Bharvi Patel, Protocol’s Regional Recruitment Manager for London and the South, works with 150 college and thousands of candidates every year. During her 12 years with Protocol, Bharvi has gained invaluable insider knowledge of the FE Sector – so who better to give tips on finding your next job in FE?
When Bharvi was interviewed by FE Careers at the 2016 Association of Colleges Annual Conference, she had some great advice for candidates on the lookout for their next role.
STAY CURRENT
- Know your specialist area, and know the colleges you’re aiming to work in
- Social media can be an invaluable tool in getting wind of vacancies early
Here at Protocol, as well as our website, we also use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to get the word out about our current roles – so connect with us there to stay one step ahead.
UPDATE YOUR CV
- Keep your CV up to date
- Showcase your career and keep it fresh and exciting
Great vacancies appear and are filled quickly, so that time you spend updating your CV might mean you miss out on your perfect role. If your CV is already current, you could be one of the first in the door!
USE THE ‘STAR’ TECHNIQUE
If you’re on top of both of those, you’re going to get the interview. Make a great impression by knowing the STAR interview technique, and preparing your answers in advance.
Situation
- The interviewer will ask you to present a recent challenging situation in which you found yourself
- This can be work-related or something else but should be relevant to the role you are going for
- Try to make it something memorable which will stick in the interviewer’s mind
Task
- Explain what you had to achieve
- Stress why it was important to achieve this
Action
- Detail what you did
- The interviewer will be looking for information on your actions, why you chose them and what alternatives there were
- If you had to make a decision, or use your own initiative, use this to your advantage
Results
- Elaborate on the outcome
- Did you meet your objectives?
- What did you learn from this experience?
- How have you used your new knowledge since?
