500 or 5 job applications: what's better?
Interview with a talent acquisition specialist and career coach Rebekka Gotter
Contents:
How important do you think the cover letter is when applying for jobs?
What if someone is doing everything right, yet things still aren't working out?
Is there a minimum wage in Finland? How do I check if the salary offered to me is decent?
What is the best step-by-step process to prepare for the interview?
Using ChatGPT for writing cover letters, what's your approach?
If the only reason to apply for a job is money, how do you explain why you want to join a company?
About Rebekka
I'm a talent acquisition specialist. I work in recruitment and hire people for my company every day. I'm also a career coach, mostly assisting foreigners who came to Finland, just like me, and are struggling with their job search. I came to Finland almost seven years ago. I probably made all the common mistakes that one can make in a job search. It took me a long time to find a job in a Finnish company. Now, my mission or my wish is to help others make that journey a little bit shorter and more enjoyable. I aim to provide advice, moral support, and kind of cheer you on.
How important do you think the cover letter is when applying for jobs?
Personally, I love cover letters and enjoy reading them, but unfortunately, there isn't always time for that. So, I always advise putting anything that needs to be noticed in your CV. If you choose to write a cover letter or if it's required, keep it very short— even one page is too much, I would say half a page is usually fine. Focus on why you want to join this company, why the job is great, and imagine you're talking to your best friend while explaining this. Write it in a conversational tone, unless, of course, you are applying to a very traditional industry like insurance or the public sector. But if you're applying to technology companies, startups, etc., you can be quite informal.
“Focus on why you want to join this company, why the job is great, and imagine you’re talking to your best friend while explaining this.”
Lidiia: I recently asked hiring managers and recruiters on LinkedIn if they check CVs or cover letters first, and the answers were shocking to me. About 60% said they check the cover letter first, and then the CV. So, in your case, it's a CV first, right?
Definitely the CV first. If it's entirely irrelevant, and I have 100 applications to go through, I won't spend two, three, or even five minutes reading the cover letter if I already know I cannot move forward with them. If the CV is relevant and I have the time, then I definitely read the cover letter as well.
I heard that recruiters spend around 7 seconds initially glancing at your CV to determine if they should read it further or not. Do you think it's true in your case?
I think it is a short time, but it's definitely longer than 7 seconds. The way I read a CV is, I first check very quickly for the relevant keywords that I'm looking for. For example, in a developer, do they know the required languages that we need? Then, I would check a bit on job titles and then go deeper. That at least takes a minute or more, definitely, unless it's a very, very short CV. It's important to make it very visible at the start that you are a relevant person to go deeper.
How to get more interviews?
That is a very broad question, and there's no foolproof answer or recipe that I can provide. As a short answer, I would say network. A longer answer would be to fulfill at least most of the requirements of the role. Secondly, make the company curious to meet you. If there are 100 applicants, having human contact is essential. Often, people who are known or referred by someone familiar have a higher chance of securing an interview. A referral from within the company is preferable.
What if someone is doing everything right, yet things still aren't working out?
That's the challenge of job searching. On paper, you may follow all the correct steps, yet cannot find a job. One crucial factor is the element of luck. Even when following all the correct procedures, there's always a need for a bit of luck to come into play. Furthermore, even if you're seemingly doing everything correctly, there's always room for improvement or change.
If your current approach isn't working, consider making adjustments and trying new strategies. For instance, instead of sending a high volume of applications daily, focus on sending only a couple but ensure they are highly relevant and carefully crafted. Alternatively, shift your focus from writing cover letters to dedicating more time to networking with relevant people. The process involves a degree of trial and error, and it's essential to discover what works best for you.
If you've applied to a significant number of jobs without success, it becomes evident that your approach needs changing.
We have a person who is currently working full-time in sales, but it's not what this person wants in terms of his or her career. However, academically, the background is more in Supply Chain Management. So, sales is a full-time job, and supply chain management is a desired job. How can she make her application for a supply chain position stand out? She has been applying for jobs but got rejected.
This is a pretty classic career transition situation, I would say. In that situation, you always need to think about what kind of skills or experience that you already have are relevant to the field that you want to change into. Sales is usually a really good field to work in because you prove that you have a lot of skills already that are very valued in almost any field nowadays. You are customer-oriented, and you are very good at communication. Point these out, make them stand out if they're relevant to where you want to go. Maybe you have been selling to clients who are in the field that you want to go into, so point that out as well. Other relevant skills you might use are project management or whatever you can think of. So, answer this in your CV.
If you're applying to internships, the best advice, again, I think, is to network with relevant people. If you know who the recruiter or hiring manager for that internship is, contact them, ask relevant questions about that internship, and just get in touch to make them aware that you want to apply there. Internships receive a lot of applicants as well, so I'm afraid you will not get around this kind of personal approach. Contact someone, so you can also ask, “I'm currently working in sales, and I have these skills. Do you think it will be a strong application?”
“Internships receive a lot of applicants as well, so I’m afraid you will not get around the networking approach. ”
Is there a minimum wage in Finland? How do I check if the salary offered to me is decent?
There is no minimum wage in Finland.
For many sectors, you can check with unions. They have at least recommendations for employers regarding what they should offer for certain seniority levels. So, if you are in a union and receive a job offer, check with your union if you're unsure whether it is fair.
You can also conduct some online research; there are tools where you can find information, such as Glassdoor. However, be a little cautious with it, as Finland may not have extensive data, and examples can vary widely from very low to very high, not necessarily reflecting the actual picture.
Additionally, you can ask the company, the hiring manager, or the recruiter about the salary range budgeted for the role. Perhaps not as the first question, but during an interview when they ask if you have any questions.
If you want to double-check, you may know people who work in similar roles in other companies; ask them.
In very extreme cases, consider consulting a lawyer, but this could be costly, and they might not be aware of all salary ranges.
In my experience, Finnish offers are usually fairly reasonable. While companies aim to minimize spending, they also need to consider that you may find out what others earn, and significant differences could lead to legal issues or dissatisfaction, prompting employees to leave. These are considerations from the company's perspective.
“Finnish salary offers are usually fairly reasonable”
What to emphasize when you have a career gap, for example, due to maternity leave or relocation? How to beautify those gaps?
I don't think you need to beautify them. The best way in Finland is to be open and honest about it. Even on LinkedIn, nowadays, you can use certain specific terms if you have a career break, for example, caretaking. You can put the same on your CV. Especially if it's a significant gap, if it's just a few weeks, you don't need to put something on. But if it's like two years or a few months, then put maternity leave, paternity leave, caregiving, or even professional reorientation or whatever you did in that time. Just put it there, be open about it, and maybe you even gained some relevant skills or certifications, then put that there as well.
A person has two years of experience in the hotel industry and eight years in banking, and a diploma in hotel management. Here in Finland, he has applied for more than 500 jobs in 4 months with no results. Is the job searching process in Finland unfair?
I totally understand that sentiment. I think it often feels really unfair. I remember feeling treated unfairly many times, especially when facing rejection. Although if the person has applied for 500 jobs in the last four months, that's a significant amount of hard work. But I would say that maybe it's not the right approach to continue doing that because it doesn't yield any results. I encourage people to be much more intentional about their job search.
People who get frustrated in job searching in Finland may think that Finland is racist. What do you think about it?
Unfortunately, I cannot say that Finland is not racist. There have been enough studies showing that it's more difficult to find a job when you do not fit the standard Finnish image with a standard Finnish face and a standard Finnish name. So, it's definitely true. But if you're not successful in your job search, don't make it about your picture or your name. You know that is not productive. It is very frustrating, and you will get angry, probably rightly so. But if you want to be truly productive, then you need to shift the focus a little bit to what you can change. You cannot take the racism out of people, but you can change your approach.
You can narrow down your choices where you apply.
You can be more intentional.
You can try different things.
If you feel that your picture is deterring people and causing bias, then leave the picture out.
Please don't change your name. I read that advice sometimes, but still, you are who you are. Be who you are.
You will find that racism is present in society, but that doesn't mean that everyone is racist. And there are a lot of foreigners as well nowadays in positions who hire people. So again, be kind to yourself, don't focus on racism or society; focus on what you can change and how you can change your approach.
“And there are a lot of foreigners as well nowadays in positions who hire people. ”
What is the best step-by-step process to prepare for the interview?
I would say the first step would be to be very confident and comfortable introducing yourself, perhaps in a short amount of time. Practice introducing yourself in one minute, highlighting who you are professionally and how you can add value—the essence of who you are in just one minute. Once you are comfortable with that, I would suggest preparing a few specific examples of success in your previous role. Be ready to answer questions about the situation, your role, your contribution to the success, and the result.
As a third step, get to know the company—understand what they offer and what is important to them. Following that, go through common interview questions and prepare your answers a little bit so you are confident and don't have to think too much. ChatGPT can actually be a great help here. Ask it to provide common interview questions or things that might come up for this specific role. However, please stop there and think of the answers yourself. Don't just let ChatGPT answer and then use that response in the interview.
Using ChatGPT for writing cover letters, what's your approach?
Only use it for inspiration; don't let it write your cover letter and copy-paste it as is. Such a practice is noticeable and raises red flags for many hiring managers. Avoid doing that. We don't want to evaluate ChatGPT as a person; we want to evaluate you as a person. Copy-pasting from there doesn't help you in presenting yourself authentically.
Do you ask about weaknesses of a person in an interview, and how would this person be expected to answer?
I don't ask that myself. I don't believe in that question, but many people still ask it, and it's good to be prepared for it. So in Finland, at least, openness and honesty are very much appreciated. So please, if asked, don't say something like, "Oh, I don't really have any weaknesses" or something like that. I have heard these answers, and then I got feedback from hiring managers: “They are not self-aware or they are kind of bullshitting. That was not an honest answer, so we will not move forward with this candidate”.
So if you are asked that, be honest. Be aware of what you are comfortable revealing. You don't need to reveal your deepest fears or weaknesses, not at all. But think of something that is actually a weakness that you're comfortable sharing. And then you can also share how you've been working on improving that one or what you have learned in your life regarding that. So it's always good to connect it to something positive, something future-oriented. For example, you could say, "Maybe I'm shy to speak in front of people, but I've been putting myself into more and more situations to give presentations."
If the only reason to apply for a job is money, how do you explain why you want to join a company?
Ideally, you apply only to companies that you are genuinely excited to work for or work with, so then you don't have that issue. But if that comes up, take a look at the company values. Nowadays, every company usually provides some information about that on their website or the product. Be excited about the product, the values, or their recent funding – try to find out some positive aspects about the company. And ideally, don't lie. So if you are not genuinely excited about the product, then don't say that you love working with this kind of product.
Rebekka Gotter
Rebekka is a talent acquisition specialist and a career coach. She reviews CVs every day and participates in tons of interviews. So she knows what hiring managers like to see and how they think.