Have you decided for a change?
Although changing jobs is one of the most stressful life situations, you can reduce the level of stress and increase your chances of success if you spend time preparing and getting the maximum amount of information associated with the change.
Start by clarifying your motivation to change. Define exactly what you are looking for. For instance, the type of organization, the field of activity, job position, regional aspects. Summarize what you have to offer. Education, experience, expertise, personal characteristics, language skills, PC skills, etc. Determine what your price is and what motivational factors are most important to you. Find out what the situation on the labour market is. Name your ideas of your professional perspective.
Where to find a job?
Internet
Internet is currently the most common way of finding job opportunities due to its speed and easy access. You can upload your CV on the specialized servers usually for free:
www.profesia.sk, http://praca.sme.sk/praca/praca.aspx, www.topjobs.sk, www.mojapraca.sk, www.jobserver.sk, www.monster.sk, www.pracovne-ponuky.sk, www.robota.sk, www.cvonline.sk, www.praca-kariera.sk, www.itkariera.com (IT positions)
Press
Special supplements of daily or weekly newspapers:
SME (supplement Career, every Tuesday), PRAVDA (supplement, every Tuesday and Saturday), TREND (weekly magazine, section Business, Management and Career), HOSPODÁRSKE NOVINY (supplement Career, every Thursday)
Broadcast
Radio Regina Bratislava – broadcast for the Western Slovakia region, Radio labour market, Monday to Friday, 15:05
Radio Regina Banská Bystrica – broadcast for the Central Slovakia region, Radio labour market, Monday to Friday, 15:05
Radio Regina Košice – broadcast for the Eastern Slovakia region, Radio labour market, Monday to Friday, 15:05
Personal agencies
The advantage of personal agencies is particularly their professionalism, independence and orientation on the labour market. They can be the source of a lot of information for you. The advantage is that they will actively contact you in case of a suitable job offer. However, pay attention to the choice of the agency.
Direct contact of the employer
The initiative plays a crucial role in finding a job. Contact the potential employer and send them your resume and cover letter. After agreement a personal visit is possible. We recommend a written contact at first, via email, send your resume along with the cover letter to the competent person of the particular department, in which you will explain what you are interested in and give reasons for your request. Enter as many contacts of yourself as possible and express your interest in further contact.
Labour offices
The main task of the labour office is the mediation of work for the unemployed, fresh school graduates and those who because of their medical condition or social situation are not able to find a job in a long term. For information about the help of the labour offices visit the address www.upsvar.sk.
Contacts and recommendations
Your acquaintances, former or current co-workers and friends who may know about job vacancies can be helpful. On the labour market there exist a considerable number of predominantly small companies which recruit employees based on the personal links and recommendations. A good reference can come in handy…
How to write a resume and cover letter
Životopis
Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV) is a key document which may highlight your value to the potential employer.
You can find CV samples here: www.zivotopis.sk, europas, www.zivotopis-online.sk, www.vzory-zmluv-zadarmo.sk/zivotopisy
Cover letter
The purpose of the cover letter is to get attention of the potential employer to read your resume. Therefore, it is appropriate to attach it to the CV.
Samples of cover letters can be found here: www.zivotopis.sk
How to prepare and succeed in the selection process
The selection procedure is carried out in different ways depending on the job position and the type of company.
Since usually there are a lot of candidates, HR specialists use the telephone interview as the first selection of the most suitable candidates. During this interview they will ask you several questions, generally related to the basic requirements for the specific job position, so-called factographic questions – e.g.: foreign language skills, concrete work experience and so on. Also, you may expect so-called check questions when the information provided in your resume is verified. For example, if you mentioned the knowledge of a foreign language in your resume, the telephone interview can be carried out in this language. Be ready for personal questions as well – e.g. how do you react to stress, why do you think that you are the best candidate and so on. It is good to be prepared for these questions; be clear about why you are applying for the position and be ready to highlight your positives. A good helping tool is for instance the comparison of your knowledge and experience with the requirements that are listed in the advertisement. Usually it is enough to present those that overlap. In addition to the content side, your voice presentation in a telephone interview is also important. It is convenient to talk more slowly and clearly.
You may also come across a so-called on-line interview, i.e. an interview via internet. It may include additional questions to some parts of your resume or even a link to the on-line test. It is therefore important to check your email box at least once per day and be prepared to respond to the requests quickly.
However, the whole interview may be carried out on-line in case a personal meeting is complicated. For this purpose, Skype is used most frequently.
Personal interview can be conducted with a personal agency worker or directly at the company that is offering the job position with an HR specialist or a direct superordinate of the position that is being offered. The goal of the personal interview is to verify if your knowledge, abilities, experience and personal characteristics match the needs of the company and if you are the most suitable candidate for the position. At the same time, the goal is to provide more detailed information about the work position and the company to the candidate. The length of the first personal interview may vary. Usually it takes around 30-60 minutes. Verify the expected duration of the interview and set aside enough time.
Even though the interview process varies depending on the work position and the nature of a company, some of the points are the same:
Sample questions that you may come across most often:
Questions focused on your expertise, work experience and motivation:
Questions aimed at your personality
Questions focused on non-work activities (they seek to get information about your life style, personal values, interests or their potential impact on your professional life)
Personal questions and questions not connected with work are limited by the Labour Code. The prohibition of discrimination is referred to in § 13 and the pre-contractual relations are regulated by § 41. If you encounter questions that are contrary to these articles, you may civilly and politely refuse to answer them.
Do not ignore the little things
It is good to remember that your job is to make the best impression on a person who sees you for the first time, in a relatively short time. A professional HR specialist will try to use this short time to obtain the maximum amount of information about you. Hence, he will watch closely not only your responses to the questions, but also all of your non-verbal actions, your clothes, your readiness for the interview, punctuality, the way you communicate etc. Therefore, remember:
Further rounds of the selection process
If you have successfully completed the first interview, it is usually followed by a second round in the form of another personal interview with the presence of your potential superordinate. Its main focus is to explore your potential benefit for the company and your expertise. Again all the rules of the first interview apply. For the second interview you may prepare further questions that have come up after the completion of the first meeting. At the end of an interview, technical questions are usually discussed in greater detail, e.g. the date of your entry into employment, pay conditions, further benefits and such.
Sometimes, the selection process includes a requirement to undergo psychological tests or to take part in the
Assessment Centre.
What to do after an interview
It is natural that after the end of an interview the majority of people think and try to guess the outcome of the interview.
They reassess their answers and blame themselves thinking about what could have been said differently, etc. Although you feel like you cannot affect anything anymore, it is not true. You can do a very simple thing – thank for the interview.
Do you want to impress in an interview?
We will help you prepare your CV so that it impresses your potential employer. We will give you feedback after a model interview. We will advice you how to prepare for the interview and to be more convincing. We will provide support in steering your career, because only the one who is on fire can ignite …
Arrange a meeting with our consultant, send us an e-mail to persea@persea.sk.
The price for this service (approx. 2 hours consultation) is 70 € (including VAT) .
Other services:
Testing of personality and performance (approx. 5 hours). The outcome is a personal profile, including individual feedback (approx. 45 min consultation). The price is 230 € (including VAT).