How to Land that Job by Optimizing these 05 Employers’ Secrets
Posted March 1st, 2019 -- 9:11 AM

Hiring Secrets Employers Hide

As a job seeker, it feels natural to want to hide a few things about yourself from potential employers, like the  views you held or pictures of your social life from back when you were in University. If you're feeling guilty about wanting to keep any of these things private, don't be, because employers are also keeping a few secrets themselves.

Here are some of the sneakiest ones:

1. They cyberstalk you as much as they can

Employers want to learn about the real you, not just the professional side of you that you reveal through your CVs and during interviews. You can bet that they'll be doing a thorough Google search of you and going through your Facebook and Instagram profiles, all the while hoping you didn't take the time to clean any of it up beforehand. On top of that, expect employers to reach out to your past employers – without giving you the heads up – and work associates to gather more information on you. This is especially common if they find mutual connections through people and social media platforms. 

The way to make the most of this is to ensure your past is as authentic as it can be. Never be ashame of it, use it to show you are a learner, innovator and most importantly someone who is ready to move up!

2. Your personality will make or break your chances

We all like to think that we live in a world where recruiters are fair and unbiased with your ethnicity – a world where we get the job based on our credentials and merits. However, the reality is that employers often make their final hiring decisions based on which candidate they simply like the most as a person. The goal is to ultimately get them to like who you are. They'll often ask themselves questions like, "which candidate do I have the most connection with?" or "who do I get along with the most?" This is why during your interviews, your goal shouldn't just be to show the interviewer you're the best person for the job. You should also be actively trying to build rapport with them. The goal is to ultimately get them to like who you are. 

How? Connect with them on the emotional levels. It could be about their past, hometown or some other emotional thing you share in common with the recruiter.

3. You can trick their hiring software

Most large companies, like Guinness and Nestlé, use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to screen your CV during the initial stages of the hiring process. What they don't want you to know is that you can actually manipulate their software into giving your resume a higher grade. Most hiring systems work by looking for specific keywords on your CV. If you're able to identify these keywords and sneak them onto your CV, the hiring software can potentially give your application a super high score. 

Do you know the top keywords ATS use to evaluate CVs in your domain? If you don't, do a research about them and ensure you make appropriate use of them. Having them randomly in your CV will do you bad, but creatively using them to express your skills, achievements and personality will go a long way to make you stand out. You can talk to Career Coaches on how best to take advantage of this.

4. There are 'right' and 'wrong' answers to 'open-ended' questions

Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert? What type of work environment do you excel in? What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses? These open-ended interview questions may appear harmless with no right or wrong answers to them, but don't be fooled. Recruiters pragmatically ask these questions to identify if you'll be a good fit for the job position and the company's work culture. If you are not saying what the interviewer wants to hear, your chances of getting hired will drop significantly. 

So ther key here is fit to the job and company culture. Therefore, as a job seeker, you must do your homework. Know the job you're applying for. Be certain of the KPIs, work requirements and skills needed to excel in the job. Also, do research about the culture of the company with respect to these key attributes - learning, power, conflict and identity - and how they align or misalign with you. Sometimes, you don't have to work for a particular company because you can not thrive in their corporate culture.

5. They always lowball you their initial offer

It's common sense, right? Employers don't want to pay more than they have to, and if salary is up for negotiation they'd be sort of loosing by starting things off with their highest amount.  That being the case, it's important to know your own worth when heading into the final stages of the hiring process. By knowing what you're valued in the job market and what you bring to the table, you'll be able to negotiate a salary higher than what is originally proposed.

You have a long way to go as a professional looking for new opportunities. But if you do your homework, know these secrets and use them to your advantage, that path may be shorter than you expect.

Like it's said, fortune favors the prepared.

Written by:

Sylvia Waindim, Content Writer & Digital Marketing Intern