Your burning recruitment questions answered

We recently teamed up with our colleagues at Do Good Jobs to answer some of our jobseeker community’s burning recruitment questions in a live online Ask Us Anything session.

It was a jam-packed session with plenty of questions and some fab information from our panel. In fact, the information was too good not to share more widely, so here’s a summary.

We gave our jobseekers free-range over the questions they asked but we did see several themes emerging so in this blog, we’ve grouped questions around those themes.

Tips for networking either before or during the job seeking process

Networking is always a hot topic. Some people love it and some find it really hard. But it can give your job hunt an extra push. Here’s what our panel had to say about the benefits, and how you should go about it.

Networking is definitely important but it’s not the only way to find a job. You need to do it strategically – think about the role you want to get and then look at the people who could help you, whether that’s previous colleagues, people in an organisation you are keen on or a leader in the field you are looking at.

The other key to networking is that it’s something you need to do all the time. It’s not something you should leave until you actually want a new job. You don’t want to just pop up in someone’s LinkedIn inbox when you want something from them; you need to be nurturing those connections all the time so that when you do need some help you have that relationship.

Questions about the recruitment process

We had a lot of questions about the various stages of the recruitment process, so here are some of the most popular ones.

How do you move from the corporate sector to the not-for-profit sector?

In our jobseekers, we see a lot of people looking to switch to a career that more closely aligns with their values. But it can seem like a big jump.

Our panel recommended focusing on the skills you can transfer across, such as leadership or financial management skills. They also warned of the importance of making sure you understand how the for-purpose sector is different before you apply for roles.

Read more tips for moving to the not-for-profit sector here.

How do you approach job seeking as an overseas applicant?

This was a popular question from our respondents, with several looking to make the jump to New Zealand or already being here and looking for work.

Just like those looking to switch from corporate roles, our panel said research was key for overseas applicants. That includes familiarising yourself with New Zealand recruitment processes in general – for example, how CVs are usually formatted, what’s expected from a cover letter or the language used in interviews – all of which might be different from your home country. Then researching your chosen sector or organisation is also important. This helps you understand what’s needed and what to highlight in your application. Looking for jobs where there are skills shortages and more likelihood of overseas applicants being accepted can also help, especially when the job market is competitive.

How do you address those pesky gaps in your CV?

Many people worry about having gaps between roles when it comes to applying for a new job, but our panel said it’s actually fine. Plenty of people have gaps in their CV, perhaps because they’ve taken time off to study or travel, or they’ve been raising a family or caring for a relative, or because they’ve taken a break for their mental health. Some people have unexpected gaps on their CVs because they were made redundant and it took a while to find a new role. You might also be concerned if your CV has lots of different jobs in it, or if you have changed direction in your career.

The key, according to our panel, is to front-foot any gaps or changes and explain the reasons for them. It can also be helpful to think about transferable skills you learnt during your time away from work – parents for example can have excellent time management and negotiation skills! You can speak to how these skills would help you in your new role. Your cover letter is a great place to address these gaps early in the process.

Talking of cover letters – they can be a big help when it comes to standing out among lots of applicants, something many of our jobseekers wanted advice on.

How do you stand out in a sea of applicants?

These are difficult times to be a jobseeker. Job ads are down, and competition for roles is high, especially in areas like Wellington, which has also seen a high number of job cuts.

Your cover letter is a great opportunity to stand out from the crowd. It’s your opportunity to show that you have done your research for the role, how your skills and experience would work well, and – particularly important in the for-purpose and impact sector – how your values align with those of the organisation and how the work resonates with you.

Our panel also suggested putting in an early call or email to the hiring manager or the recruitment company if one is handling the process. Making a call to the recruiting manager has a number of benefits. It can:

• Give you the chance to ask questions or clarify details about the job description
• Learn extra information that may not have been included in the original job ad which helps you tailor your application
• Check whether things that are important to you such as flexible working options or salary packages are likely to match, which can help you decide whether to apply
• Get the details of the person you need to apply to so that you can personalise your application

It also helps you form a connection with the recruiter so that when your application arrives they already have knowledge of you. Our panel said only a small proportion of applicants make this kind of call, and they definitely stick in the memory.

We’ve got some more tips on standing out from the crowd here.

How do you deal with phone screening?

Some of our jobseekers questioned the place of phone screening – where recruiters have a quick phone conversation with applicants before a full interview – but our panel say it can be helpful.

Phone screening allows recruiters to talk to a large pool of applicants before choosing interview candidates rather than just relying on CVs and cover letters. It’s a chance to check a candidate’s fit, deal with any expectations and get a little bit more info.

But, our panel says, there’s no obligation for you to take the call when it comes. You could ask for the recruiter to call you back another time if you don’t feel prepared or aren’t in a position to talk.

How do you prepare for an interview?

The key advice from our panel was to do your homework. That includes:

• Closely reading the job description and pulling out key competencies, skills and experience
• Matching your own skills and experience with the job description
• Preparing examples that you can talk about that relate to those competencies to show how you demonstrate them.

We’ve got some more tips for calming interview nerves here.

The panel also mentioned how, used carefully, AI can help you prepare for an interview. Read some tips for using AI as part of your job seeking process here.

Last but by no means least our panel tackled a big question…

How do I answer the salary expectation question?

It’s one that trips up a lot of jobseekers – when you are asked in an interview if you have any questions, how do you talk about salary, or how do you answer if you are asked what your salary expectations are?

The first thing, our panel recommends is doing some thinking about this beforehand and deciding on what you think you are worth and what you need the salary to be. It can also be helpful to look at salary guides or other similar roles being advertised to get an idea of what the salary range might be. We have some great ways to do this on our blog here.

There’s been a movement recently towards salary transparency – Do Good Jobs and McLaren both encourage employers to clearly list salaries, but if the role is advertised without a salary you can always get in touch with the recruiter and ask. This can stop you wasting too much time applying for roles which aren’t going to work financially.

If you want to know more about the recruitment process or working in the for-purpose sector, then be sure to check out the blogs here at McLaren Recruitment and at Do Good Jobs for lots of helpful tips.

If you’d like to listen to the full Ask Us Anything session you can access the recording here.

Good luck,

Kirsty