Writing your resume

• Tailor your resume: Customise your resume to highlight skills, experience, and qualifications that are relevant to the position you are applying for. Think of your resume as a way to showcase your skills and experiences in the best possible way. When you adapt it for each job and emphasise the related achievements, you'll capture the attention of potential employers
• Highlight achievements: Instead of merely listing responsibilities, concentrate on your accomplishments. Use quantifiable metrics to demonstrate the impact you've had in previous roles. Whenever possible, incorporate numbers, percentages, or other measurable data to provide evidence
• Keywords: Use relevant keywords from the job description to highlight your alignment with the role
• Relevance: Exclude irrelevant details such as outdated work experiences or unrelated hobbies, unless they directly support your application
• Formatting: Keep things clear and concise. Double check the formatting, grammar and any typos before saving it as a PDF. Also check the PDF’s appearance after saving, to ensure consistent formatting across different document types

Prepare for phone screen calls

• Research the company: Review the company’s website, social media and recent activity to learn more about its values, products/services and culture
• Be an active listener: Be attentive, ask insightful questions and engage with the recruiter
• Consider your salary expectations: Research the average salary in your industry when considering what you’d like to get paid
• Be conversational: Maintain a friendly yet professional tone. This is just an initial screening to make sure we are matching you to the right role - so no need to be nervous
• Find a quiet environment: Eliminating distractions will make sure you listen to everything and get the information you need
• Be future focused: Ask about the next steps. This is a good way to express your continued interest in the role and the company
• Double check your contact details: Timing is everything, so make sure the details you provided are the best ones to contact you on (particularly email) as this is where we send interview invitations, next steps, etc. .”

The 4 R's of interview preparation

• Research: Read everything you can find - job description, company website, company newsroom, social media, etc. Based on your research, have some answers “up your sleeve” that relate to the skills/ experience required for the role and the purpose and values of the company
• Reflect: You are likely to be asked about why you have applied for the role so be prepared to articulate this. Also, how do the company purpose and values resonate with you? How does the role align to your interests and aspirations? What will you be able to contribute and what will you learn?
• Rehearse: Do a mock interview (either in person or virtually) with a friend or family member. Practice some of the answers you have “up your sleeve” but be mindful not to be too rehearsed to the point that you sound scripted, and not your authentic self
• Relax: Interviewers are on your side and aren’t there to catch you out. You have been invited to the interview because your application stood out and they want to learn more about you
  

Interview basics

• Be on time: Being late is never a good look
• Dress appropriately: We recommend business attire for both in person and virtual interviews
• Turn your mobile off: Vibrations are just as bad as a ring tone
• Respond in a clear and concise manner: Try your hardest not to waffle…
• Prepare your technology for virtual interviews: Check it is working ahead of time, make sure you have an appropriate background, quiet setting, microphone and speakers work, etc
• Be authentic: We value individuals who are true to themselves
  

During your interview

• Take a second or two to consider the question before starting to respond
• Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
• Never speak negatively about a previous employer, manager or colleague
• Maintain eye contact with all interviewers
• Use the interviewer’s names regularly
• Use your prepared examples of situations projects you’ve worked in delivered that show how your skills and experience align to the key skill set of the job description. Share these examples using the STAR format (see next tip)
  

What is the STAR interview technique

Many interviewers use behavioural interview questions, where they ask you to talk about real situations from your past. Instead of just guessing how you might act in a certain situation, you'll describe how you actually acted before. To best structure your answers, we suggest using the STAR technique:

• Situation: What was the situation?
• Task: What was your task?
• Action: What action did you take?
• Result: What was the outcome?