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From resume writing to interview tips, here we provide a selection of handy hints to help you in your job search.

APG Global is on the front line, providing the link between Employers and Job Seekers. Over the past 6 months we’ve experienced some radical changes in the recruitment market. This time last year it really was a candidate’s market with international careers abound and salaries to match. Employers were going out of their way to find that elusive “perfect” candidate, and also doing everything they could to retain the staff they already had. It really was a juggling act with high stakes. Not getting and keeping the right candidate on the right seat has serious consequences for any company’s future project and business growth, which in the positive global environment business was full steam ahead.

Fast forward 12 months and it’s a totally different story. It’s very much an employers market now, but again our employers are feeling the pinch from a different angle. With the slowing global economic climate, companies are going into maintenance mode - battening down the hatches, cutting costs and staffing numbers - which is forcing highly skilled employees back onto the job market. New advertisement numbers on online job boards around the world are falling by between 5% to 9% each month, which means competition for those roles is greater.

At APG Global we’ve noticed this trend as well. Over the past quarter application numbers are four times higher than they were this time last year. We now receive applications from on average 27 suitable applicants per job every single month, it was just 7 this time last year!

Stand out from the crowd
Ok, so with all this competition, how do you stand out from the crowd? There are still great jobs out there, you’ve just got to know where to find them and know how to get them. The first problem is easy solved. That’s our job at APG, to find them and bring them to you!So now onto the second problem. We’ve gone to the ends of the earth to bring you the best tips on how to stand out from the crowd and get that job.

Writing your resume

Your resume is the employer’s first introduction to you so you need to make an impression. In a recent study conducted with recruitment managers it was found that a quick scan of between 10 to 30 seconds is all the time they’ll spend on your resume to decide if you make the first cut. So it has to be right.

So what are they looking for? Initially it’s experience. Project, position, company, and location experience (in that order). So if you’ve got it, flaunt it! And if not, don’t try to fake it, the role just isn’t right. Also remember, a reader is going to scroll past everything else on your resume and go straight to your experience first.  If you make that cut, they’ll read the rest of your resume.

Next, the employer will check you have the qualifications they need for the role, which is again a yes or no answer in their mind. And thirdly, they’ll look at what else you have to offer them that might suit their current or future business such as knowledge of their industry or market, leadership skills, specific project experience, etc.

Lastly, they’re looking for the person-job fit in a more corporate cultural sense. Surprisingly the layout of your resume can say a lot about your personality. Abstract texts and graphics may portray you as creative but perhaps not serious. Plain unformatted text with no structure can say you’re lazy and unprofessional.Overall, there are some very easy points to remember, so make the most of that 10-30 second window!

Employment History
The reader will scroll past everything else to get to this first, so this is the most important part of your whole resume to get right to encourage them to read on.Put most recent experience first and work backwards from here. Include:

• Company name (very briefly also mention what the company does eg: ABC Contracting: International civil contractor with operations specialising in Airport construction projects),
• Job title
• Dates of employment (include month and year of commencement and completion)
• Locations of work (where you were based)K
• ey areas of responsibility (including any leadership responsibilities and scopes of work. You don’t need to itemise your full job description if it’s a well known type of role eg Site Manager. Any hiring officer in this industry will already know what that role does.)
• Projects (with project name, size (stories, metres, lanes, etc), project value, scope of project you were involved in)
• If you want to emphasis any achievements you can.
• Discuss your most recent 10 years of experience like this and then any prior experience to this can be described much more briefly with basically the facts (company, dates of employment, job title, projects, location).

Qualifications

• Studies: Include the title of the qualification achieved (faculty and majors or areas of specialisation if relevant), the date received, what institution from and where studied. That’s all. 
• Trade certificate: include qualification attained, dates of the period of training and what company achieved with). 
• Memberships: include only current ones 
• Statuses: eg chartered, registration in certain countries, etc 
• Languages: include any you know and your level of competence.

Spelling and Grammar
Double check your spelling and grammar. In one survey of hiring managers, 75 per cent said it was worse for an applicant to have a spelling or grammatical error on his application than for him to show up late or to swear in an interview. These are giveaway marks so don’t get them wrong! Also, in your communication style be personable and professional so the reader gets a sense of who you are.

Presentation
It has to be easy to read.

• Use one font style only, preferably a sans serif font like Arial or Tahoma. No smaller than size 10 font. Use as little colour as possible, just black and one other colour if you want to be creative. 
• No distracting graphics and definitely no pictures unless you are going for a role as a skincare model. 
• White background. 
• Portrait profile (not landscape) 
• Highlight headings with bold or underline. Be aware, too much of either is distracting to the reader. Use the same style of formatting for all major headings and the same style for all sub headings throughout the document, and don’t change your style part way through.  Eg. Personal Profile, Work Experience, Qualifications, Reference, could be all in Bold Arial 14, then the sub headings eg Job title for each role with dates may be in Bold Arial 11.

The areas you need to include in your resume are

• Personal Profile – contact details, career goal and if relevant for work visa restrictions include age, nationality and family status 
• Qualifications 
• Work Experience 
• References (ok to mention “available upon request” as long as they are available to provide at short notice).

Pre - Interview tips

Be on time: never be late or make the interviewer wait. Plan for traffic jams, parking and finding the room, and to arrive 15 minutes early. But don’t be too early as that’s uncomfortable for the interviewer as well. They’ll feel they need to rush to get you in so you’re not waiting. Remember, they’ll be preparing too for your discussion.

Be presentable: Always wear clean and ironed clothes. If you are not sure what to wear, ask the interviewer’s assistant or the office receptionist what the usual attire is in the office. If still unsure, err on the side of caution. Guys, wear a jacket and tie. Ladies, wear a nice shirt, maybe a tailored jacket, skirt and pantyhose. I know, absurd, but still in this day and age, some employers prefer that women wear skirts or dresses as it’s more feminine rather than pants which is more masculine. Just look at the standard uniform of many major corporates, it almost always includes a skirt. It’s best to be cautious rather than risk the job.Also don’t smoke before an interview, and if you need to walk to the interview and there’s a risk you may perspire plan to bring a spare shirt. These are basics, but are again giveaway marks so no excuses for getting them wrong!

Avoid distractions: this includes loud ties, chipped nail polish, heavy make-up, large or noisy jewellery, sheer fabric, or hair that constantly needs to be pushed back. This also goes for any supporting material you plan to take including lots of bulky unnecessary paper, having to rummage around to find something in the interview, multiple and unnecessary bags. Get all your relevant information sorted and in order before you arrive.

Prepare: There is a strong tendency these days to use behavioural based questions in an interview such as “tell me about a time when you had to solve a major problem, what did you do, how did you do it, and what did you learn from it?” The good news is, many of these questions are predictable, so you can start thinking about your answer in advance. The most common skills discussed in behavioural based questions are:

• Problem solving
• Leadership 
• Interpersonal relationships and conflict management, managing a difficult staff member or supplier. 
• Team working 
• Showing autonomy 
• Project management 
• Client management 
• Business or commercial acumen 
• Key skills of your profession 
• Also, prepare some questions that you want to ask them. It shows you are dedicated and really want the job. Some questions you may ask include: 
  • Where do you see this business heading in the next 5 years? 
  • What do you hope this team to achieve? 
  • What is your expectation for the development of this role over the next few years? 
  • How has the business / project been affected by the current economic crisis, or do you expect further impacts on the business. What steps are being taken in this climate to protect the business’s future? 
  • Will the tasks of this role be self directed or more reactive? Is it individually managed or team oriented? 
  • What is the biggest frustration I might experience in this role? 
  • What are the major tasks this team is aimed at achieving in the next 12 months? 
  • What kind approach / attitude / skills do you believe is needed in order to be successful in this role? 
  • What is the culture / environment within this business / team? There may be other questions you are interested in as well.

Research: read about the employer’s business, the work they are doing, and any news about where they are going.

During the Interview tips

Your answers: How many times have you heard “it’s not what you said, it’s the way you said it”! Well that’s very true. About 55% of our message is Visual so that’s how we look, dress, sit, etc. In your interview be pleasant when you greet them, sit up straight, look at the interviewer when answering the questions and use “open” body language. 38% is vocal, so that’s how you said it. Try not to be nervous as it shows in your voice. Also vary the tone and speed of your voice so you don’t bore them with monotone answers, and let your voice show when your passionate or excited about something. Just 7% of your message is verbal and is conveyed in the actual words you use. So remember, while in an interview the “what” you say is important, it is not the be all and end all. You are more likely to get the job if the interviewer likes you.Listen: There is nothing worse than asking a question about something the interviewer has already spoken about.

Repeat the question: If you are unsure what they are asking, paraphrase it to clarify.Eg:
Interviewer- Tell me about your experience in Africa.
Job Seeker- So you’d like to know more about my time with ABC Contracting while I was in Ghana
Interviewer- No, we want to know more about your knowledge of the construction market in Africa on a whole.
Job Seeker – Thank you. Ok, so I understand that…This beats heading down the wrong track and in this example answering purely about your experience in Ghana, risking looking like you don’t know about any other regions if in fact you do.

Don’t waffle on: Once you’ve answered the question, you’ve answered it. Don’t bore the interviewer. If you’re not sure, ask them “Is that what you are looking for or shall I tell you more?

Offer more if you need to: Different to the point mentioned above, however, if you feel that a particularly valuable skill or experience of yours has not come up yet in the interview, find a way to enter it into the conversation. Behavioural based questions are best for this. If perhaps you’re being constantly asked about your experience in the Middle East, but you’ve worked also on larger projects in Hong Kong, mention this. It may be that the employer needs to make sure you have sufficient Middle East experience, but they may also not realise that your experience in Hong Kong was so diverse and sizeable.

Ask questions: Ask the ones you prepared earlier. It shows you’re committed to getting this job.