With the start of a new year, this is a good time for those considering making a change at a professional level and giving a new direction to their career. Inês Rebelo, Business Manager and member of the Management team, and Inês Bento, Talent Manager of the Human Resources team, now reveal how Prime Engineering’s recruitment processes develop and share some advice for those seeking a new job.

 

Recruitment and Selection: when knowing whether to move is a good bet

The first big question is whether these first months of the year are really a good bet for change, to which Business Manager Inês answers that “from the companies’ perspective, the last months of the year are moments of balance sheet and closing accounts, in the framework of which new business strategies are defined, needs to be met and, simultaneously, projects to be developed are identified. With this, there is a greater potential for the emergence of new job opportunities, which promotes greater availability for mobility in the market“.

However, Talent Manager, Inês Bento, leaves the note that “any time is a good time to change, provided the motivation for the new challenge is high. (…) Fortunately, Prime Engineering allows us to launch new challenges constantly and 2020 has proved that there is not a good time to bet on change – there must be a willingness and pre-disposal to change“.

 

The inherent complexity of the recruitment process 

Recruitment processes are always complex, vary from company to company, and so does their duration, but Inês Duarte confirms that, on average, what is Prime Engineering ‘s reality at the moment, can last between 1 and 2 weeks, highlighting that “the duration of a recruitment process is always relative, namely in the context of consultancy and outsourcing services, where the factors involved can be related to the urgency of filling positions, to the number of constituent phases of the process, to the number of competing candidates, in addition to the potential existing procedural bureaucracy“, a response complemented by Inês Bento, who stresses the importance of “having a regular alignment between candidate and company, ensuring close monitoring and adequate management of expectations“.

 

How to value a CV

Asked specifically about the most valuable content when they receive a CV, they both agree that this tool is not enough on its own to present a candidate to companies. As this is the first contact, Prime Engineering ‘s Talent Manager believes that there are some basic aspects to retain such as “opting for a neat photograph, giving priority to information relevant to the position for which you are applying, being succinct and objective. Regarding the content, as important as the professional path is the sharing of something individual, a small presentation, something that personalises the CV, that adds a personal stamp – what? That I leave to everyone’s imagination!“. Besides agreeing with this advice, emphasizing the importance of the shared information being clear, concise and up-to-date, as well as the value of sharing soft skills and professional motivations, the Consultant’s Business Manager also adds that “taking into account the recruitment I target people with very specific technical skills, I also usually value the inclusion of a table indicating the main technologies with which the person had experience, in the scope of the projects of which he or she was part“.

 

Mistakes to avoid in an interview 

Once the initial phase of recruitment and selection has been completed and the candidate has been interviewed, it is essential that the positive outcome of the work in the first stage of the process is maintained. Thus, it is imperative that there is good preparation, avoiding mistakes that could compromise the candidate.

For Inês, of the management team, the most basic faults are “the candidate’s lack of punctuality, his lack of knowledge of what characterises the employer, the lack of respect and inadequate posture towards the interviewer and, particularly due to the current situation, the inexistence of the necessary conditions for conducting the interview in the virtual field, namely with the existence of background noises, lack of luminosity of the space, and the lack of prior testing of the technical equipment he will use (virtual platform, microphone and web camera)“.

Rising in the seriousness of the mistakes made by candidates, the Business Manager states that the lack of investment in communication skills seriously compromises the course of the interview. Also the “lack of honesty of the candidates towards the interviewer, in an attempt to conceal information or appear to have certain valences, when after scrutiny and validation, these are easily detected“.

 

Advice for success in the recruitment process

More than avoiding the mistakes mentioned above, Inês Bento and Inês Duarte leave their advice for those who want to start a new journey with Prime Engineering. They mention the importance of “preparing, by developing the skills that they recognise as lacking, be they behavioural, linguistic or technical, and that may compromise the selection process”; they reinforce that being motivated is already a winning posture, as well as “being proactive in approaching colleagues at PrimeEngineering, about existing vacancies or anticipating those that may arise and are of interest to them. In this way, the candidate guarantees to be updated on the dynamics and volatility of the projects and vacancies we have, as well as reinforces his/her motivation to be part of the team“.

They highlight the power of having a high capacity of adaptation, which in practice can be translated into rapid learning, and also leave the note that “we are all unique as people and, therefore, we have different strengths and characteristics that configure an added value for an organization, project and team. For that, it is important that the candidate is able to analyse the competences he has and the characteristics of the vacancy and the project, so that he can then conduct his speech in an interview in a unique way, therefore highlighting him from his competition“.

In conclusion, and in accordance with Prime Engineering’s organisational culture, and the genesis of the technological consultancy team, “to be genuine and to have confidence in your capabilities“, is fundamental to triumph in a recruitment process and to enter the 100% Portuguese company with over 14 years of experience.