Speaking recently with Rita from Rita Noon Image Consulting about a candidate that was a nice kid but just wasn’t presented for interview (thongs, shorts, cigarette packet on the table), I thought that it would be great to grab her insights into personal presentation that may just help you score that next job or career move that you wanted. Rita has previously worked in the recruitment industry and has seen what we all have seen – sloppy presentation that turns you off and immaculate presentation that creates a great first impression. Rita kindly contributed the following piece for our blog:

Personal Presentation – First Impressions Count!
Just as you spend time honing and perfecting your resume and cover letter for the job or career that you want; you must spend time honing and perfecting your personal presentation to make that first impression count.

Your job application (resume and cover letter), being the perfect documents, will gain you an interview. Your personal presentation will set the tone for that interview.

If you present for the interview looking neat, professional and groomed as you should, you will immediately find yourself in “positive territory”. Should you choose to not make an effort – ie not checking your shoes (for run down heels, level of cleanliness, general maintenance) your shirt for fraying sleeves or loose buttons, your pants for loose buttons or faulty hems and your jacket for bulging pockets or signs of wear – you are telling your prospective employer that they are not worthy of your respect nor attention to detail. You are, in fact, displaying to them how you may present for work. Either in a neat, professional and polished manner or in a “that’ll do”/”she’ll be right” haphazard way.

In an interview situation, you have approximately 5 seconds (being very generous) to make a first impression. When you capitalise on that time, you can give yourself a very strong advantage over your competitors. Equally, if your waste that time you have given an advantage to your competitors. It is fundamentally important to make a good first impression as there are no second chances at the interview process!

Personal Presentation and Promotion in the Workplace.
Now that you have landed the dream role in the company, it is time to think seriously about promotion and how to make yourself stand out – in a positive way.

Everyone knows of or has worked with “that guy” or “that girl” who shows up everyday looking as though he or she slept in their clothes or has “something with sauce” for breakfast/lunch most days that drips onto their shirt. You do not want to be known as “that guy or girl”.

Maintaining a high standard of personal presentation is a guaranteed way to keep that positive first impression going. It is your opportunity to demonstrate that you take your role seriously, you are proud of your role and your employer, and you are consistently performing to a high level.

It is not about cost – some people that spend a lot of money on their clothes still actually don’t dress well for work, whereas others know how to spend cleverly and create a perfect work wardrobe without breaking the bank. Quality clothing is a career investment and can often be purchased at a very reasonable price during sales.

Your career and your day-to-day work is NOT a fashion parade (Miranda Kerr, being one of the exceptions). Your work wardrobe should be comfortable, on the conservative side and suited (no pun intended) to your employer’s brand and your workplace. Your clothes must be clean and in good repair, your personal hygiene must be exceptional and it must be so, every single day.
When it comes to promotion time or even at your annual reviews – you want to be the person who is consistently good at their job, has an excellent attendance record AND represents the company in a professional and positive manner.

Your personal presentation can be your advantage in your career. Make it a priority!

Thanks Rita
We would like to thank Rita for her contribution to this week’s blog. Visit her website at www.ritanoonimage.com to pick up some tips on how to dress appropriately for that next job or career move.

The hot debate with every recruit that we do always comes down to skills, experience and personality. Does our client like our candidate enough to accept that they may need some mentoring or guidance at first or do they need to absolutely hit the ground running? What would you prefer if you were to recruit right now – all the skills and an OK personality or enthusiasm and a slightly lesser skill base?

Your wish list
When you are creating a job and person specification before hitting the market with advertising, you are essentially creating a wish list. Some of those traits and skills an applicant will have, some they will need to learn in the role. You should write down everything that you want that person to have, then highlight the skills that they really need to perform effectively in the role – your essential list. Everything after that point is secondary and are skills that can be learned if the person has demonstrated the aptitude to do this. Focus on the essential list when screening applicants – this is the minimum standard for the role and then look at the secondary skills and experience to screen further. Time and time again it has proven to be the most successful process. The failure with screening too heavily in the first round, generally results in having candidates that are typically from your industry, have been working for your competitors (which isn’t always a good thing) and are people that you may know of and don’t want working for you. This is very true for tight industries and we have had those experiences to back this up.

Ambition versus enthusiasm
Once you have determined your short-list and start meeting with candidates don’t mistake ambition with enthusiasm. There is a massive difference. We have interviewed candidates previously that have seemed highly enthusiastic only to find that they were highly ambitious – to the point that the most likely scenario was that they only wanted to know that they had won the job (and didn’t take it). This can be a real time-waster from a recruitment perspective as you essentially have to start again. There is a real art to focusing on a person’s intention – why do they want it, what will it do for them, what do they want to do with the role, where will the role take them (is it a stepping stone to something else), why would they relocate (if they have to). This is where you can often pick up signs that there is an ulterior motive, or on the flipside, really find out that they are enthusiastic about the opportunity being presented to them.

The problems with enthusiasm
The one problem with an enthusiastic candidate can be the interview itself – have you ever really wanted a job, got to interview, should have “nailed it” and walked away kicking yourself, thinking that you did a terrible job at the interview – your enthusiasm may have got in the way. We like to interview away from a desk or formal setting as it relaxes the candidate and allows them open up to have a conversation rather than feeling like they are being drilled. It is still structured of course but engages better. If you have a panel interview setting, this is quite difficult to manage however, try to have this at the second interview stage and watch the results. One other problem with enthusiasm is that the candidate may have done a lot of homework before the interview to understand your business, researched the role thoroughly and could give you answers that sound right rather than giving you examples of what they have actually done that are related to the role. This could be really clouded in their enthusiasm and it is best to have structured questions that specifically identify whether a candidate has actually done the task or not.

Be calculated in your approach to recruitment, work out what you need now and what can be learned and then focus on getting the right team fit for your business. The wrong personality with a great skill base is not always the right answer.

When you have been called by an employer or recruiter in response to an application that you submitted, have you ever been asked the dreaded question: “What salary range are you seeking for this role? If the answer is yes, and you never heard from them again, there is some important information that you need to know.

Why we ask?
There are a number of reasons why we ask this question:
• We need to qualify you for the job specification from our client. They have set a range based on budgets available, what they believe the role is worth and the type of skill/experience required
• We need to see what the market is currently paying or expecting for this type of role so that we can compare this with what was specified originally and then advise our client on the expected range from applicants
• We need to know where you actually sit in your predetermined worth as a candidate – you have skills, experience and qualifications that have a value

How to be prepared?
Start doing some research. Even if you have already started sending out applications, spend some time looking at what the market is currently paying. Some salaries have slipped whilst some more in-demand roles have risen. Write it down and note what each role is asking for in qualifications, responsibilities, skills and expertise, then compare this with what you bring.

How do you find this information?
At least 60% of jobs advertised don’t have a salary or hourly rate listed. It is not a trick or the fact that an employer or recruiter doesn’t want to reveal their cards too early, it is simply an attraction strategy to keep the salary open for a range of candidates of varying skill and experience levels. You can find out a salary range that is being paid when viewing jobs that are posted online through advanced search functions, which you should do before calling a recruiter or employer. Take SEEK for example, when we load a job into their system, we must indicate a salary range for the job to upload. The range can vary but it is generally fairly close to the mark. The exception to this is in cases where there are bonuses/commissions – it may be the base or a target range selected instead. We then select whether to display this salary range or not. For you, this means that you can go to SEEK and use the advanced search function to narrow your search based on a salary range as well. Try it for yourself, go to the advanced search function, fill in the usual details that you would and click the search button, write down the number of jobs that appear and then do the search with a salary range that you are seeking and note down the number of job that now appear – there should be a difference. When you find a job that you like, keep playing around with the salary range selector until your job disappears, then you will find out where it sits, and hopefully it will sit where you hoped!

The phone call
If you research better and know where you sit, when you get (or make) that call it will be for a job that you targeted in your range and the person at the other end of the phone won’t have a heart attack when they hear you say a figure $10,000 above their target. The best part is that if you are getting the phone call, they are interested in you, and if you meet that salary range, an interview could end up being the next step!

Do you believe what a candidate says in the application process or do you contact referees to verify this information? We know a number of employers out there that do and also a number that don’t. In short, the answer is that you should conduct reference checks.

Do you ever get a bad reference from a referee?

YES!!! We have had some really poor reference checks in the past; however, more than 80% of referee checks turn out to be positive. Sometimes we pick up areas that a candidate may need improvement but overall they are quite good. Reference checking is definitely worth it if you have the right questions to ask the referee and you receive a range of answers that fit in with what you are seeking. If not, don’t waste the phone call or email.

There are a number of good reasons to conduct referee checks and here is what you can find out:

• Whether a candidate actually worked at a previous employer and their job title – the candidate’s actual job as an “Administration Assistant” is very different to their perception as the “Office Manager” – we actually see this quite often!
• The referee’s understanding of why the person left or is leaving
• Verification of wage / salary / employment tenure / attendance record (sometimes, due to privacy all of these details may not be verified) – did the candidate tell you that they were on $75,000 when they were really on $60,000? It happens!
• The actual tasks performed by the person in the role and their competencies
• Verification of what part the person played in large projects or initiatives – did they lead the project, do a large or small part of it, and was it their idea – the candidate’s recollection of their role in this may be very different to the referee’s
• Relationships – did they work well with clients, other staff and supervisors?
• Strengths, performance and developmental areas
• Attitude to work and personal attributes
• Would they re-hire this person – sometimes this is all that you need to know about how they feel about them!

Written references

We often receive written references however they often don’t tell us a lot. We like to have the conversation and use a written reference to compliment other information that we receive during the phone call based on what we need to know.

We always reference check a candidate with a tailor-made form with specific questions about the candidate. We focus on the areas outlined above to draw a picture of how the candidate performed in the previous role(s) to assess future performance for our client. You can also create a form to keep on file and modify each time that you recruit a new staff member.

I am a referee – what should I say / not say?

As a referee it is your responsibility to be truthful in what you say. Sometimes we contact people that are unaware that they are a referee – they have not been asked and it was assumed by the candidate that it would be ok. If you feel uncomfortable about the legalities of saying something bad work by the rule that if you have nothing good to say about the person, respond with “I would prefer not to comment on that” and leave it at that. Verify details about the person’s employment if requested but don’t delve any further. The person calling you should get the picture and cease the referee check.

Reference checks are certainly worth it and offer you a better insight into a candidate than just your interview and perception of who they are.

We often get asked ‘what is the best way to apply for a job?‘ Sometimes we really think it’s as easy as writing a quick cover note and sending a resume/CV for the role. Well… it’s not that straightforward. More than ever, especially in today’s climate, you have to get it right from the start – first impressions count!

What do we mean by that?
You need to have all of your tools together before you even attempt to apply for a role – a current resume, draft cover letter, a good social media profile and a range of answers about your skills and experience, your motivation, and salary expectations. We receive so many applications on a daily basis, especially when advertising administrative roles, and it is really obvious when a prepared person applies for a role – they really stand out (in a good way). If you are not prepared, send an old resume, have no cover letter, no referees prepared, do not meet the criteria and have not outlined your intentions for applying… there’s a very good chance that you just wasted your time.

Now let’s break down what makes a good application:

• Reading the job advertisement – it is really amazing that candidates do not do this. We always say – print it out and highlight the points that the employer is seeking – experience, qualifications (if any), and the type of company. Do you meet some or all of the criteria mentioned? If unsure call the employer/HR/ recruitment agency to find out more.
• Preparing a cover letter – It is good to have a draft letter on file. It is most likely that you will be applying for similar roles during your job hunting. The best way to create a letter is to highlight the position title at the top, state where you found the advertisement, then open with a paragraph introducing who you are and what you currently do and draw on similarities with the role advertised. The next paragraph should state your intention for applying and what you are seeking from the role and company (not always known if through an agency). Next outline your skills that directly relate to the advertisement in bullet points so that they stand out. Close with a short blurb about how to contact you to discuss the application further.
• Current resume – yes… a current resume. We have a lot of resumes that come through that have not been updated. Update it so that you area ready to submit it. Whilst this is a broad statement, we do not believe that any resume is wrong. What we find however, is that most resumes do not sell your skills and experience very well. A good recruiter can read between the lines and will call you to clarify past roles to get a better picture of what you have done.
• Social media – Check out your profile(s) on Facebook, LinkedIn and other ones that you have. Make sure that they are clean and professional. If on Facebook, close your profile to friends only if you want to keep it private. We still see quite a few ‘bad things’ that can influence a decision to call you.
• Referees – Ask for 2-3 referees to vouch for you. Let them know that you are looking for work and ask if they would be happy to speak about you. At our end it makes all the difference and can speed up the process of recruiting you.
• Be ready for the interview. The tools above will already have you prepared and we will cover the interview in our next blog.

Now is the time to revisit what you are currently doing and get back to basics. Get these things right and you are well on the way to moving to a short-list.