Hi everyone, we hope you have been having a good week! Busy, busy here (when is it not) we’re always happy to have a chat or answer a query about a role posted so don’t hesitate to reach out. Still very much a candidate market so if you have a good match of skills to a job ad you see through us or privately, we urge you to go for it!
I would advise you not to become too cocky with the market such as it is. Yes, it is a good time to negotiate salaries and benefits but not to the point where you sacrifice a great opportunity. I’ve had a view candidates miss out on spectacular positions recently as the client was turned right off by their expectations of more money, well and truly over and above the advised salary that they were happy with just the day before. My advice, if the company is offering $60K for a role and you feel after meeting with them that the role consists of “more” in terms of duties and responsibilities than read in the ad and or job description then use a guide of $5K as standard with an expectation that they might come back with a counter offer of $2K more to start with an increase after a successful probationary period OR they might suggest a start of $60K but then a bump up to $65 after the probationary period.
Bottom line is you know how good you are and what an asset you could be to them, they know how good you “say” you are to them but what you’re to them at this point are words on a page. Regardless of the climate, you need to “show” them that you can do, and they need to “see” you in action before considering coming in higher. What’s that saying? “You have to (in this instance) walk the walk, before you can talk the talk”.
So, what are employers looking for in candidates?
Employers are less willing to take a chance on someone in this climate, so you need to make sure you highlight relevant applicable industry experience on your CV. It is important to highlight your relevant experience and tying it directly to the job ad.
Cultural fit is also essential, which is why it is important to research a hiring organisation’s culture and values then share in your CV and in an interview, examples that demonstrate how your way of working is aligned with theirs.
They aren’t willing to take a chance on an unproven performer, which is why it’s important to demonstrate the relevance of your experience and the value you could bring to their organisation.
Statistics show that out of 1,100 employers surveyed, 51% nominated industry experience as the key factor that helps a candidate stand out from the crowd right now. This was closely followed by cultural fit (50%) and a good CV with relevant experience (39%).
Ultimately, impactful numbers are very compelling in the context of a CV and allow you to undeniably prove that your experience makes you the right person for the job.
One of the ways you could quantify or prove that your experience is relevant, is to state the percentage increase in new sales, clients or website visitors you were responsible for, the number of team members or projects you’ve managed, the volume of work you delivered in a given timeframe, your response rate for queries or the number of customers you typically served.
You could also mention the number of stakeholders you have worked with, projects that you have delivered ahead of time, any successful process improvements you have implemented.