how to stand out from the crowd: our global talent acquisition team shares their insights

cv and application

do provide a summary including key words about your competencies, skills, industry, certificates, etc. which can be easily searched. – Doris, China

do use more common vocabulary that’s known across companies. Avoid using acronyms and very specific jargon from your current job. – Yanina, Argentina

do check for grammatical and spelling errors! And make sure your font size is uniform. – Vinita, India

do provide data and figures to illustrate your achievements, and remember to structure your experience – including scope and context, objectives and achievements. – Benoit, Singapore

do ensure your LinkedIn profile is complete, and actively comment on and/or write articles and share interesting business insights to show your areas of expertise and interest. – Farid, Dubai

do make sure your phone number and email are clearly on your resume -- make it easy for people to reach you. – Christine, USA

don't write a 10 page CV. This is far too long. Even if you are a seasoned and senior executive with more than 30 years of experience, your CV should not go beyond 3 pages, max. – Benoit, Singapore

don't leave blank spaces or repeat the same information in your application form and CV. – Matilda, Costa Rica

don't forget to highlight your achievements as well as your responsibilities – remember to choose the most relevant experience to the job. Hiring managers are not interested in generic CVs with lots of irrelevant information! – Andriy, Ukraine

telephone

do make sure you have a good internet/phone connection. – Marifort, Philippines

do be clear and concise in your answers -- straight to the point. The interviewer essentially needs to validate a few hard facts in a short period of time in order to assess the relevancy of the candidacy before proceeding to the potential next step. – Benoit, Singapore

do treat this as seriously as an onsite interview. If you don’t do well in this phase of the process, then you won’t be proceeding to an onsite interview. – Christine, USA

do be aware of your tone of voice. As we cannot see you during a telephone interview, your tone of voice makes a difference – so make sure you have a positive tone! Sitting comfortably, and imaging that you are at a face-to-face interview can help. – Matilde, Costa Rica

do remember that you will have only 10-30 minutes to make an impression. The best way to do this is to understand what the recruiter is trying to discover, and provide the best sincere answer to that, rather than telling them your full bio. And don't try to lead the conversation, let the recruiter do their job. – Andriy, Ukraine

don't overload the recruiter with information. – Julia, Germany

don't reply to questions with yes or no answers only or expect the interviewer to do most of the talking. The interviewee should be doing 70% of the talking. – Benoit, Singapore

face-to-face

do be honest, concise, personable, and show how you have managed to react to difficult situations positively. Come with REAL examples, and, most importantly, be yourself! – Farid, Dubai

do check the dress code with recruiters prior to the interview, be well prepared, and ask questions. – Julia, Germany

do prepare your introduction, and make sure you don’t only prepare to talk about your experience but also your own opinions. – Doris, China

do use the ‘STAR+’ technique when responding to questions – describe the situation, the task, the action you took, the results (quantify these), and finish up by outlining what you learned from that experience and how you have adjusted your approach. – Leighton, UK

do listen to the way people talk and adapt to their style and rhythm of communication. – Andriy, Ukraine

do always prepare, however experienced you may be. – Vinita, India

don't stress yourself about feeling nervous. It’s very normal! Tell the recruiter that you’re a bit nervous at the beginning and it will already help to reduce your stress. And don’t forget to breathe – this helps regulate your stress levels, too. – Julia, Germany

don't just try to please the interviewer! Be honest with your answers. – Marifort, Philippines

don't be generic in your responses. Always give specific examples to support your statements. – Vinita, India

don't be late (please!) – Yanina, Argentina