‘Be Confident’ and ‘Show Your Value’: How to Elevate Your Career According to a Recruiting Manager

While Rosalina (Rosa) Viapiano is now a successful Operations Recruiting Manager for the Oldcastle APG division of CRH, her path to this role was a bit nontraditional. 

Before joining CRH, Viapiano was in food services — but she was interested in pivoting into recruiting. As a result, Viapiano found herself interviewing for a recruiter position at CRH, even though she recalls having “no idea what [she] was getting into.” But how did Viapiano handle discussing her career change in the interview?

Well, “I went into my interview and made a point to talk about the skills I had that I knew related to the role,” explains Viapiano. These included “good communication skills, a sense of urgency, time management, and great organizational skills.” Viapiano also made sure to provide examples of each of these skills in use. 

And her technique worked! Viapiano was invited to join the CRH team, and today she’s recruiting for all of the open hourly roles nationwide for Oldcastle APG.

To learn more of her best advice, we spoke to Viapiano about her role and the advice she has for other women looking to elevate their careers, including go-to interview questions and tips. 

To start, what advice do you have for women who are looking to elevate their careers in your industry or job type?

The biggest advice I have is to be confident in what you are doing and how you are doing it. Follow up, reach out, and don’t be afraid to show the value that you bring to the table!

Let’s talk about the interview. How do you suggest candidates prepare for an interview? For example, what’s the information they must know when interviewing at CRH?

Do research on the history of the company, what we do, what products we make, and who our customer base is. Going into an interview with knowledge of the company you’re interviewing with really goes a long way for the interviewer. CRH has a lot of divisions and locations, so it can be hard to research, but feel free to ask your recruiter or hiring manager questions to point you in the right direction.

We hear from so many women that it’s hard to get past automated application systems if they don’t have a personal connection at a company. How do you suggest women get through automated systems?

This is a tough one because we don’t use any automated systems at CRH. Every resume is reviewed by a person. That said, a major one here is to make sure the resume you are uploading is in Word or PDF format and not too busy. Graphics and pictures are nice, but they don’t always translate well on the ATS. If a company is using AI or disqualifiers to review resumes, a resume that is not easy to read will not get through these. I always recommend having multiple copies of your resume saved: one plain for uploading online and a fun one you can email or bring to a face-to-face interview. 

It is always a good idea to try to connect with a recruiter or hiring manager on LinkedIn and reach out that way, especially if you’re very interested in this role. That way, if you might not be a fit this time around, you have a connection at the company as a starting point. Interact with them on LinkedIn so that when they do post a role again, you are the first to know! 

What’s your go-to interview questions for all candidates? What do you learn from the responses?

I always start an interview off by asking a candidate to tell me about themselves. It might be cliché, but you can learn so much about a candidate from how they answer that question and what they talk about. Their response helps me determine not only if they are a fit for the role, but it really gives me an idea of whether they will be a culture fit. 

I also make it a point to ask candidates about the strengths they have that relate to the role. This helps me determine if they have the skill set to perform well in the position, especially if they are coming from a different background. 

What are the top three qualities you look for when you’re interviewing a candidate for a role in your industry? 

This is a tough one because I recruit for such a wide variety of roles for my company. But the people who stand out the most are those who are going to be:

1. Team players,

2. People who have good communication skills, and

3. Candidates who genuinely seem excited about a new opportunity!

Overall, what’s your top advice for acing an interview?

My biggest advice for any interview is to come prepared. Do research on the company beforehand and ask questions. An interview is not just for the company to see if you are going to be a fit for them but for you to make sure the company is going to align with your goals as well. 

Make sure that you ask questions to see if the company is going to be a good fit for what you want out of your career. 

Lastly, it’s always a good idea to follow up after your interview. Sending a thank you to your recruiter or interviewer and letting them know that you are still interested in the opening goes a long way and can really make you stand out.

On the other hand, what are your biggest tips for what NOT to do when applying or interviewing at a company?

1. One of the biggest tips is don’t speak poorly about your past employers or managers. There are always creative ways to spin things to play in your favor. Going on a tangent about how awful someplace was in your interview is a big red flag to an interviewer and even a sign that you might cause drama in the workplace. 

2. My second piece of advice is to be persistent — but don’t be over the top. What I mean by this is apply to the roles you are interested in and a fit for, but don’t apply to every open role a company has just to try and get some eyes on a resume. If you miss a call from a hiring manager or recruiter, call them back and continue to follow up, but don’t call them 10 times in a row in the span of 30 minutes. 

3. Lastly, when you are applying online, ALWAYS make sure you are uploading your resume and that your contact information is correct! I have received a lot of bank statements, divorce settlements, and W2s in my time instead of a resume. While I know it’s by accident, it shows that you might lack attention to detail. 

Finally, as a recruiter, what are three things about your company that you always make sure to highlight when talking to a candidate?  

I always make sure to highlight our advancement opportunities because I feel that it’s so important to know what your opportunities look like when you get into a new company. 

Another thing that I make a point to talk about is the growth that the company has been experiencing, as well as its history. This demonstrates that we’re in a stable industry with lots of potential — and we aren’t going anywhere anytime soon!

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