Yes, the cover letter is important! It is an executive summary of your CV; this is where you have to capture the recruiter and the prospective employer’s attention. Highlight the relevant information for the specific position in your opening paragraph and the cover letter.
As a recruiter, I will delve deeper into your CV once you have my attention. However, still refer me to the relevant information. If you apply for a sales position and you had a month’s sales experience in 2002, it will probably not help much, but if you did sales and the job was called some other unique name, refer to that in your cover letter.
When registering on a Job Portal, be as detailed as possible. If unsure if any information is necessary, rather add it than not. Be sure to give all your information. List all previous positions, in chronological order. When working through up to 3000 candidates, a recruiter will be work through the profiles, not open and close every CV.
Once you have my attention, I will delve deeper into your CV, but refer me to the relevant information. If you apply for a sales position and you had a month’s sales experience in 2002, it will probably not help much, but if you did sales and the designation was called some unique name, refer me to that in your cover letter.
I will list a few possibilities
Yes, the minimum requirements stated by the employer are there for good reasons. It is an indication of the level on which the applicant may be required to operate. It may be a legislative requirement. So yes, the requirements must be met. If it is optional, the employer will state that the following will be “beneficial”.
Recruiters often receive more than 500 applications per position advertised. When we start working through them, the first CVs which are rejected will be those not meeting the requirements. As with all other questions, ensure that the information on your profile and CV is up to date and complete. If your profile and CV do not specify that you have PSIRA 4, or RE 5, or that you have a specific qualification or professional affiliation, the recruiter will not know about it.
All other arguments aside, if I have 10 or 20 people with better qualification than required, they will obviously stand a better chance of being appointed than the person who does not even meet the minimum requirements.
There are many things to consider. Remember, if you are invited for an interview you’ve already passed the first hurdle! Now you need to continue with the good impression you have made.
First of all, it is important to understand the organisation, its culture, and what would be expected from you. Especially if you have applied for a number of positions, it is important to go back to the original advert and make sure you know which position you have been invited to interview for! Visit the company’s website, research them online and try and understand as much about the organisation as possible.
This will also guide you when you decide what to wear! Different organisations have different cultures and different dress codes. However, no matter what the organisation’s dress code, you want to create a professional and efficient image.
Make sure you are on time! Make sure you have plenty of time to get to the interview, no matter what the weather, traffic conditions etc. Make sure that you have time to breathe deeply and relax a few moments before you actually report at the company.
Make sure you have a file with key documentation with you if required. This shows that you have thought about the interview and what might be required from you. Switch off your phone when you reach the office!
In the past recruiters and potential employees placed advertisements in newspapers and trade magazines when they were looking to for the position. This meant that employers hoped that the ideal candidate would see their ad and potential employees had to buy a selection of newspapers and magazines to see what was available. In the digital age, this has changed significantly. Although we do still see some ads in trade publications, it is now possible for employers to advertise online on a variety of digital platforms. Potential employees can do online searches to find what is possible. However, it is often overwhelming to just do a Google search.
The primary platform that RecruitX and most other South African recruiters use is PNet. PNet is the leading online e-Recruitment Service Provider in South Africa. Their vision is to create a single web-based facility for recruitment agents, corporates and job seekers alike. By providing anywhere, anytime access to online jobs and professional CVs and a superior and easy to utilise search facility PNet adds excellent value to both recruitment agents, corporate businesses and to job seekers. The platform has been so successful that it has more than 2 365 000 Job Seekers and more than 12,000 Recruiters.
The platform has a functional and sophisticated algorithm to match jobseekers and available positions. It is clear that this is a wonderful platform, but that it would also be easy to “disappear” amongst all the other applicants. It is essential to follow a few basic guidelines to ensure that you are linked to appropriate positions and that you feature high on the list of potential candidates.
Guidelines for using PNet:
Firstly, it is, of course, essential to ensure that you are registered on the platform!
It is important to keep certain things in mind: Make your profile as complete and comprehensive as possible. Don’t just say “refer to CV” as the search does not include attached documents. Choose as many appropriate words as possible and use synonyms. For example, you might have “accountant” on your list, but the recruiter specified “financial manager” or even “accounting knowledge”. The system will not match these. The more synonyms you have for a position of activity, the better. Make sure your CV is up-to-date. Update your profile regularly
Applicants whose profiles have been updated most recently are likely to appear at the top of the list of possible candidates. So make sure you update your profile and save regularly to keep it active. Even if you do not have new points to add, opening your profile and saving it again will count as an update. You can also actively search for positions that match your interest and experience on the platform. It is clear that PNET is a very useful platform and effective and efficient way in which you can ensure that recruiters and potential employees are aware of you and your abilities. However, your initial registration must be set up well. It is also clear that it is not something that you do once and then forget about.
Good luck with your job search!
If you repeatedly have a problem with the same position, it seems as if your job specification does not accurately reflect what you expect the person to do. It might be helpful to do a new job analysis, to make sure that you are actually looking for what you need.