Cosmopolitan_SriLanka_December_2016

w ords:

corinne

redfern

| imag

E:^

getty images

stay sWitched on

“These days, two-thirds of

recruitment is ‘passive,’” says

Darain Faraz, spokesperson

for LinkedIn. “You put

yourself out there and wait

for potential employers to get

in touch.” Meaning your

social media channels need

to portray your very best self

at all times. “Companies are

now looking to see if you have

interests that match up with

their business,” he adds.

O’Callaghan agrees.

y

our laptop is

balanced on a

pile of pillows,

and while your

top is clean,

there’s a stubborn smear of

Nutella on your pyjama

shorts. Taking a deep breath,

you sign into Google

Hangouts. “Hi,” you type—

cheeks red and heart racing.

“I’m ready for my interview.”

Recruitment has changed

more in the last two years

than ever before. According to

Rosie O’Callaghan, “It’s now

less about talking up your

qualifications, and more about

showing who you are as a

person”—and she should

know, she’s the co-founder of

bespoke recruitment agency

JasperRose, whose clients

include Chanel and Harvey

Nichols.

The stats back her up.

Research shows that up to a

third of applicants would lie

on a CV and recruiters only

spend five to seven seconds

looking at them anyway. On

the other hand, a five-minute

chat on Google Hangouts – as

used by brands including

Houzz, BuzzFeed and, er,

Google (funny that) – is

harder to fake, and gives

candidates the opportunity to

sell themselves on more than

just experience. So, here’s how

to really get yourself noticed.

“Recently, we were looking to

recruit an accountant for a

high-end brand specialising

in ski holidays,” she explains.

“So before we advertised, we

looked for people who were

qualified—and who posted

regularly about skiing. The

boundaries between work

and personal lives have

blurred.”

be a star

Get your game face on—as

employers are now borrowing

a few tricks from Big Brother

and requesting video

audition-style clips from

potential employees. “We ask

candidates to film themselves

for three minutes now,”

explains Ann Pickering, HR

director for O2. “It’s an

amazing opportunity to show

your personality. I still

remember one woman who

made the whole video about

her passion for vintage

clothes. She’d clearly

practiced, which showed

professionalism, but you

could sense her enthusiasm,

too. So much of recruitment

these days comes down to

demonstrating who you are

beyond your university

grades. I wish more

jobseekers would directly

approach us with YouTube

accounts or blogs.”

netWork, socially

Your Twitter is swear-word-

free and you’ve triple-checked

your Facebook privacy

settings—now you should be

using social media to contact

your prospective employer.

“In the old days, you’d ring

somebody up and ask if they’d

received your CV,” says

Pickering. “In 2016, you

should be DMing the head of

HR instead. Digital natives

are so desirable in the

workplace.” O’Callaghan

agrees: “Even if there aren’t

any roles advertised,

introduce yourself to people

online and ask them for their

top tips, then make an effort

to maintain contact. When a

job does come up, they’ll be

more likely to remember you.”

staNd out: LinkedIn isn’t

just for reeling off your

experiences—as of 2014, it’s

been a blogging platform, too.

Sign up to LinkedIn Pulse and

write about subjects that

inspire you. It’s a surefire way

to get noticed.

shoW off a bit

You know you’d be a great

web developer/sales

executive/circus ringmaster

but you don’t know how to

demonstrate your skills.

“Don’t be afraid to play with

the format of your application

in order to stand out—just

make sure it’s relevant,” says

Kelly Marks, co-founder of

Pure PR. “We recently asked

candidates to write a press

release about themselves,

instead of a covering letter.”

Meanwhile, over at

Sainsbury’s, recruiters in the

press office ask applicants to

compose a tweet explaining

why they should get the job.

“Over the last nine months,

we’ve hosted events where we

invite prospective candidates

to spend a day completing

activities while we analyse

their skill sets,” says Mark

Harman, who oversees the

graduate programme at

recruitment agency Reed.

“One very well-known media

company recently relocated

and needed to recruit

extensively; they filled all

their vacant sales roles

this way.”

cv-free

success

thRee Women

W h o fou n d

alteRnative

Routes to the top

becca

day-preston

28, twitter moments

curator

“I got my first writing

job when the editor of

gossip website Holy

Moly spotted me being

funny in the comments

section. He took me on

as a freelance writer,

which led to me being

the editor of the

whole site.”

arielle vey

27, photographer at

Netflix

“A few months ago,

Netflix asked people to

apply for photography

jobs via Instagram—you

had to hashtag three

photos ‘#grammasters’.

Thousands applied, so

when Netflix Skyped to

tell me I’d got the job,

I cried.”

meg edWards

21, junior account

executive at Battenhall

“I was working at

Nando’s during

university when I got

talking to a customer

who turned out to be

the founder of a social-

media agency. I asked

for his business card

and he invited me to

join him and his wife

for a quick chat at their

table. That led to an

interview. Now I have a

full-time job waiting for

me when I graduate.”

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