Simply Hired UK Blog

How to Thrive in Part-Time Job Interviews

Part time work becomes something of a Godsend during times of economic hardship, not least because erstwhile job seekers are desperate to keep their feet firmly grounded in the world of work. It is an entirely different kettle of fish to a full time role however and as such boasts interviews that have an altogether more relaxed and less intense atmosphere. This does not devalue their importance however, but simply requires a different mindset for you to succeed.

What Questions Will I Be Asked in a Part Time Interview?

Aside from the generic questions that permeate full time and part time interview questions alike, there are some significant examples that apply only to part time vacancies. The following are core components of the part time interview, and demand your focus to deliver a quality response:

• Would you prefer full-time employment to part-time if a job were available?: This question pulls no punches, and is designed to assess whether you are keen on part time work because of your circumstances or because it provides an avenue back into full time employment. It gives the employer a clearer indication of your motivation to work and long term goals.

• Do you have any activities that would prevent you from working your schedule?: Part-time jobs often require you to work as part of a team, so employers will want to gauge whether you are able to commit to the hours of work that you are given. This question helps them to achieve this, without addressing your personal circumstances directly.

• How would you describe the pace at which you work?: With part time work prominent in busy shops and call centres, there is a clear emphasis on the pace at which you work and whether you can effectively maximize your time. Employers want their part time staff to be organized and especially efficient in their time management skills.

How to Deliver Your Part Time Interview Answers

These questions can be challenging if you are used to the bustle of full time work, and more crucially the interviews which precede the, Consider the following as key to a well thought out response, and answers which can help to take a huge step forward into employment.

• The key to answering the 1st question is to be entirely honest, both with yourself and a potential employer. Citing your circumstances and motivation for seeking part time work provides the foundations of open communication in the interview, and leaves the employer confident in the integrity of your application.

• You must be flexible in your approach to hold down a part time job, and more importantly you must take great care to sell this quality during your interview. The nature of part time work often demands a transition between alternative shifts, so it is important that you relay your commitment to work as and when required.

• While some of you will be faster and more efficient when it comes to completing physical tasks, others will be better at organizing a workload and its priority in the first place. Both are methods of ensuring a quick and desired pace at work, so emphasise whichever is relevant to you. Adapt the question to suit your strengths, and deliver your answer boldly.

Do you have any advice when it comes to handling the part time job interview? If so, our job seekers would love to hear your comments @simplyhireduk.

Why a General Cover Letter Won’t Wash with Employers

Anyone who is unemployed will recognise the scenario: waking up in the cold light of day, going online and applying for potentially dozens of job vacancies before you have even tasted a steaming hot cup of coffee. With unemployment being such a stressful period of your life, time can seem to be of the essence and force you to take several short cuts when it comes to your individual job applications. This should be avoided at all costs, regardless of any pressure that you may be feeling.

The Individual Cover Letter: More Important Than Ever for Job Seekers

There was a time when uniform cover letters and mass applications were standard, but that was before the information sharing age of the Internet. Now it is an entirely different, and by using a single cover letter for every application you are actively damaging your chances of finding work. Consider the following:

• Documents are shared with an astonishing ease thanks to social media platforms and instant mail technology, but this also means that they are more accessible than ever before. Recruiters can recognize generic cover letters easier than you may think; especially of you apply for dozens of roles simultaneously. Not only this, but can you imagine applying for 2 roles through the same recruiter with an unchanged cover letter? 

• Similarly, think about what a generic cover letter says about you: does it suggest that you are interested in a specific role, or simply desperate to find work of any description? Of course it is the latter, and employers will also favour genuinely enthusiastic candidates over those you cannot take the time to compose a relevant letter of application.

How Do You Create the Ideal Cover Letter?

With this in mind, it is clear that a cover letter should be a constantly evolving document. It should consider the core requirements of each role as well as the changeable nature of your skills, and retain only a basic template and introductory text. If you do not adopt this flexible and malleable approach to your applications then you may find more doors closing than opening, and that elusive job will remain tantalisingly out of reach. So:

• Remember that your online profile is public, or at least it should be if you want recruiters to find your details while searching for candidates. Your cover letter and CV need to be conceived with this in mind, and comply fully with the fundamental requirements of employers. So just as you cannot have different copies of a resume on alternative sites, you must take great care to never use the same cover letter for individual vacancies.

• Respect the role that you have applied for, and more importantly the employer and their requirements. Consider what they require in a candidate, and if you are suitable then craft a letter which markets your skill set in a relevant way. Read the job description thoroughly, and be sure to include any experience or qualifications that are demanded in writing.

Remember that in a competitive job market employers are often forced to differentiate between equally viable candidates, and an individual cover letter could be the deciding factor in whether you are hired or otherwise.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Please comment below or tweet us your thoughts @simplyhireduk.

How Much Ambition Should You Show in the Interview?

Interviews often comprise of two clear categories of questioning: those which enquire as to what you have done, and others which demand to know what your goals and ambitions are for the future. Despite the deserved focus on competency based questioning and getting these answers right, it would be wrong to fall into the trap of paying lip service to those which concern our future. Employers like to understand applicant’s ambition and motivation to work, so consider this before you attend the interview.

Why Are Employers Interested in Your Long Term Plans?

Of course the level of an employer’s interest is dictated by the nature of the job role in question. However each employer is individual in their approach and values, and some will want you to have a clear understanding of your future regardless of the role you will play within the firm. Consider the following:

• Ambition is a key motivator of the human psyche, and someone who is driven to succeed is generally attractive to employers. However, they will be keen to understand exactly what your ambition is, and whether your core motivation as a candidate is financial gain, career progression or something entirely different.

• With this in mind, it should be remembered that too much ambition can deter a potential employer. If you are seeking an entry level role as a way to find employment after a redundancy for example, then having along term goal of management or achieving executive status can give the impression of someone who will not focus on the job in hand or be especially loyal.

• Remember that employers are looking for reliable people who they can both understand and trust with matters of importance. If you are unclear as to your long term career ambition, then how can you expect and employer to trust fully in your commitment and your ability to remain in a role for the foreseeable future.

Thinking About Your Future: Does Your CV Reflect Your Goals?

There is a great deal of correlation between what we have achieved and what we aspire to, and it is important that your resume supports everything that you claim during an interview. So:

• Evaluate your CV prior to an application or interview, and chart your career history to date. Pay special attention to your qualifications and how you have utilized them to further our career, and make sure that your history to date is a potential launch pad to achieve your goals.

• Then consider any anomalies between how you articulate yourself and what you resume says about you. If your aim is to prosper in one industry but your written experience celebrates your achievements in another, then employers will become confused as to your intentions and reliability as a candidate.

• Above all, think hard about where you are and where you desire to be, and consider the role you have applied for. Is it really a viable position for you, or is it something that you consider filler until something better comes along? Be honest with yourself and a potential employer, as otherwise both an organization and your resume will be the ones that suffer.

Do you enter an interview with a clear ambition for your future? If not, how do you answer this question? Please leave your comments here, or contact us @simplyhireduk

 

How the Retail Sector Could Hold the Key to Economic Growth in the UK

While the public sector continues to dominate the headlines across the UK, it is the performance of retail outlets up and down the country that hold the key to a sustainable economic recovery. In fact it accounted for a staggering 20% of the British GDP in 2010, earning £292 billion worth of sales and supplying a vast number of jobs to the UK market. As the sector begins to flounder as we head towards 2012 however, are we in danger of recognizing the potential influence of retail before it is too late?

Why is Retail So Important?

A thriving retail industry is crucial for so many reasons, and it is especially critical given the nations current economic circumstance. To begin with, entry level retail provides a fantastic route into employment for school leavers and the young unemployed, as well as opportunity for them to progress into management and more senior positions. With youth unemployment tipping the 1 million mark in October of this year, nurturing a healthy retail sector could drastically cut unemployment in 2012 and beyond.

It is also significant in terms of consumer confidence, and where unemployment is high and job creation is low then there follows a significant dip in expenditure. By spending less in retail outlets and reinvesting a reduced sum back into the economy, then consumers are unknowingly aiding the process of stalled economic growth and recession. So not only does a prosperous retail sector provide jobs, it also generates huge amounts of revenue for the wider economy.

What Can the Government Do to Boost the Retail Sector?

The government can play a clear and decisive role in boosting the retail industry in the UK, but it must first recognize the value that it offers in the first place. There are several economic and budgetary factors which can influence the fortunes of the retail sector, and these must be paid careful attention if our economy is to thrive:

• As a third of all retail employees are under 25, it is clearly a sector that appeals to the school leaving generation. It is therefore important that the government continue to further this positive perception of working in retail, by ensuring that an attractive minimum wage is offered to all employees aged 17 and over.

• The governments approach to business rates is also critical, as retail outlets must be given a competitive chance for survival when consumer spending is diminished. If retail outlets throughout the country are hit by increased tax liability, then they seeing their profits being impacted by government action as well as reduced customer activity.

• For job seekers who have been made redundant or find themselves highly skilled in a struggling industry, retail actually provides a wonderful opportunity for retraining. Bodies within the retail sector spend more per head on training and development than any other industry, so the government may find it worthwhile to create initiatives of their own to make retail a viable option for unemployed individuals.

Do you feel that the retail sector could play a crucial role in boosting the UK economy? Please let us know your thoughts @simplyhireduk

The Graduate Interview: What Questions Will You Face?

Graduates have had a tough time in recent years applying their newly acquired qualification to a working position, most notably because of hindered economic growth and a reduction in the number of jobs being created. With a limited number of graduate roles becoming increasingly coveted, it is important to consider the interviews for these and how best you can sell yourself to emerge ahead of your rival candidates. So what questions can you expect to face in your interview, and how can you deliver the best possible response?

The Top 3 Questions: What You Can Expect as a Graduate

As a graduate you are likely to have minimal job experience, so the focus of your interview will centre on your educational career and ability to organize your time. The following questions are all prominent in the contemporary graduate interview:

• What Extra Curricular Activities Were You Involved in at Uni?: Just a resume should include your achievements outside of the workplace, employers are also keen to know how graduates spent their time while at university. This may apply to paid or voluntary work, as well as personal interests and hobbies.

• What Did You Learn From Balancing University With Work?: For those of you who married studying with part time or summer work, this question provides you with a great platform to sell your ability to multi-task and organise your time efficiently. It also seeks to find out what skills you have developed through the experience.

• How Does Your Degree Prepare to Work in This Industry?: Perhaps one of the more challenging questions posed to graduates, this one requires you to possess an clear understanding of both what you have learned and how it can be applied to your career. This separates well qualified candidates from outstanding ones.

How Should You Respond to These Questions?

These question tap into the entire educational experience, from starting out and developing interests to applying your skills in the workplace environment. So consider the following as your prepare and deliver your answers:

• Some of your hobbies may well be extra-curricular but this does not mean they are suitable or relevant to a workplace application. Be selective as to which items of workplace experience and activity to reference, and focus on those that required a commitment to hard work and also reveal a strong motivation to achieve.

• Effective time management is up there with problem solving and negotiation when it comes to desired employee skills, and marrying work commitments with studies is a key example of this. Focus on your motivation for balancing the two and the steps that you took to organize your time, without compromising your ability to perform each task.

• For the final question, it is good practice to map out your educational journey prior to the interview. Consider why you chose the subject that you did for your degree, and why it is suitable to the industry in which you aim to thrive. You response should tap into your understanding of this journey, as well as a comprehension of the industry itself.

Do you have any ideas on how to answer this question? Perhaps you are an employer with some advice on what you are looking for from candidates? Please comment or send us your thoughts to @simplyhireduk