how to be employable

Since 2003, Optimum has been working with businesses throughout Australia and internationally, for almost 20 years.  

Our team of highly experienced people professionals, provide end to end recruitment and HR consulting services.  

In the last year, we helped 591 people into suitable employment and as we continue to develop those relationships, many of our candidates have turned into our clients of today.   

Inside the life of a recruiter… 

My journey as a recruiter started in the UK, where I sourced, screened, interviewed, and placed candidates into Chef positions for Hotels throughout England and Ireland.  

I am now recruiting for Optimum Consulting Group in Brisbane where I am recruiting candidates for Professional Services, Office Support, Accounting & Finance and more… for a huge range of different industries.  

In this presentation, I will walk you through my experience as a recruiter and the fundamental things that I look for in a candidate.  

Let’s take a look at the numbers… 

On an average day, I might review 40 – 80 resumes, screen perhaps a third of those, and interview 2 – 5 candidates. 

That means that over the course of 1 year – I may see in the region of 20,000 resumes and interview over 750 candidates.  

It can be challenging for recruiters to remember everyone they speak to; so, to remain at the forefront of our minds – keep in contact! 

Pick up the phone, pop in and say hi, send an email or a text to let us know you are looking for work, and supply us with all the information we need to help you find employment.  

We want to fill the vacancy to highest standard in the fastest time possible. 

Recruiters spend on average 7.4 seconds glancing at a resume, deciding whether it’s a good fit for the role we are recruiting. If it seems like the candidate is a good fit in broad terms, we will read on. 

Overall, it takes 1 -2 minutes to decide if a candidate should be contacted to screen for the position and potentially invite for an interview.  

Format your CV with recruiters in mind. 

Use a simple clear format and layout that’s easy to read and make headings big and bold so that recruiters can navigate the page quickly during that initial skim-read. 

Keep your resume consistent and don’t be tempted to complicate the design with pictures and unnecessary design features – they crowd the page and distract readers from the content. 

Study the selection criteria… 

Tailor your resume and cover letter to meet the essential and desirable selection criteria of the job. 

If you want to be in Admin, highlight Administration duties and responsibilities the most in your resume.  

For example, if you currently work in hospitality and want an Administration role, detail your transferable experience. This may include completing stock takes, rostering, P&L reports and other administrative duties. 

You can leave out things like “cleaning the coffee machine” as this is not relevant and takes the focus away from your transferable skills.  

Quantify your resume 

See for yourself. Which person would you hire? 

Person 1: Responsible for chairing the Student Event Promotional Committee. 

Person 2: Chaired promotional committee of 12 and presented marketing plans to an audience of 40 to 60 students at weekly university senate meetings open to all 2,000 community members. 

Numbers make such a huge difference in resumes—no matter what your work involves. 

We love bullet points!  

Personally, the most challenging resumes to qualify are the “storytelling” or “narrative” formatted resumes. These resumes are written in lengthy paragraphs, where it takes me longer to find the information I need.  

We also have to spend more time reformatting these resumes to make it easier for our clients to read, which can hold up the recruitment process.  

Key words matter. 

When we do a search for a candidate, we first use the role title, and then we use key words to filter our search on Seek, LinkedIn and our databases.  

The more specific you are in your resume; the more likely algorithms will bring your resume to the top of our searches.  

Key words we use in conjunction with the role title may include:   

  • Accounting: MYOB, XERO, SAP, Invoice, Payroll, Tax, Implementation 
  • Sales & Marketing: B2B, B2C, Inbound, Outbound  
  • IT: PHP, .net, Front end, Back end, Cloud, Cyber Security, Active Directory 
  • Engineering: AutoCAD, MicroStation, Arcflash 
  • Office support: Minute taking, Reception, Data entry, Filing, IR  

Are you still struggling to get your foot in the door? 

Take a realistic look at your CV compared to the job adverts you are responding to and ask yourself, what you are missing? 

If you lack some experience employers need, could you step up in your current role and take on some extra responsibilities?  

Could you volunteer in a relevant role to gain more experience? 

If you don’t have the software experience or qualifications they are asking for, could you take an online course to get them? 

What we love as recruiters… 

  1. Candidates who send us an easy-to-read resume which clearly identifies their experience in relation to the selection criteria 
  2. Candidates that are responsive, energetic and eager to work 
  3. Candidates who are authentic and upfront in their responses 
  4. Candidates who remain positive about past their employers, identifying things they learned if the experience was not as good as it could have been 
  5. Candidates who can articulate what they have to offer clearly (an ability to sell themselves during interview) 
  6. Candidates who come well prepared and well researched 
  7. Candidates who make the effort to dress professionally for the interview and arrive early  

The biggest turn offs for a recruiter… 

When candidates…  

  • Are late to an interview  
  • Don’t dress professionally  
  • Supply us with a resume that is not up to date or has incorrect information on it
  • Don’t listen to our questions properly and respond by going off topic  
  • Show a lack of respect/poor behaviour 
  • “Ghost” or don’t communicate consistently  

*Bear in mind; events of poor behaviour, tardiness and no shows are recorded in our system indefinitely and will affect our decision to place you – whether that’s 1 month, or even 5 years from now.  

Remember… 

We are your biggest advocates! 

  • If you make a great first impression with us, naturally it will make it easier for us to sell you to our clients. WOW us, so we can WOW them.  
  • We will be there to support you in every way we can. After your interview with us, we provide feedback to help you make improvements, we format your resume and provide you with all the knowledge you need to arm you against questions like “So, what do you know about our company?” 

Premium Career Support by Optimum 

At Optimum Consulting Group, we offer a range of personal/professional workshops to help candidates become more employable, including:  

  • Leadership  
  • Resume Building 
  • Interview Skills 

We also provide career coaching sessions in conjunction with psychometric assessments to help you become more self-aware and identify areas for personal development.  

If you would like to register with Optimum Consulting Group, please reach out to us on (07) 3228 8400,  admin@ogroup.com.au , 

Or visit us in our office at: Level 17, 40 Creek Street, Brisbane City 4000 

For more information, you can visit our website – Optimum Consulting

CASSIE GRAHAM
Senior Consultant

Cassie Graham joined Optimum Consulting in June 2021 as a Consultant & Career Coach, as part of the Optimum acquisition of the APRG business. Cassie first established herself when recruiting in the United Kingdom for some of the top ranked hotel chains in the world, before eventually migrating to Australia. 

recruitment services in brisbane

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