Q: Should I have to be prepared to move to get a decent job?

A: It depends where you live, what your amibitions are and what jobs you are seeking. In many industries, head offices are concentrated to major cities, and if you want to work in these places - a move can be necessary. Also, in rural cities and towns, jobs can be scarce. Hence, you might have to move if there are no jobs where you currently live. It’s hard, but true.

Q: What is the smartest CV for me to use when i’m applying for my first job after uni?

A: If you don’t have that much experience, try to use a functional or combinational CV since you can emphasize your abilities rather than your experience in these. This is perfect for young and quite inexperienced people, as yourself!

Q: “I don’t get any answers on my applications, can you please help me?!”

A: As we don’t have more information about your experiences, education or other things that shape your profile, it’s difficult to give a specific answer.

However, in general, when you haven’t got any response after 10-15 applications, it might be time to think of how your CV and cover letter looks. What kind of CV do you have? We have a nice guide on this blog on how to write several types of CV’s. Perhaps a functional CV would work for you? And also, how is your cover letter written? Do you convey what makes you unique to the position you apply for? Solid reasons for why you are the best suited person for the job?

Think about this, and we are sure you will succeed! Have patience, the right job will turn up!

Q: “I don’t have any experience, what do I do?”

A:

Hello and thank you for your email!

It is often a criteria to have some kind of work experience in order to make it for the interview round. Therefore, we advice you to find other experiences that is not the typical “work experience”. Have you had any volunteer jobs? Maybe you babysat your neighbor  when you were younger? Have you participated in any sports? Maybe you cut the lawn to earn some extra money from your parents? You have to work with what you got, because if you think carefully, you will find plenty of experiences, it might just not be the most typical ones. Good luck!

7 Things To DO After a Bad Interview

1. Reflect on the experience
First take out the positives. What went well? This will not only bring positive aspects that you will bring to your future interviews but will also set a good mood for when reflecting on the negatives. Then identify exactly what went wrong.

2. Learn from it
Make a list of the bad things you did and learn from them. It might sound like a cliché but this is really constructive. It is also easily avoided when in a negative state of mind but will in this time have more quality input. Don’t use the cliché as an excuse. Do the job and get better suited for next time!

3. Learn to forgive yourself
Nothing good ever comes from beating yourself up about something bad. Be disappointed for a short while, then let it go. Think: there’s a new game next weekend! Accept what happened and move on. Either way, it only made you stronger!

4. Identify and explain what went wrong. Include these words in your thank you note.
What is important here is not to make excuses. Acknowledge what you did and accept it. This will also demonstrate character and could impossibly do you wrong. Who knows, the hiring manager might even recommend you to someone else if you make a strong impression here. Make sure, however, to only include the mistakes that you are absolutely sure that you committed.

5. Utilize the thank you note to add something that you might have forgotten to state in the interview
When in the middle of the heat, it is easy to forget almost anything. So use the thank you note to mention this. It is also a good way to re-emphasize your strengths and major qualities. Don’t overdo it though, done is done.

6. Inform the employer of any major external distraction
Even though, you should not make excuses for what you did, do explain if there were any major distractions that bothered you during the time. This could for example be a serious illness or other life-impacting event.

7. Never apologize for a poor interview but do say sorry for specific mistakes
Speaks for itself. Whatever you do, don’t apologize for your own presence and say sorry for a poor interview. This will never help. What you can do, though (again without overdoing it) is to apologize for small specific mistakes that you are sure that you in fact made.

Q&A session

Dear readers and followers,
We receive many questions via email from you with very good and relevant questions. Therefore, we will dedicate coming blog posts this week to answer these. So, if you have a question regarding your resume, cover letter, an interview or anything else related (or not) to recruitment, please email applykick@gmail.com, and we will find the answer for you!

Remember - a question is a half wisdom.

Do it the traditional way!

It’s more rule than exception to send your resume and application by e-mail these days. This is good, because you can send out alot of applications quite fast. However, companies, as we have discussed in length in this blog, are positively swamped by aspiring stars. Everyday. So stand out!
Send your application in paper form, in an envelope, put a stamp on it and put it in the mailbox.
If your application is up to speed and you don’t come off like some weird blast from the past, you will get noticed in a positive way! Especially if you send it straight to the recruiter…