Top Mistakes of Beginner Candidates That You Have Never Heard About-Publication

The list of beginner candidates’ mistakes will help you avoid embarrassing situations at a job interview.

It is not easy for a recent graduate to find a job today. According to the Ministry of Education and Science, only 75% of graduates found a job in 2016. 25% (139,600 people) ended up unemployed. This may be due to a number of reasons: lack of new jobs, market stagnation, obsolete curricula, etc. It is also worth noting that competition in the job market is tough. Today, except for a number of extremely narrow fields, it is not the candidate who chooses the company, but vice versa – the employer chooses the required employee. Companies thoroughly consider whether they are willing to invest time and money in the training of a young candidate or not. However, the situation is not that bad. It is definitely hard to find your first job, but it is not impossible. Study the vacancies market, ask your acquaintances to share their experience in finding a job. Zulfia Yupashevskaya, Deputy Director of HR Services Department, BDO Unicon Outsourcing, describes beginner candidates’ most common mistakes that should be avoided in order to avoid embarrassing situations at a job interview.

1. Silent consent

Many graduates are eager to consent to any terms, even if they don’t quite suit them. Under the pressure of the situation when everyone around says how difficult it is to find a job after college, and moreover, hearing the terrifying word “crisis” from every corner, a recent graduate instinctively wants to show that he is willing to work on any terms just in order to hear the desired words from the employer: “you got this job”. Let’s figure it out: if you can only work twice a week as you are getting extended education, you should not say that you are able to work full time. This deception will be disclosed on the very first day and you will have to leave with bad references. Ask yourself a few simple questions: why do you need a job? Do you want to start building your career or do you consider a job as a source of temporary income? Are you willing to work full time combining professional activities with education? Will you be able to start tomorrow or will you suddenly want to have rest in a week? Answers to these questions will help you to avoid head hunters’ perplexed looks and waste of time at job interviews. The employer looks for a productive employee able to develop the company and make profits, rather than a voiceless slave working 24/7 and doing everything he is told without thinking. Don’t be afraid to talk openly about the issues that you are concerned about, ask questions during the job interview. It’s better to set things straight at the very beginning rather than get disappointed with your decision in the future.

Such situations may also be due to a lack of confidence in the trade that you chose: if you want to be employed as a legal assistant, but this position has been closed in the relevant department and you are offered a position of assistant in a consulting department, take some time to think, keep an open mind. Chances are that the new field will be way more interesting than the occupation you were trained for at college. But if you want to say “yes” simply because you are afraid of spending too much time on job search, think whether you really want to take the first offer that you are not particularly happy about. Your supervisor will ultimately notice the lack of interest in the job duties, and changing trades and starting everything from scratch is not that simple.

2. Chasing the scale effect

Many people are keen to work for a major international company with a spacious office in the centre of Moscow and to have a private car. Unfortunately, this is too far from reality. The size of your desk and whether you have a personal office is not crucial. You should clearly realise whether there is anything you can learn in this job, whether you will have career development prospects, and whether you will be able to learn anything from your immediate superior. Don’t be afraid of small companies: a job in a start-up will provide you with experience like any other. A lot depends on each individual employee in small companies. Frequently, the range of duties in such companies is not well determined, but this stage in your career may provide you with diverse experiences. Yet another strength of a young company is the opportunity to implement your own ideas and see their results expediently.

3. Putting on airs

Quite regretfully, a lot of beginner candidates start their job interviews by saying: “Is there really anything difficult about this job?” For instance, an inexperienced candidate wants to be a bank teller. Meanwhile, he is not familiar with the rules of document flow and has never worked in sales. Believe me, many graduates are even eager to take a managerial position, as they are certain that all the responsibility may be easily delegated to subordinates – the only thing you have to do is to give assignments. But in fact, each occupation has a lot of intricacies and pitfalls that you might be unaware of. You should not waste your time on a cover letter, if a company needs an experienced specialist with two university degrees. Prior to responding to a job advertisement, read the list of eligibility requirements and tasks attentively. Think whether you will be able to cope with those on your own and whether you have dealt with similar tasks before. If you answer those questions in advance, you won’t have to blush at the interview.

Yet another common trend is a universal desire to create your own start-up. You have ideas? – Excellent. Has anyone implemented this idea already? Do you have sufficient capital to start? Managerial experience? Action plan in case of failure? Try to answer these questions as honestly as you can. It is crucial to realise that a start-up is a business like any other that both opens certain opportunities, and seriously puts upon you. I an not urging you to abandon your dream, but be aware that a lot of things may fail to work as planned: the growth rates may prove to be too slow, your suppliers or partners may prove to lack professionalism, and your competitors may outperform you. Even if your goal is to launch a start-up, it is advisable to look at the current best practices and examine the ways to organise business processes.

4. Unreasonable demands

Excessive salary expectations serve as another reason for an employer to reject you. When discussing your labour remuneration, think of the skills that may appeal to the company rather than of your desired expense. Company managers don’t really care about the district where you rent an apartment or whether you prefer arriving to office in your private car. They care about what you can do and how you could apply this know-how in the company. Learn about the salaries offered to recent graduates in the market. Compare the employer’s offer with the other companies’ offers. Discuss the conditions for getting a pay rise at the very start: successful probation, annual certification, successful project implementation, etc. At times, it might be better to get started with something, rather than spend months trying to find a high-paying job.

Obviously, mistakes are unavoidable, but try to learn from other people’s mistakes: talk to your peers with similar experiences, track changes in the field, etc.

I would recommend that all students think of their employment in advance: take internships, work somewhere during a vacation. Even if you work in a field that differs from the one you have been trained for, it will still be way easier for you to get the employer interested. Remember one thing: everyone goes through the job search, and therefore, you should not be afraid of job interviews. Where there is a will there is a way, so it’s up to you!

Source: career.ru