Sep 9, 2016
A Recruiters Guide to the Data World: Part 2
Another month has passed in the world of recruitment and we are in full flow in the new financial year 2016/2017. In this blog, I am going to provide some insight into how to land your dream position within the analytics space. Of course every role, application and interview process is different to the next, but the tips below are perhaps best focused around those junior-mid level roles.
-
Network:
As the analytics community in Australia is still quite small, a strong network is essential to landing a good job. Especially towards the senior end of the market, many professionals already have a good contact base in order to get the inside track on upcoming roles. It is important to keep good relationships with people you work with and report into as you never know when you may come across them in the future. In addition, utilise tools such as LinkedIn and Twitter to keep in touch with people you may not see on a regular basis.
-
Knowledge:
Have a good understanding of what it is you want to get into before looking. Don’t come with the viewpoint that any area of analytics will do (if you are just starting out this does not apply as much) as each area of analytics differs from the next. A recruiter/hiring manager loves to hear lines such as this;
“I have been working in customer analytics for 2 years now and am hoping to focus more on segmentation and predictive analytics. I would prefer this to be in and around the FMCG/Retail space whether client or agency side. Finally, I am looking for a company that has analytics at the forefront of its business strategy.”
This shows you know where you want to go and have done research into what you would like to get into as your dream job.
-
Partnerships:
Partner with a recruiter who specialises in the space you work in. Try to focus on specialist recruiters as their knowledge in the area and relationships with managers will usually be stronger than generalists.
-
Be selective:
Don’t apply for any and every position you see on Seek. Either send very specific applications to a few roles or, as mentioned above, speak with a specialist recruiter who will already be in contact with companies you are interested in.
-
Keep your integrity:
Always be as open and honest as possible. Problems can occur when candidates and of course recruiters are not honest. If you are asked questions such as; “have you applied to this company in the last six months?” or “Where are you up to with other interviews/offers?” , these are very important. You are hoping to avoid having your CV sent to the same manager multiple times and you would want to avoid not being honest about other opportunities. If a company offers you a role they want you on board, if you have not informed a recruiter/ manager of other opportunities and mess them around or don’t respond to calls for a number of days, it can hurt your reputation in the future.
-
Know your skills:
Apply for jobs that are applicable to you. Read the job advert don’t just apply. If you are unsure you are suitable, put in a call to the hiring manager/recruiter. You need to ensure your skills match up at least to some degree to the job advert. Of course when trying to change a career this can be hard, however, that is where the personalised phone comes into play. When a hiring manager is sifting through a high number of CV’s if you do not closely match the role they will often not have time to look into your background anymore.
-
Stand out CV:
Make your top skills and competencies really obvious on your CV. Again if a manager only has 30-60 seconds to look through a CV, you must make sure you stand out. Do not have a CV that details every day of your last job. Be succinct and to the point all the while bringing to the forefront your top skills. Achievements are always really important on a CV as it shows how you applied your skills, in addition, try and talk in the ‘I’ not the ‘we’ as managers want to know what you did not what your team did.
-
Honesty:
Finally, try not to be a window shopper without telling people. If you put a manager through a 4 interview process and at the end decide it is not for you having known all along you were either, using it as leverage to get a pay rise or were not going to move then again your reputation is on the line. This usually occurs when a recruiter headhunts a candidate. Do not be scared to tell the recruiter that a certain job doesn’t correlate with your dream. You might be keen to move, but in reality, you are just more interested in what might be out there. Again be honest!
So there we have 8 tips on how to land a dream job. I could have written 50 but as always someone has to shut me up as I would blab on for hours. So, dream big. All these tips should apply to all candidates, if you would like any more information or if I can provide any more information I am as always available at joel@precisionsourcing.foundrydigital.com.au.
For More Blogs, Click Here.
