Top 5 Parameters Recruiters Are Looking For

In the contemporary recruitment environment, competition is cutthroat. To get the attention from recruiters you need to show more than just the required qualifications, you need to be outstanding.

Social Media channels, for instance, have become one of the most common mediums for recruiters to select potential candidates.

They provide an insight into not just the technical qualifications, but also soft skills of a candidate. Besides, they reflect the personality of an individual and can, hence, make or break your career.

However, that’s not all.

From your résumé to performing well under pressure and being a team player, here are the top 5 parameters the recruiters look for before hiring a potential candidate!

1. An Impressive résumé

‘First impression is the last impression.’ This statement fits the brief well, as your résumé represents you and whatever you are willing to bring to the company. It plays a pivotal role in the process of a candidate’s hiring.

Presenting your qualifications in a striking manner is as important as your credentials and experience.

Hence, picking an appropriate template that is relevant to the industry or the field of specialization you’re applying in, is absolutely crucial. You must also keep in mind to regularly update your résumé to remain relevant in the market, and to get efficient and desired results.

2. Ambition, confidence, and credibility

A recruiter looks for these two indispensable qualities in a one-on-one interview.

Confidence plays a major part as it shows if you can put your skills and qualifications to practical use. Credibility plays an important role, as employers want people in their companies who can work their way up, and ensure that they grow with the company and vice versa.

So, if you change your job annually, or biannually, red flags might go up.

When asked where you see yourself in 5 years or so, it’s best to say that you envision yourself at the company at a sustained successful track. Show that you have the ambition necessary to do great things for the company and build your own path to success.

3. The appropriate skills and training

Your résumé and personality can only help you if you have the relevant and required skills and training for the position you’re applying for.

In today’s competitive economy, you will struggle to find someone who will hire a candidate that needs too much training before they can start their job. Moreover, lack of experience also contributes to slower growth for the company, and recruiters do not want that!

Hence, before you apply, make sure you have the technical qualifications that actually make you a viable candidate, and boost your chances of getting selected.

4. Being a Team player

Even though you apply as an individual, one of the most important things that recruiters look for when they look for potential candidates for a job is a person’s ability to get along with others and work in a team.

Hence, your social and communication skills are put to test, offline. You should be able to engage with a variety of people, and not just work, but also grow with them.

The employer would also want you to enjoy your workplace. Employees who have a sense of belonging in their workplace and with their fellow co-workers tend to happier and more productive.

5. A Good Online Presence, especially on Social Media

Social Media is one of the latest parameters that employers keep in mind while hiring, because of various reasons.

First, it showcases your personality outside of work, your likes and interests. This can aid them in deciding whether you’re good or bad for the company.

Second, it can be used to validate the credibility of your résumé.

It also helps them to establish whether you’re up-to-date with the latest issues and your stand on them.

Hence, it is best advised to regularly update your social media and lock it to people who are not your friends. If you choose to keep it public, or if you have your employer as a connection, the ideal is to limit opinionated and extremist comments, which might hamper your chances of getting hired.

It is very essential, however, to have an online presence, as employers may not even consider someone who doesn’t have any social media presence at all.

You get a head start once you know what recruiters are actually looking for in potential candidates.

The awareness helps you to craft your resume and prepare for interviews, doing any research necessary. The secret is to set yourself apart from the crowds, build up some experience and enhance your CV!

Keep these things in mind, and you’ll definitely increase your chances of success 🙂

If you like this, check out “How to be brutally honest in your résumé and crack the deal”!

How to be brutally honest in your resume and crack the deal

It’s that time of year again when transitions of students from high schools to colleges are on the move and you’re suddenly not considered a kid anymore.

There are new people to deal with, new emotions and perspectives to understand, new situations to grow and evolve under.

Everything seems different yet the same, it gets perplexing. And then one fine day, when everything was going all well, there’s a new term you’re supposed to know and then make one for yourself: ‘resume’.

Interesting.

“Your resume is nothing but a documentation of how far you’ve come in your academic and professional life, and how beneficial you can be to the existing companies to get work done from you.”

If that’s what you’re told, it’s not wrong. But what’s vital to gather is that your resume is a reflection of the kind of interests you hold and what you have for the world to offer.

It introduces your individuality to an unknown employer and reads your attitude and potential to them.

The way you describe yourself and your experience speak volumes about who you are and, if there’s something that drives your passion, what is it. And never to forget, it explains whether you’re self-aware and how well you can sell yourself. Deep.

All of what’s mentioned above simply comes down to understanding how crucial it is for your resume to be vulnerably honest. Since what makes or breaks the deal is not the big names and brands, nor high percentages. It’s your improvements and how well you deal with declines or stagnation.

Let’s dig deeper into how you can be truly yourself in your resume and make it to the selection.

The ‘About Me’ has to be about you

“Bragging only means you’re not used to having it.”

This quote isn’t new to most of us. Among all the pressure of sounding more competitive and purposeful than others, take time to analyze the qualities that make you distinct.

This section must have that one line that hits home to your character. It must relate to the answer of what excites you or drives you.

Keep in mind it’s you selling what you admire and cherish the most about your own self. Each term you use has the possibility of being questioned during unforeseen interviews and you really want to nail it.

There’s absolutely no need to mention any foreign alien word which casts who you’re not, in the desperation of impressing the reader.

And caution! It must relate to the job profile you’re applying for and showcase your confidence and belief in yourself. After all, who would like to hire an applicant who cries about their weaknesses or struggles?

Explain the experience, not the brand

Be it studying in the highest ranked university in the universe or working with some big top names, it’s only how you built your skills with them that matters. That’s what you need to highlight in your resume.

Mention the real scores and important distinctions in specific. It is always attractive to read more about the learnings and growth than about the brand.

This, in no way, means that you don’t need to be associated with known companies. It’s always good. But it does relate to how well you communicate the benefits you could reap out of the experiences.

Keeping the ‘have more than you show, speak less than you know’ approach acts as a plus point and adds to your authenticity, credibility and uniqueness. Be knowledgeable, observant, patient and humble during your experience itself, to shape the best words about it.

Remember that something different from the mainstream attracts the eye and leaves an impact.

Be patient and let things surface

It’s always the hardest of the tasks to wait, but then how enjoyable would be grabbing an opportunity without putting your heart and soul into it?

And by that we mean, it takes courage to stay patient about something you put efforts to get and the process indulges with many emotions as well. Whenever the results strike in and whatever they might be, maintain your inner stability and focus on driving the energy in the right direction.

If you get selected, be humble and grateful and don’t let pride overpower you.

If you don’t get selected, the opportunities aren’t over yet and it’s definitely the better ones that are waiting. Since it’s not always about winning, but about the willingness to win.

Last, but not the least: stay real!

To conclude, be honest with the process, right from making the resume till the results come out.

Give accurate information about yourself and deal with the fear of rejection. You can always reduce the need for exaggeration to beat the competition, since, in the end, you are your own competition.

If you want to learn more about how you can develop your professional skills, you may like this article.

Written by

Vanyashree Chaudhary is a light-hearted Journalism student from Delhi. She’s crazy about her love for graphic designing, Oreo shakes and Daft Punk. Find her the happiest while she’s traveling!

How to Prepare for an Internship Interview

Interviews are always tricky. You need to strike the right balance between being humble about the opportunity and being confident that you are the right candidate for the job.

There’s a lot you can do to prepare for an interview, but every process is a different process and may require a different preparation.

However, there are some ‘Must Dos” which are common in any interview. Here are some of these:

Be prepared

This is the first of the many baby steps. Research on the company and note the questions that you would like to ask them. If it is an overseas internship that you are applying for, it would be helpful if you research on the country, their culture and business practices, as well.

Dress well and opt for formal wear. A well-groomed look is always a big plus. Customise your resumé and cover letter to the company and profile you are applying for.

Keep copies of your resumé handy along with other documents and certificates that may be required. Do carry a notepad and a pen with you at all times.

Give out good vibes

It is often said, first impressions are the last impressions. Make the most of the chance and appear confident in front of your interviewers. Speak with a firm voice and make sure you maintain eye contact when you shake hands and during conversations.

Wear a smile if it helps you get comfortable and exude a positive appearance.

Be comfortable

It is alright to take your time to answer the queries put forward to you. You can always ask the interviewer for clarifications before answering them in a hurry. It is all the more awkward going in a wrong direction just because you thought they might mark you down for not having active listening skills.

Also, it is always better to keep the answers smart and crisp rather than starting off with a backstory around it.

Highlight your strengths and achievements

This is where you get to showcase your substance and wow your interviewers. Your skill sets are what will tilt the scales in your favour. You can give instances of when you had undertaken a leadership position while in college.

You can even emphasise your problem solving and analytical abilities and bring forth your soft skills.

Cite prior work scenarios

If you have prior work or internship experience, then make sure you use it to your advantage. For example, you can cite occasions where you had helped complete a project ahead of schedule or brought down the overall cost.

If you are in the creative field, you can carry work samples or better still, mail their soft copies before the interview so that they can have a look and bring it up during the discussion.

Send a mail post interview

Once the interview is over and contact details have been exchanged you must make it a point to send a thank you mail. Begin by appreciating the time they spent with you and for giving the opportunity to hear you out.

ou can sign off saying you are looking forward to a positive response from their end and how much you would like to be a part of their team. This will help you come across as a sincere candidate and bring you a step closer to being selected for a valuable internship.

Now that you know how to prepare for an internship interview, go ahead and give your best.

It will surely open new doors for you and help build a network and gather a wealth of experience.

If you like this article, you may also like to read about “How an Internship in Malaysia can Help Your Career“.

4 Reasons why AIESEC provides the perfect education for an Entrepreneur: Part 1

This is two part Guest Blog post from Tom Weaver, previous Member Committee President of AIESEC United Kingdom 2002-2003, Founder of Flypay.

“A startup is a company designed to grow fast. Being newly founded does not in itself make a company a startup. Nor is it necessary for a startup to work on technology, or take venture funding, or have some sort of “exit.” The only essential thing is growth.”

– Paul Graham, investor & founder of startup incubator Y Combinator

My story: University, AIESEC and becoming an Entrepreneur

The AIESEC experience is like being thrown in the deep end of the swimming pool when you’ve just taken off your life jacket. Fortunately, this is exactly the induction that is needed for the aspiring entrepreneur. With AIESEC’s safe environment to try new things and fail, members are able to learn and acquire practical skills that are very much needed in the world of startups.

I felt I was in the deep end at every step of my AIESEC career, from a new member, to Local Committee President in AIESEC at the University of Southampton, to a trainer, and finally to National President of AIESEC United Kingdom in 2002. The kinds of issues and challenges we faced day to day were well beyond what I needed to deal with for many years after, until I founded my startup company, Flypay.

At that point, I felt like I’d jumped into an even deeper swimming pool. Fortunately for me, I knew a little bit about swimming by now.

Flypay’s Journey: From an idea to a startup

Flypay is an app that allows restaurant customers to check, split and pay their bill from their smartphone. The typical restaurant customer waits over ten minutes from the moment they are ready to leave, until the moment they are paid up and can leave. There are all sorts of difficulties with splitting the bill with others at your table. I felt that my business partner and I could solve this problem.

We launched in Wahaca, a major London Mexican restaurant brand, last month. We’re now slowly rolling out across their estate, as well as having some very positive discussions with some very large and well-loved UK restaurant brands.

Now we’re focusing on growth; growth in the number of restaurants using our solution; growth in the number of consumers using the app. And we need that growth fast! We need to get there before the PayPals of this world decide they can do what we do.

We’ve gone through one investment round, and will shortly begin our second, much more significant round. We’ve had our first transactions, first users, first press, first positive tweets, and have just been nominated for Mobile Business of the Year (we need votes for this, so if you think we’re onto something please help by voting here)!

Through all of this, the skills I had gained in AIESEC were critical to our success, and I realized why AIESEC is such a perfect primer for startup founders. Here are my four reasons. It was three, but who needs to follow convention anyway?

Reason 1: Entrepreneurs need to be a generalist as well as a specialist

Aside from designing and creating the actual product, here are some of the things I’ve had to do in order to get Flypay off the ground. They may sound familiar to the well-seasoned AIESECer (a term we use for “members of AIESEC” for those of you who are not in the organisation):

Cold email the Managing Director of our first customer to persuade him to meet us
Persuade our first customer to take a chance on us in our first meeting
Persuade critical partners to work with us by selling them the vision of what we were going to achieve, and how they could be a part of it
Develop a business plan outlining what we were going to achieve (used as the basis for fundraising)
Pitch for funding (somewhat like going for sponsorship, only a bit of a larger number)
Build the best possible Board of Directors
Create a new business development and marketing strategy
Develop the product and execute the vision you’ve sold everyone
Sort the finances, and develop a very focused budget

Some people have very defined careers. They build up specialisms that determine their day-to-day job descriptions and projects.

Running a startup is not like that. It is just like working in AIESEC- every day holds something very different. One day I’m meeting a new client. Another I’m networking with senior executives at a conference. Today I’m running a board meeting and had a lot of materials to prepare. We’ve got employees to manage, and product deadlines to hit. I’m interviewing PR companies this week. I need to prepare a contractual agreement for a potential new client.

Being able to deal with a wide range of things from the very big picture to the very small details and shift from concept to execution very quickly is essential to the success of a startup. This is what AIESECers do all the time.

Reason 2: Entrepreneurs need to be very good at persuasion and presenting

When you initiate a startup, you have a vision for something you want to change. Often, you need to persuade a myriad of people to work with you. We’ve needed to convince a lot of people that Flypay was worth their time- including our first clients, the restaurant systems that client used, a very large payment gateway provider, several merchant banks, investors and initial consumers. They had to take a chance on something that (at early points) didn’t even have much of a product to put in front of people.

AIESECers learn to be persuasive because what they are selling is very conceptual (you don’t have a physical trainee there) and relatively complex (there is a whole process to go through). That is a very useful thing to learn.

Once I left AIESEC I was blown away by how poor “normal professionals” are at presenting. I saw, and still see, many highly paid and important, but insanely poor presenters. Yet, in AIESEC, we are used to getting up in front of large groups all the time. It gives you a huge advantage. When you go to pitch for investments you need every inch of those skills. We had one presentation of five minutes in front of 25 “dragons” followed by five minutes of questions, but were told we were unusually good at presenting and made an excellent impression (and gained two investors and an offer of more from the experience).

Interested to hear more? Come back on Wednesday for the continuation of Tom Weaver’s guest post, as well as his final thoughts on AIESEC and entrepreneurship.

Are you ready to start improving the skills you need to become an entrepreneur? Sign up to become a member of AIESEC now!