Resumes, cover letters and interview preparation

Once the resumes and cover letters have been prepared, and you get to an interview, you have to give the interviewer much more than the ‘right’ answers.  HR Managers say:-

Major employers such as the big banks, Teleco’s and the major recruiters have their own perspectives when it comes to assessing resumes, cover letters and applications generally.

NAB

To select an applicant for an interview, the NAB looks at reviews and cover letters that reveal the applicant’s suitability:

• Good cultural fit:  whether your values are aligned with those of their organization
• Leadership values:  do you look after your people and look after their talent?
• Will bring new ideas to their business?
• Demonstrate potential for future growth?

One of their favourite questions is: -

If I spoke to five or six people who worked with or for you, how would they describe your leadership style?

Avoid stock answers, listen to what they are asking and craft your answer honestly and carefully.

Telstra

When reviewing resumes and cover letters, shortlisting applicants for an interview, Telstra says it looks for:-

a sense of your motivation and drive; what you think and how you behave.

Among their favourite questions:-

Tell me about a recent role you were excited about, and what was it that made you excited?

Besides crafting great resumes and cover letters, they encourage job candidates to prepare for an interview by reviewing the great experiences they have had in previous roles.

Hays Recruitment

Hays Recruitment select applicants to interview from their resumes and cover letters by looking for:

candidates that have pre-prepared examples of past successes, situations or results to use when answering questions.  These should also be highlighted as achievements in your resume and cover letter.

A favourite interview question from Hayes is to spotlight a weakness to see how you have overcome it and become a strong performer. They say the best answers at an interview, come from candidates who reflect how happy they are about the improvements they have made to address their weakness.

This post is based on an article sourced in: The Weekend Australian: Weekend Professional on 18 September 2011 www.theaustralian.com.au/