want to work for this organisation. So three reasons why, again, you may forget because you're stressed, you may forget because you're actually don't actually want that job. Or you don't really know why you applied for that job. And just this week, I had, um, a discussion with a client that found themselves in that situation. Well, actually not just one. I think a couple of clients have told me this week that they have that situation. They were telling me, why did I apply for this job? I don't even know why. Um, so it is common. And then you, you don't make that message clear and then you don't get the job when you don't know why. When in fact you didn't really want the job anyway.
Renata: And the third reason is because you have been in a situation of being very privileged, having a very good job for many, many years. And you just see yourself as you know, such a great candidate, they would be lucky to have you. And you forget that the balance of the structure of recruitment and selection is not really one that privileges you, it, it is, you know, the other way around. So you need to eat the humble pie. If that's the situation you find yourself in. And I have been in all three, so I can completely relate. And I remember how it feels. And I remember sometimes really wanting a job walking out of the interview and thinking, oh, geez, I forgot to tell them I actually want this job. Uh, I think I was in too much, you know, stress and my nerves, um, took the better of me.
Renata: I told you I had a fourth critical mistake that I think job seekers make during a recruitment process. And this one is a, is an interesting one because, um, well, I'll tell you what it is. And then I'll explain to you why. it's thinking that the recruiter that you're talking to can act as a coach or a mentor to you. And I say that this is a difficult one because I believe many recruiters and executive search partners, headhunters are awesome. People I have worked with. I know that you are listening to this podcast and potentially rolling your eyes. And I can understand the cynicism. There is a lot of recruiters that ghosts you, and don't get back to you. And so on. I don't think that this makes them bad people. I just think that they are completely overworked and it's, you know, the systems that they have in place it's makes it so hard for them to get back to everybody.
Renata: It's really, really a tough job to be a recruiter one day or a hundreds of candidates applying for each position. They are in the business of rejecting more than that. They are in the business of hiring, as you can probably, um, understand, uh, if you're being job searching for a long time. So I feel like they want to help. They just don't have the time. They really don't. And they, um, may not be the right, uh, mentor or coach for you. If you're trying to make a big change in your career, they may not see it in your resume. They may not be the right mentor coach for you. If they work with a specific salary range and you have overtime surpassed that salary range. So let's say you've worked for a long time with a recruiter and their expertise is working with salary ranges from 150 K to 190.
Renata: And you are now in a position where you're hoping to get, you know, 180 to 200, they may not have the job for you. And they will try to if they like you, which they probably do, they will try to slot you in at the salary range that they have. You know, their clientele is looking for executives up to 190. So they will try to get you at 170 180 and you won't progress to those more senior, um, pay checks and the senior positions. So be careful and, um, get off course. And we always, I always want my, all my clients to get feedback as much as possible and, um, and identify what is trending in the market, feed that back to me. And we then brainstorm everything we've learned from recruiters, from selection panels and hiring managers and whatnot. But, um, you need to take that with a grain of salt and also understand that they may not have any time for you.
Renata: So these are the mistakes. I hope that that makes you more aware and more understanding of what it is and what it means to look for a job in 2021. And that you then consider maybe going back to some of the previous episodes with other recruiters. I will put a list in the episode show notes so that you can find them more easily. And I feel like there, there are so many episodes that you could listen to. In fact, I know that there are some amazing listeners that binge on this podcast, and I am just so proud to see that they have bingeing and they're getting results. So that's great. And if you want to level up and, um, have even better results from working with me, please do consider, um, applying and enrolling for the group coaching programme. That's about to begin this month and remember that the registrations are closing on Monday the 16th of August at midday, Australian Eastern standard time.
Renata: I can't wait to complete this group. And I'm really my happy place when I am running the group. I'm the weeks before the program starts are very chaotic when people are calling me and sending emails and writing messages and asking questions. And of course it's, it's fun. You know, I get to talk to people from all over the world that are interested in being waiting to hear from me about the opening of the enrollment. So it's a lot of fun, but I'm in my happy place when I'm actually running the program. And I can't wait. I cannot wait. Uh, so I'm very excited about that. Look, I hope that you have a great week and there is another great episode coming next week. So I'll talk to you then. Bye for now