When I first sat down to write this blog, I thought “what do people actually want to know about being hired?”  More specifically, “what do people in the web industry actually want to know about being hired?”

As an in-house recruiter for Heart Internet, I read dozens of covering letters and CVs every week to match potential candidates with potential managers and teams, conduct phone interviews, arrange face-to-face interviews, and various other career-based tasks. I like informative blogs, the kind that I can take something relevant from or that interest me on a personal level. But I am a bit of a recruitment nerd (which, considering the company I work for makes me a pretty good fit as we LOVE geeking out at Heart Internet!).

One of the main things I personally found difficult when first job hunting was the lack of information available about “best practice” in actually applying. Things such as: how should I write my covering letter, what font should I use, how much/little information should I put in my personal statement, do I even need a personal statement? Do employers get annoyed if I do or don’t call them to check the progression of my application, should I include a picture, should I be naked in this picture? (That one very much depends on the job, but let’s just strike that one from the record for now…).

So to help with this, I've put together a series of recruitment best practices straight from the horse’s mouth – from spotting an advert to being invited to interview.  Here’s part one – enjoy!

Research the company

Review adverts in detail and remember to research companies you like the look of by visiting their corporate web page, Facebook page, Twitter account, and any recent press releases. All of these can offer an interesting insight into the business and provide quality conversation material for interviews. This is especially important for web/tech-driven companies like Heart Internet who are likely to have active blog and social channels which reveal a lot of information about their work and culture. Make notes as you go along, particularly if there’s anything that you use as a question later on at the interview stage.

Review the description

When you start working on your CV and cover letter, highlight key areas that match the published job description. If it helps, print off the job description and use a highlighter to pick out key similarities. This also helps you begin the process of thinking about the interview questions you are likely to get and the answers you need to be practising.

The best reason to review the job description is that it allows you to consider your skills gaps. This isn’t a negative experience; in fact it gives the chance to hit any potential “weakness” questions head on and, if done early enough, gives you valuable time to think of positive ways in which you go about overcoming gaps. Interviewers will be impressed if you have thought about the potential weaknesses you might have and even more so if you can demonstrate that you have developed ways to work with them. It’s always better to be honest, particularly if you’re applying for a technical role where you’re likely to be given a written or computer-based test as part of the interview process.

Write a perfect cover letter

Write a detailed (but not too long – ideally a couple of paragraphs, a page at the very most) covering letter that is specific and relevant to the job you are applying for. If your covering letter can grab the attention of the recruiter in the first few lines it will increase the chances of your CV being read with interest.

Recruiters are turned off by many things in a covering letter – too long, not long enough, generic letters, letters written to the wrong company/addressee/job title, letters that moan about current or previous job/companies/bosses, and so on. Be creative (but not cocky!) and avoid being overly flattering to the company as this comes across as false. If you use the company’s services or products – for example, you have web hosting with Heart Internet – it’s worth mentioning as it shows genuine interest as well as first-hand familiarity with what they do.

Use positive words that convey a sense of confidence in your ability, and use the covering letter as a way of breaking the ice – telling the recruiter just enough about you to whet their appetite.  And try to avoid giving too many stats at this stage – save that for the achievements section on your CV.

Above all, it’s important that your covering letter shows the recruiter that you have taken the time in your application for their job, that your choice is well researched and based on your long-term career goals. Do this and the recruiter will be considerably more likely to return the favour and take time in reading your CV.

Next time I’ll talk about your CV, and how to really make it shine. In the meantime, if you have any questions or topic suggestions, please leave a comment below.