We were lucky to have a quick Q&A with Henal Hann who has just secured a new Senior Talent Acquisition role with NBC Universal!
1. What was the biggest challenge you found?
Knowing that in all jobs in HR there would be very little Senior TA roles and that competition was even bigger than before.
2. How did you get yourself noticed? Any changes you made, things you did that you wouldn’t have done prior to COVID and a tough market?
No massive changes but I did connect with a lot of my network and made them aware of my redundancy and intro me to any contacts.
3. What was a remote recruitment process like? Any tips on how to prepare for an interview?
Put a note on your front door that says do not disturb/ring the doorbell. I had my doorbell go off so many times during one interview!
4. Any tips for employers to bear in mind when recruiting?
Employers must be aware that it is a very candidate rich world out there. Please do not post jobs for the sake of it to tick a box. It gives false hope to external candidates and damages your employer.
5. What was your onboarding process like?
Onboarding process has been fun yet exhausting, so give yourself more time to settle in then if you were to be in the office. Also if you haven’t got one get a few work buddies. It’s helped me a lot regardless of your level!
6. Any additional advice you would give to someone looking for a job right now?
Don’t spend all day every day on job sites, it will drive you mad, work out in your week which days you are on Linked in, what days you are on webinars, networking etc… Hang in there!
With our second lockdown under way, businesses are continuing to have to make tough decisions around their employees and budgets. The candidate market is becoming increasingly busier and the pressure to not only secure an interview, but to then beat off the competition is harder than ever. We wanted to pull together some additional quick tips on things to remember when preparing for any interview and highlight any new challenges you may now face.
Quick tips:
· Find out as much as you can about the interviewer. Video interviews can take away the ability to read someone’s body language so you need to be able to build rapport in other ways. Check out their career background on LinkedIn, mutual connections and even company “team” pages if you can.
· Show how you are able to work with ambiguity and use plenty of examples of where you’ve used this before – with so much changing in the world at the minute so are people’s minds so be prepared to get used to lots of change.
· Really own your areas of development and see them as an opportunity as well as a challenge. Employers often want guidance from you and to know exactly how you can help them in the role you’re potentially moving in to.
· Make sure you really understand an employer’s expectations and be prepared to ask good questions. You need to come away with a strong understanding of this so they meet you expectations as well.
· Be realistic! It’s important you are honest with employers about things like resources, timelines and cultures you are used to working in to ensure this next role is just as much right for you as you are for them.
· Prepare some good and varied questions – this makes you stand out so get creative and think outside the box. Asking someone what their personal experience/thoughts on things are also a great way to build rapport.
· Remember, these are very challenging times we’re going through and remember the interviewer is also experiencing the same thing. Humour and personal touches can go a long way and also gives a great human element to the interview.