It's not all about having the best resume. From the day of the week you look for a job to how you sell your weaknesses in an interview, they make the difference between getting a job or “we'll call you.” Everything can even be in your hands, literally.
The selection of personnel is changing, with new details and a summer that is already present in companies and job portals. “An exceptional season is expected for tourism. They are already hiring in hospitality, large chains, restaurants or airports,” says Nekane Cendoya, director of the Trabajos.com portal. Profiles are needed for customer service, sales assistants, hostesses for promotions... “Languages are highly valued,” she says. Also cleaning staff or cooks and waiters. Of course, in bars and restaurants it is important to have previous experience. On the sidelines, other classics stand out such as monitors for summer camps, commercial and logistics and transportation.
The secret to getting the job may lie in the details. If one is searching, there are days and days to do it. “Normally when there is the most movement it is from Tuesday to Thursday, Monday not so much because companies are usually starting the week,” he details. It is when companies post their offers and also when people search the most. From 09:00 to 12:00 there is more movement and 80% of candidates sign up in the first week.
You have to keep your resume careful and up to date, because there is a “change in trend” in which publishing offers is no longer so essential. Now companies sometimes choose to delve into the database of portals to find candidates that best fit their interest. This way they avoid receiving hundreds of “unmatched” applicants. “It is a more expensive search, but better to find a specific profile,” Cendoya counters. Even the resume evolves and mutates into a video resume. A presentation that “is not yet widespread in the market, since filtering the written document is easier,” however. “Yes, it is being requested in very advanced processes, between middle management and up.”
The interviews also hide details that go unnoticed. Previous work is mandatory, because there are questions that always arise and you have to do a self-exploration exercise. Like strengths and weaknesses. “Everyone has their strengths in mind. But we have to think about the weaknesses and how we can improve them. Pose them and then add a solution. How to recognize that we lack empathetic listening and that we are working on it,” explains Fernando Botella, human resources expert and head of the consultancy Think.
What is not said also counts. “We tend to overlook all non-verbal language,” she warns. He puts the attention in the hands. “When the interviewer stops looking at the face, he usually looks at the hands. You have to take care of them, both in women and men. When speaking, let them be another mouth, but without moving them exaggeratedly or with a closed fist,” she advises. In terms of clothing, he recommends not going too formal if it is not our thing. “Better not to deceive, not to force clothing if it is not your style. You have to be comfortable.”
To close, don't leave without knowing the important thing: what is the salary? “If they don't say it, we have to ask about a salary band in the final shift... unless they have told us it is discussed in another interview,” he says.
