A Recruiter’s Guide to Elevating Your Career: From Reflection and Applications to Interviewing

Looking to elevate your career? Well, one unexpected way to achieve this is to look to your past. “Mimic, in a way that is true to you, the qualifications of who you wanted to be when you grew up,” shares Kat Beardsley, a Recruiter with Renaissance Learning.

Beardsley spends her day matching open jobs with the best candidates, while creating a positive candidate experience. As such, she’s a pro at helping people take the next steps in their professional journey. 

In addition to spending time reflecting, Beardsley also suggests making connections with people in jobs and industries that you are interested in. “Learn what they do and what they look for when hiring or promoting within their organizations,” Beardsley tells us. “Learn about the business or department model(s).” 

And, if you find that your desired career journey involves breaking into a new industry or role type, Beardsley emphasizes the importance of certifications. “If you are looking to move into a corporate environment, specifically management, customer success, or project management, certifications can go a long way to make an application stand out,” says Beardsley. “If you also highlight transferable skills and include earlier work history that may have relevance to the new role, you’ll be able to create a strong application for a role change.”

Here, Beardsley draws from her experience as a recruiter to share advice that can help you achieve your next career goal! Learn expert tips from job application to interview — and hear why Renaissance is a great place to work. Read on for more!

To begin, how do you suggest women get through automated application systems? What about making that personal connection at the company they’re applying to?

The “key” to getting through an automated application system is using the right keywords. Pull jargon directly from the job description that you have experience with and mention it several times in your resume. Including multiple terms (such as Canva, curriculum mapping, and economics) is more likely to get your application pulled on a single keyword search or a cross-reference search. And always list your technical skills, even the basics.

While connecting with someone currently at the company definitely helps, it can be difficult to do. Reaching out through a mutual connection is the most efficient way to get noticed. You can also try calling the organization, or reaching out to the hiring manager or recruiter via LinkedIn. If you are able to connect with someone and one role doesn’t seem like a good fit, ask what other roles might be a better fit for your skills and experience — this is a good way to get a recruiter’s help in finding the right position for you.

Next up, let’s talk about the interview. What are your go-to interview questions for all candidates?

• Why are you applying for this role? 

• Why are you leaving your current job, and what interests you about this role specifically?

• When are you available to start?

• What are your compensation expectations for this role?

• What could we do as a department or company to improve upon your current environment?

What are your top four pieces of advice for acing an interview?

1. Dress and speak professionally. This always makes a good impression, even for an entry-level role. 

2. Be on time (five-minutes early if possible). And try to enter any virtual meeting once before the interview takes place to make sure that no troubleshooting will be required, which could make you tardy.

3. Give specific examples of situations that showcase your soft skills. For instance, “I managed a project with three phases of rollout and successfully incorporated feedback from each phase on a tight timeline for the next phase.” Also, share the abilities you have with your hard skills. For example, “I regularly create pivot tables and use VLOOKUP in Excel.”

4. Stay on topic. Interview time is valuable; interviewers need to be able to have time to ask all of their questions, and they want to know that you can stay focused and on-task.

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

1. Do not forget which job you are applying for or discussing with an interview team.

2. Do not say that you applied because the job seems easy. Organizations want someone who wants to be there and who enjoys the work they were hired to do.

3. Do not discuss personal issues with your interview team. An interview is a preview of how you will behave in the potential position. The team will be happy to get to know you as a person once the job starts, but they want to know you can be professional with internal and external stakeholders before bringing you on.

4. Do not send a negative response to a rejection. This is a good way to hurt your chances of being considered in the future by the organization.

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

1. Staying power in organizations.

2. Ability to handle work at volume and in a fast-paced environment.

3. Ability to adapt suitably to change.

Moving on, as a recruiter, what are three things about Renaissance Learning that you always make sure to highlight when talking to a candidate?

• Our amazing benefits, including things that you would not typically expect, such as generous family and bereavement leave, the Milk Stork breast milk delivery program used by nursing moms while traveling, access to wellness apps like Virgin Pulse and Calm, Employee Resource Groups, and more.

• The flexibility to accommodate my personal life in my workday. (Last year, I was personally able to take my child to the pediatrician nine times in nine months without issue).

• Our exceptional culture that prioritizes people, perpetual growth, and teamwork.

Finally, what’s the most memorable piece of career advice you’ve received?

“Keep showing up until they ask you not to.” — Kelly Dineley (Kat’s mother)

Using Beardsley’s advice, we hope you’ll be able to elevate your job search skills and achieve the position of your dreams! And, if you’re interested in using these skills to join the Renaissance team, check out open roles via the link below.