Recruitment expert and Shark Tank judge Andrew Banks provides advice to job-seekers
In an article written by Amanda Sheppeard and published recently by the Daily Telegraph, recruitment guru Andrew Banks provided advice to job-seekers during COVID-19. Mr Banks participated in an online Q&A with News Corp readers and was inundated with questions around how to stay positive with high unemployment rates and significant competition for available jobs.
We have summarised some of the key points made by Andrew Banks during this session:
- Jobseekers should assume they will have to apply for more than 20 roles just to get three or four interviews.
- Know clearly what you are passionate about, what your strengths and skills are and how you can show that past performance has worked out well – then do the research so you are targeting appropriate and relevant jobs.
- The resume is overrated and it doesn’t get people a job – it is supposed to get you an interview, but so can a phone call directly to the hiring manager as can a good covering letter.
- The resume is just one part of the process. It tells me what the person ‘used to think about’ (knowledge) and why I should at least talk to them. So I am looking for key skills, what they are most competent in, where and why they have been successful in the past, and some basics like education, location, availability.
- What I don’t want is just an ‘information dump’ with no dates, no summaries of the last jobs and what was successful in the past.
- He likened job search to a funnel – “the more you put in the top the better”.
- Do your research on type of company/industry/role/location/money by looking online and then tailor your applications to suit.
- Ask colleagues or other professionals to critique your CV, ask them what they would ask you in a job interview, or even set up a mock interview to practice
- Applying for jobs includes adding recruitment agencies that seem to be advertising the jobs you are most interested in. It’s the combination of both direct and via agency applications plus volume that counts.
- When asked how to stand out in a crowd of jobseekers, he said “It’s a number’s game so make lots of calls, don’t take it personally and be ready to describe what you can offer the employer so they can survive these times better than they could without you”.
- He advised to smile when you are talking to employers or hiring managers – “warmth comes through even a phone call.”
In conclusion, Mr Banks said he was coping in these challenging times by “staying positive and not getting infected by constant bad news stories and negative people”. This is sound advice we can all be following.
You can view his full responses to jobseeker questions in this article.
Content taken from an article written in the Daily Telegraph by Amanda Sheppeard on 25th May 2020 (News Corp Australia Network)