How to make the ultimate career move

Finding the right role can seem like a never-ending search. However, you spend so much time in work it is essential that you find not only the right job, but the right job in the right organisation.

Match Your Values

We connect and communicate with people based on our personal values. They also form the basis of how you ‘connect’ with the organisation you are working in. In your current organisation or one you are considering going to work for – ask yourself ‘what is it like to work here’. If the organisational values don’t provide a good match for yours then the chances are it won’t be a great place for you to work.

Have a great CV

Keep your CV to a couple of pages and to a format that makes it easy to read. Sometimes less is more! Remember a recruiter won’t just be looking at your cv, but lots of others, so make yours easy to read and extract the key information.

Provide a brief summary of each role and then bullet point your achievements. Demonstrate your successes and the improvements and changes you have instigated. Organisations need people to perform, achieve and be energised to succeed – so demonstrate who you are on paper so you can get an invitation to the interview.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!

I have been interviewing people for over 30 years, yet I never cease to be amazed at the lack of preparation from some candidates.

Research the organisation you are looking to join so you can engage in discussion. It depends what role you are applying for but be prepared to give your thoughts and opinions on what the main issues might be for the role you are interested in.

Give thought to your previous experience and consider examples you can use to demonstrate your competence. You may be asked questions like ‘what would you do if…’, but most interviewers are there to see if you are capable of doing the job to the right level. To demonstrate that you will need to provide examples of your actual experience against competencies.

Be Great!

Here are a few more tips:

• Look the part.
• Have a professional voice message on your phone.
• Have a personal email address – not the one of your current employer.
• Respond to people promptly.
• Use social media responsibly – most organisations and recruitment agencies will look you up online.
• Use social media, like LinkedIn to check for opportunities.
• Ask people you know if they can help you identify opportunities or put you in touch with different contacts.

Finally, don’t be disheartened if you are not successful. Remember you are more than your current circumstance and it just means you haven’t found the right role yet.

Good Luck.