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Preparation
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Your professional goals and how to achieve them
1
What is your professional passion?
2
What are your professional goals?
Today?
In two years?
In five years?
3
Which of your qualifications and experiences will help you to achieve these goals?
4
If some your job applications were rejected in the past, what were the reasons? What must you do
differently?
5
What do you lack to achieve your goals? Write down how you can bridge these gaps.
6
If your aim is to achieve a certain position or function within the next five years, you must understand what
you have to do now to achieve your goal. Do you need a specific education or experience? The experience
you are collecting now should cover such requirements whenever possible.
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Job application
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Your personal brand
Why should a company choose you and not somebody else? What is your added value for the company?
1
Note here your strengths.
2
Which strengths distinguish you from other applicants? (What do you do better/differently than others?)
3
Approach a few people that you know very well and ask them for an assessment of your strengths – for
example, family members, colleagues, teachers, friends or supervisors. Look for people who will be realistic
and honest with you.
4
Which of your strengths are mentioned multiple times? Which ones match your professional goals? Note
the top three here (maximum five).
5
Summarise these strengths in one word or sentence; this is your personal brand! You can write a short text
to describe your strengths in more detail.
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Job application
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It doesn’t matter whether you submit your job application by post, email or online – it should always be
flawless.
6
The motivation letter.
Make sure you address the right person.
Your text should be personal and match the specific vacancy and requirements.
Adhere to common courtesies and make sure your letter is formal and professional.
Demonstrate your motivation:
Why are you interested in this job?
What is your interest in this company/sector?
How does your profile match the requirements of this position?
What other qualifications and capabilities relevant to this position do you have?
Why should the company specifically consider your application?
7
A complete dossier.
You can find samples and templates on the internet that will help you create a well-structured CV. Try the
following: Google ‘curriculum vitae template’ or ‘resume templates’. It might be useful to add the industry
sector to the search in order to find an industry-specific CV.
A curriculum vitae (CV) without gaps. If there are gaps, they should be explained in one sentence:
Clear structure.
Name and complete contact information (address, phone, email, etc).
Age or date of birth.
Nationality / permits.
Marital status / number of children.
Education (latest training first, then in chronological order and consistent with your credentials).
Professional experience (current position first, then in chronological order and consistent with your
credentials). Function and company must be evident at first glance. The working period (month and
year) must be added to every work experience. List your most important tasks for every work experience,
thus giving the company the opportunity to form a well-rounded picture. Ensure you mention
experiences that are relevant to your application early on your list.
List your most important capabilities and sort them according to skill level (languages, IT, specialist
software, technical knowledge, etc). List anything important that is relevant to the job.
Personal interests / hobbies.
Expectations differ depending on the industry sector. Therefore, it makes sense to inform yourself by
looking on the internet for examples and templates from the right sector.
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Job application
sell yourself!
Employer references.
How are they written? Are they ‘selling’ you; or might they cause a reader to doubt you? Think about
how to honestly explain to your future employer the reasons if some of your references are not positive;
e.g. because of overload, over-qualification, illness, not on the same wavelength, etc.
If you have a lot of professional experience, you can add newer references to your dossier and note that
older references will be submitted on request.
Check your references – are they complete?
Add a good photograph (it should be personal, but also professional).
References: don’t forget to inform your referees and ask them for permission before you list them on
your CV.
9
Tips.
Adjust your email address; [email protected] doesn’t convey the right professional impression.
It’s best to use your name: e.g. [email protected] or [email protected].
Pay attention to the greeting on your answering machine! The human resource manager doesn’t have
time to listen to your song or a long message. Here, too, professionalism is important.
10
Checklist.
Is my job application dossier complete?
Is the presentation clear and well structured?
Is my motivation letter no longer than one page?
Is my CV clearly arranged with important information apparent at first sight?
Have all typos, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors been corrected?
Is the layout consistent and appealing?
Are foreign language dossiers (if requested in the job ad) checked and correct?
If the dossier is sent by post, are the pages bundled (not stapled) in a clean folder?
If the dossier is sent by email, are all scanned documents of good quality and in the right format (PDF),
so the company can open them? Have employer references and credentials been scanned and filed as
one document?
Have I complied with the request of the company regarding the mode of dispatch (post, email)?
Can I be reached – or is my answering machine activated – in case the company wants to contact me?
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Interview
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The preparation
Never go unprepared to an interview!
How do you prepare for an interview? What should you know in advance? Follow the instructions below to
prepare for your interview.
1
Find out what you can about the company!
The website of the company.
What else is available on the internet regarding this company?
Do you know anybody who knows the company or works there? What could you learn from such a
person?
Magazines.
News.
What else would you like to know about the company? Prepare the questions you would like to ask
during the interview.
What questions do you have regarding the open position? The text of the advert may help you with this.
2
These are the questions for which you must prepare.
Human resource managers have one task: to get to know you, so they can assess whether you will fit into the
company and have the right skill set for the vacant position. This motivates them to ask the same questions
again and again. The pivotal question you should prepare for is:
3
Why should we specifically hire you?
Knowledge of this main question and the associated questions will enable you to prepare for them. Thus,
you will have everything under control and no reason to be nervous – since you will how to answer all the
questions.
Most people are nervous before an interview: they don’t know what to expect; they are afraid of trick
questions, mental black-outs and their own nervousness.
Don’t be afraid - personnel managers usually concentrate on 20 to 30 questions. Below are some of the most
feared questions of human resource managers. Prepare yourself.
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4
Interview
sell yourself!
Questions regarding personality/self-assessment/motivation.
Your professional qualities have been almost fully accepted – otherwise you wouldn’t have been invited for
an interview. Now it’s all about you as a human being: will you fit in the company, the team? Do you have the
same working style, the same motivation, etc?
In most cases, the reason new people in new jobs don’t work out is because the chemistry is not right, not
because they are incompetent. That’s why these questions are so important. Or would you like to work with
somebody who may be an ace but is also an ass?
Why should we specifically hire you? Give us three reasons.
What are your personal goals: in the short, medium, and long term? How long do you plan to stay with
the company?
Name three personal strengths and weaknesses. What kind of person are you?
How long would it take you to master your responsibilities?
What have been your biggest successes/failures?
How do you assess the risks of change?
How do you assess positively/negatively your preceding position?
How successful have you been so far – by your own standards?
What is important to you in your job?
What are your biggest successes/failures outside your working life?
What are your preferred activities outside your working life?
With what kind of person would you have difficulties working – and why?
5
Questions on professional qualifications.
What did you do at position XY?
What were your responsibilities when you worked on XY project?
What do you do best?
What are your professional strengths?
Why do you think that your knowledge is current?
6
Difficult questions about unemployment.
Why did you become unemployed?
Why have you been unemployed for so long?
Aren’t you slightly over-qualified/under-qualified for this job?
Why did you get a bad/mediocre employer reference there?
Why did they fire you and not the other person?
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Interview
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Questions about leadership style and managerial skills.
What style of leadership do you prefer?
How many employees have you managed?
Are you a good manager? Why?
What have been your biggest successes/failures?
How do you select job applicants? What criteria do you use?
Have you ever fired any employees?
How did you handle this?
In your opinion, what is the most difficult part of leadership?
What trends could be important for our company and our markets in the future?
8
Difficult questions about your private life.
Questions regarding your family, religion, political interests, sexual orientation, etc.
For women:
What do you plan for your future?
In the midterm, what (private) plans do you have?
Our company is rather male-dominated; could you assert yourself? How?
You don’t have to answer questions that are not directly connected to the position you are applying for.
The company might assess this negatively as showing a lack of transparency. Make sure your answers are
truthful, but contain only as much detail as you are comfortable with. Indeed, speak up if questions become
too personal.
9
Other difficult questions.
At your age, why don’t you earn more?
What did you think of your last boss?
Why did you abandon your training/studies XY?
Why do you want to leave your current position?
Here too, you don’t have to answer questions that are not directly connected to the position you are
applying for. The company might assess this negatively as showing a lack of transparency. Make sure your
answers are truthful, but contain only as much detail as you are comfortable with. Indeed, speak up if
questions become too personal.
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Interview
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The interview
10
Practical hints.
Make sure you have the address, contact person, date and time of your appointment correctly written down. Is
it clear what function you are interviewing for?
Find out in advance how to get there. If you travel by car, print a map or program your navigation system. If
you travel by public transport, go to www.sbb.ch for timetables.
Punctuality:
On no account be late. Your interviewer has scheduled their day and a change in the appointment
time inconveniences them.
Do you have your map? A last minute search generates unnecessary stress.
Guiding principle: rather a few minutes early than a few minutes late.
Non-verbal: your appearance is as important as what you say.
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Turn your mobile phone off.
Dress to impress! Adapt your outfit to the company (try not to overdress or underdress). Don’t wear highly
visible adornment, such as flashy jewellery, piercings, tattoos (cover them up if possible). Use only a small
amount of scent (too much can be overpowering).
Believe in yourself! Because if you don’t believe in yourself, why should a potential employer?
Courtesy:
Be friendly and polite with everybody.
Receptionists and personal assistants appreciate a friendly face too. They will convey this impression
to the boss.
Guiding principle: how you look at a face determines how it will look back at you.
A good confident handshake: a good handshake doesn’t mean you have to crush the hand of the personnel
manager.
And then... the interview:
Don’t walk in front of your interviewer. Take a seat only when you are asked to.
Do you have writing implements with you? Make notes during the interview.
Show your interviewer that you are actively listening by nodding your head now and then.
If there are several persons participating in the interview, make sure you look at all of them when
you talk.
Be aware of your posture. Folded arms imply defensiveness. Better leave your hands on the table or
in your lap; this signals openness.
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Interview
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The company will ask you about your professional career, your experiences, your idea of this position and
your goals.
Answer the questions with more than just a yes or no, but don’t talk too much.
Name examples of your activities, present facts and figures, so your interviewer can visualise your
achievements.
Integrate visual documents such as images or catalogues into the dialogue – offer something to look at.
Answer questions regarding your pay truthfully and precisely (rounded up).
Towards the end, ask some questions – about the company, the position, etc.
At the end:
Provide some feedback ‘I think that was a good discussion’, or ‘I am interested’, etc.
Make concrete arrangements at the end of the interview. Who will inform whom, when and in what
form??
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Clever questions you can pose.
Sooner or later during any job interview, the question arises of whether you have any other questions. This
is not only about giving you answers to your questions and motivating you with valuable information, it is
also about assessing you further.
The worst answer in such a case would be ‘No, I don’t think so, can’t think of anything’. A subsequent look
at the ceiling and the good impression you may have made would be lost.
It is best to lay the documents you acquired in advance (such as the company report, etc.) on the table and
refer to your prepared list of questions. Clever questions signal preparation, intelligence, interest and style.
Questions on the available position.
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Here are a few questions. The list is open ended, feel free to add to it.
What are the actual tasks and responsibilities?
Which tasks will take how much time?
What does a normal working day look like?
What are the performance expectations/target figures?
Who will measure my performance and how?
Form and duration of initial training?
Mentoring?
Why is the position available?
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
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Interview
sell yourself!
Questions about the company (if you haven’t been able to answer them via the internet).
These are the second most important questions, since you probably will have to identify with this company,
its products and its employees in the coming years.
What is the corporate form?
Who owns the company, who controls it?
Who are the business, department, and project managers?
Where in the hierarchy would I be situated, assigned to whom (organisation chart).
What departments exist?
How long has the company been in business?
Are there subsidiaries, holdings?
How have revenues, cash flows and profits developed in the last few years?
How many employees work in the sales department, in administration, in production?
How does the company want to develop – short, medium and long term?
Procurement, management, marketing, sales and quality concepts?
The company’s target group?
What does reporting look like?
What’s the position in the market (market share, competitors, etc)?
How are the products positioned compared with competitors?
Are there any plans for diversification (horizontal/vertical), acquisitions or divestments?
What makes this company better than the competition?
What problems do you solve in the market at the customer level?
What is the decisive idea of the company, its mission?
Mission, strategy?
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15
Questions about the corporate culture.
This is another set of very important questions since you should be able to develop in your work and feel
good doing it.
Employee development, fluctuation?
What is the corporate culture?
Leadership characteristics? How does internal information flow?
What is the work climate?
Are there employee training programmes? How are employees developed?
Does institutionalised career planning exist?
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Interview
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Formal questions.
These are important questions too, but it is better not to ask them early in the interview but at the very end.
Salary and salary system?
Profit sharing?
Bonus?
Business expense policy?
Employee benefits?
Company car?
Holidays?
Relocation compensation?
17
Follow-up.
After the interview, you can send an email to your interviewer with thanks for the meeting and again
expressing your interest and motivation.
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Social media
sell yourself!
How to present yourself on social media sites.
Social media are becoming more important in the search for jobs; in some fields, they are as important as
having a good CV. It makes sense to make targeted use of social media when looking for a job.
In Switzerland, frequently used sites are Facebook, XING and LinkedIn. Twitter isn’t that important yet in this
respect, but also worth mentioning.
2
Have you ever Googled yourself?
Social media make your life as a job applicant easier; it is simpler to get in contact with a company. But the
social media coin has another side. Companies can find you on the internet very quickly. Have you ever put
your name into an internet search engine? What were the results?
These are the same results that a company will get. This may be the first impression a company has of you
– without ever having met you personally. You must be conscious of the fact that you can influence your
reputation through social media, positively as well as negatively.
Don’t forget that some texts or images can damage your application’s chances. It’s best to remove such
content. You can define your settings on Facebook (under account/privacy/settings) in a way that only
friends may see certain content. Otherwise, there is a real danger that such information may end up on
the desk of a company’s human resource manager.
Be discreet: only publish information about yourself that can be read without reservation by strangers.
Always keep your professional aim in mind.
XING and LinkedIn are used primarily for professional networking purposes. Your profile on these sites
must look professional and reputable.
Block or delete everything? If searches for you on social media platforms yield nothing at all, you are
wasting a chance to use it for your benefit and to convey an additional positive impression. The decision
as to what is a reasonable amount of personal content depends on your industry sector. Some sectors
tend to be more conservative than others. In such cases it’s recommended to scale back personal
aspects. So, a cautious yes to social media.
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Social media
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Success factor: stay yourself. Don’t try to present something that doesn’t exist and isn’t true. Show only
what you have/are/know. This conveys a good professional impression. Use texts, images and videos in a
precise way to support and reinforce exactly this image and none other.
It can take a long time if you wait until somebody approaches you. Try to talk to people (by posing
questions, reacting and participating in discussions, etc). Personal contact is still very important and will
help you to attract attention in the market and increase your visibility.
Do you have any questions? Contact a Randstad branch in your area.
www.randstad.ch
We wish you much success!
Your Randstad Team
Notes
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