Interview advice & free download from James Caan
After the impact of this year, the job market has never been more crowded. If you're looking for extra tips and tools to get hired, serial entrepreneur, philanthropist and former Dragon James Caan knows a think or two about standing out for all the right reasons.
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After the impact of this year, the job market has never been more crowded. If you're looking for extra tips and tools to get hired, serial entrepreneur, philanthropist and former Dragon James Caan knows a think or two about standing out for all the right reasons.
What advice would you give people who have sent out their CVs but not had any job offers?
I would say right now, the conventional methods have gone out the window. If you're sitting online, emailing your CV again and again with no response, then something isn't working. Some employers see thousands of CVs. I would say, if you want to get a job today then you've got to think outside of the box. Go direct to the employer. Identify who you want to work for. Identify the sector you want to be in. Offer the company the opportunity to 'try before they buy'. Instead of thinking about what an employer can do for you, reverse that, and share with employers what you can do for them.
How do you explain gaps on your CV?
You may have gaps in your CV for a number of reasons, but sometimes candidates are not prepared for an interviewer to identify and question these gaps. Be open and honest and make sure that you can reflect that answer in a way that doesn't make you look irresponsible when maybe you were just in a period where you weren't working for three to six months. Do remember that whoever is interviewing you will be looking for how credible your answer is.
Therefore before you go for the interview, make sure you read your own CV and think about anything glaring that will come out that you may not be prepared for. If you think about this ahead of time, then you'll be able to answer in a natural and relaxed way.
How do you show potential employers that you are the right fit for a role?
An employer will hire you because you're going to make a difference by improving the role, or creating value in the role. The key question for you here is how will you add value in that role? What you've got to be able to do is to quantify what your contributions are, and make them relevant for the role.
An important thing to remember is a job exists is because there is a problem in the business. You are solving a problem. Every role or responsibility in a business solves a problem. Your answers need to demonstrate how you will solve that problem better than any other candidate.
How do you know if an interview has gone well?
If you want to know how well the interview has done, when you reflect back, a great measure is to ask yourself who did most of the talking. If the person doing the interview did 80% of the talking, it didn't go very well. Generally speaking, it should be 60% you, and 40% them. So if you haven't really engaged in the discussion, I think you'll find that you'll struggle to get the job. Always make sure that you do more talking because you're there on display. If you find the interviewer does the majority of the talking, I think you'll find that it's not gone very well.
How do I sell my soft skills during an interview?
Soft skills are worth £88 billion to the UK economy, and just as important as qualifications and experience. It's about what you contribute to the people around you.
WATCH: James' advice on selling your soft skills at an interview.
If you're looking for extra tips and tools to get hired, James is offering his new book ‘Get The Job you Really Want’ for free until the end of January.