Candidate Resource Centre
Welcome to the ‘Search Recruitment’ candidate resources page, where you can find valuable information and tools to help you achieve your career goals. Working in this space each and every day, we understand that finding the right job can be challenging – so, we have pulled together some candidate resources designed to support you throughout your job search process, and help you stand out to employers.
Candidate Recruitment Resources:
Competency-based Interviews
Competency-based (or behavioural) interviews are based on the premise that past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour. Interviewers seek to obtain information about candidates past behaviour in certain situations. Competency-based interviews are structured, with questions that relate directly to the essential criteria and competencies required for the post. Research into recruitment and selection methodology suggests that structured, competency based interviews can be one of the most reliable and accurate forms of assessment.
Competency-based interview questions have been used for selection, but have not always been labelled as such. This style of interviewing is usually only one part of the interview process and often a more informal interview is held separately to discuss the CV in a chronological approach.
A good recruitment and selection interview should assess candidates against each essential criteria or competency, asking questions about:
• Past behaviours and performance
• Learning from past behaviours
• Future adaptability to new post
• Knowledge and understanding of issues in relation to the post
What does the interview focus on?
Most interviews will focus on four – six or so key areas. These will mostly be competencies, but may also include other knowledge-based essential criteria for example leadership, teamwork, conflict, motivation, creativity and technical skills related to the job spec. They will be focused on those competencies which are most important for the particular job. You may also be required to meet other, specific essential criteria. This could be an in-depth knowledge of a
particular area or experience of working in a similar role previously.
What should I expect in the interview?
Competency-based interview questions are slightly different to the style you may be used to. They will tend to focus on past situations and your behaviour in those situations. Questions are likely to start with: “Please give me an example of when. . .” or “Please describe an occasion…” etc.
Example Questions include:
• Conflict & Pressure
• Give an example of an instance when you have had an argument with someone at work?
What was the outcome?
• How do you react if your boss asks you to do something which conflicts with your own
deadlines?
• Delegating
• Explain a mistake you have made in delegating- what were the consequences?
• In what instance would you delegate a task?
• What are the advantages of delegating?
• Team Work
• Do you prefer to work alone or in a group?
• When you joined your last company, how did you get on with your co-workers?
Contact us to find out more about how our skilled recruitment team can help you take the next step in your accounting or finance career. You can also browse our current vacancies, learn more about Profile or register as a candidate to get your recruitment started with Profile.
Guide to Assessments & Testing
You may find that part of the assessment process requires you to take aptitude and / or psychometric tests. There are many different types of test, but amongst the most common are:
• Verbal reasoning tests assess your ability to understand, analyse and interpret written information.
• Numerical reasoning tests assess your problem-solving ability. The tests work by either providing straightforward problems or by setting questions that require mathematical calculations or interpretations – a bit like the numerical quizzes or puzzles you may come across in newspapers or magazines.
• Abstract reasoning tests involve problem solving that is neither verbal nor numerical.
• Psychometric / personality tests look at several aspects of your personality. These can include what motivates you, what you value, what your work and / or life preferences are, and how you interact or develop relationships with other people.
What preparation can I do?
You may wish to familiarise yourself with various formats of each type of test to put yourself at ease. There are lots of books and websites that can help you and provide example tests for you to try: www.psychometrics.co.uk and www.shl.com.
Tips
• Listen to or read the instructions very carefully and don’t be afraid of telling your assessor if you do not understand something.
• Ensure the environment in which you take the test is free of disruptions, especially if you are taking the test at home on the internet- choose a time and a place that you feel comfortable with.
• Most tests are timed, so work quickly and accurately – remember that it is quite common not to complete the whole test.
• The most important thing with the personality test is to be yourself, and to be as honest as possible. The test is not designed to trick you, trying to second-guess the answers is not advised as you will be asked the same thing in several different ways.
Will the test decide if I get the job?
The tests are only used to measure specific aspects and do not provide a full picture of you as a candidate, often they will be used in conjunction with interviews, references and work simulations. Combined, these provide a better picture with which to assess your overall ability to meet the role criteria.
As tests form only one piece of the jigsaw to aid your potential employer’s decision- making, they can fall at different stages in the recruitment process. The test may be required to short-list candidates with their CV, as part of a first interview, or to plan future training.
Feedback
Recruitment is a two-way process and it is just as important for you to be given feedback after the tests, just as it is important for the company to analyse the results. The feedback will often provide useful information for you. If you do get the job, it is good practice to discuss the findings with your new employer, as this can serve as a very useful training & development tool for you and the company.
Contact us to find out more about how our skilled recruitment team can help you take the next step in your accounting or finance career. You can also browse our current vacancies, learn more about Profile or register as a candidate to get your recruitment started with Profile.
Interview Advice
As a job seeker, you may notice that there are some general interview questions in every job interview; therefore you must be prepared for them. Whether is the first or second job interview, you need to do your best to get the job.
Some examples are:
1. Why do you want this job? Why do you want to work for us?
One of the most predictable questions and very important! You need to demonstrate that you have researched the employer and tie your knowledge of them into the skills and interests led you to apply.
Try to find some specific feature on which the employer prides themselves: their training, their client base, their individuality, their public image, etc. This may not always be possible with smaller firms but you may be able to pick up something of this nature from the interviewer.
2. What is your greatest strength?
There is no right answer for this question, because each person has their own strengths. However, it is advisable to choose one related to the job, for example: if you want to work in an accountancy firm you can make special emphasis on your attention to detail and that you are process focussed.
3. Have you got any questions?
At the end of the interview, it is likely that you will be given the chance to put your own questions to the interviewer.
Keep them brief: there may be other interviewees waiting.
Ask about the work itself, training and career development: not about holidays or salary. Prepare some questions in advance, it is OK to write these down and to refer to your notes to remind yourself of what you wanted to ask.
It often happens that, during the interview, all the points that you had noted down to ask about will be covered before you get to this stage. In this situation, you can respond as follows:
Interviewer: Well, that seems to have covered everything: is there anything you would like to ask me?
Interviewee: Thank you: I’d made a note to ask about your appraisal system and the study arrangements for professional accountancy exams, but we went over those earlier and I really feel you’ve covered everything that I need to know at this moment.
You can also use this opportunity to tell the interviewer anything about yourself that they have not raised during the interview but which you feel is important to your application:
Don’t feel you have to wait until this point to ask questions – if the chance to ask a question seems to arise naturally in the course of the interview, take it! Remember that a traditional interview is a conversation – with a purpose.
Behavioural or Competency based Interviews
There are many types of interviews, from the free flowing to the formal, but one that you are likely to come up against at some point is the competency-based interview.
They’re designed to make the job application process as objective as possible, removing any conscious or subconscious bias by the interviewer by asking each candidate the same questions.
These type of interviews are very common, especially in large organisations and the public sector, so it’s worth refining your technique.
ST/AR
- Situation – set the context for your story. For example, “while I was working at XYZ company, we were due to be delivering a presentation on financial figures to a group of 30 interested industry players on our new product and the CFO due to deliver it, got a flat tyre so was running late.”
- Task – what was required of you in the role. For example, “It was my responsibility as Assistant Finance Manager to find an alternative so it didn’t reflect badly on the company and we didn’t waste the opportunity.”
- Activity – what you actually did. For example, “I spoke to the event organisers to find out if they could change the running order. They agreed so we bought ourselves some time. I contacted our Finance Manager, who at a push could step in. She agreed to drop what she was doing and head to the event.”
- Result – how well the situation played out. For example, “The CFO didn’t make the meeting on time but we explained the problem to the delegates and the FM’s presentation went well – a bit rough around the edges but it was warmly received. The CFO managed to get there for the last 15 minutes to answer questions. As a result we gained some good contacts, at least two of which we converted into paying clients.”
Contact us to find out more about how our skilled recruitment team can help you take the next step in your accounting or finance career. You can also browse our current vacancies, learn more about Profile or register as a candidate to get your recruitment started with Profile.
CV Advice
No matter how much experience you have or how many qualifications you’ve earned, the key to landing a fantastic job is creating a strong CV that gets you noticed. Unfortunately, for many people, CV writing is not a skill that comes naturally. You might find it uncomfortable to write flattering things about yourself, or maybe you just don’t know what makes a good CV. That’s why we’ve put together a list of suggestions to help you create a working document that will best represent your professional and personal profile long term.
Stand out from the crowd
Before you even begin writing, make sure you’re thinking about the task in the right frame of mind. Think of your CV as an advertisement promoting you and demonstrating what you can do for your potential employer. Start in a way that gets the reader’s attention and keep that momentum going throughout the document; a newspaper article that makes you read the full piece is a good example of this.
Write a grabbing summary statement
At the top of your CV, include a summary statement. This should give a clear and concise explanation of your most relevant skills, qualifications and achievements to ensure that those who receive the document don’t miss any important points that would otherwise be hidden further down the page.
Focus on your achievements
When writing a CV don’t just talk about your responsibilities in your previous jobs. Instead, highlight how you excelled in the role. Wherever possible give actual volumes and values – such as how much money you saved the company or a percentage of sales increases seen during your tenure.
Appearances count
You wouldn’t show up to an interview in a sloppy t-shirt and torn jeans, and you shouldn’t send in a CV that looks unprofessional either. Take some time to clean up the formatting on your resume, and remember that the right balance of white space to text can really improve readability and visual aesthetics on the page. Doing this will help to show that you care about the details.
Customise, customise, customise
Once you’ve written a fabulous CV, it doesn’t mean you are done. Instead, make a point to customise your curriculum vitae for every vacancy by using keywords taken from the job description.
Proofread – then proofread again
A single typing error or misspelled word could be enough for even the most impressive of CV’s to be put in the bin, so keep checking the document. Spellcheck can help, but don’t rely on it completely. A trusted friend or family member could read over your CV to make sure it is free from mistakes.
As specialist recruitment consultants for Accounting, Finance and Administration jobs across Canterbury, the team at Search Recruitmentis here to help you find vacancies, provide advice and help you along your career path. To find out more about our services, and how we can help you find opportunities, please feel free to get in touch. You can also browse our current vacancies here.
Contact us to find out more about how our skilled recruitment team can help you take the next step in your accounting or finance career. You can also browse our current vacancies, learn more about Profile or register as a candidate to get your recruitment started with Profile.