Applying for a job sometimes becomes a tough challenge, either for fresh graduates or professionals with working experience. There are always questions about how to make a proper CV and successfully pass the interview session.

To provide more insight for the students, BINUS BUSINESS SCHOOL MM in Creative Marketing program invited Mondelez Indonesia to share their knowledge from the company’s perspective in a coaching session on writing CV and interview skills: “How to Win Interview and Make Company Read Your CV – A Perspective of Company – Lead by Mondelez” on Thursday, January 26^th, 2017, at BINUS JWC Campus, Senayan.

Step 1 – Winning the Competition from Sources of Interview

Dwirani Hadiprawoto, the guest lecturer and HR Business Partner for Sales of Mondelez Indonesia, said that there are two sources of interview: cold sources and warm sources. The cold sources are online and personal copy, meanwhile the warm sources consist of referral, company career site, internal applications, and walk ins.

“In Mondelez, applicants from employee referral is preferred because of credibility assurance,” said Dwirani Hadiprawoto in “How to Win Interview and Make Company Read Your CV – A Perspective of Company – Lead by Mondelez” that was held on Thursday, January 26^th, 2017, at BINUS JWC Campus, Senayan.

Step 2 – Winning at First Sight, and Second Read

It takes further effort for applicants with no referral to make their application stand out. According to Dwirani, the key is winning at first sight, and second read. The applicants need to make a creative, clean, and compact CV or resume with detailed experience, reference, and picture. There are also some basic informations that should be covered on resume: contact information, objective statement, summary statement, employment history, education, and other information related to experience (awards, skills, hobbies, etc.).

However, what if an applicant applies for a position not relevant with his or her educational background? The applicant needs to make a good cover letter and provides clear background and related experience or skills with vacant position. The cover letter and resume also have to focus on soft skills such as teamwork, success story of project management, and leadership experience.

Step 3 – Get Ready for Selection Process

Selection process is another crucial step to win the job position. Here are some tips to be ready for selection process that were shared by Dwirani:

1. Attire

• Wear a professional-look attire
• Looks sharp
• Cleanliness

2. Research

• Get to know the company
• Interviewer background check
• Rehearse
• Learn about the job

3. On the spot

• Have your own writing tools and resume
• Be on time
• Put your cellular phone on silent mode
• Introduce yourself confidently

Dwirani also underlined that in a survey of more than 2,000 hiring managers, 33% claimed to know whether or not they would hire someone within 90 seconds.

Step 4 – Acing the Interview

In facing the interview, the applicants have to understand about how to answer the questions asked by the interviewer. The answers need to be short and sweet and focus on the applicant (use “me” instead of “we”).

The applicants also must pay attention to nonverbal language. There are common nonverbal mistakes made during job interviews: fail to make eye contacts, have little knowledge about the company, don’t smile, and have bad posture.

In addition, Dwirani shared some tips to respond common questions in the interview session:

1. “Tell me about yourself!”

The interviewers expect candidates to cover themselves in a brief, just a minute or two, without putting them into details of experience year by year. A standout experience may be interesting for the interviewers, so put note on that.

2. “Why should we hire you?”

The interviewers expect candidates to be able to sell themselves, match their skills and the requirement, and also added value offered to company.

3. “What is your strength and areas for improvement?”

Put equal weight on both areas, as the interviewers would like to see the applicants as humans, not superhumans.

Meanwhile, there are some questions that could be asked by the applicant to the interviewer:

1. Could you please explain about the organization’s culture and environment?
2. How about the opportunity to grow within the organization?
3. How can I help the company to achieve goals?
4. What is the next step of this process?

The applicants, according to Dwirani, also have to avoid trash talk, telling lies, and jumping a gun (asking about salary and benefit at first sight). “In Mondelez, we expect candidates to be aligned well with our business needs and also have competencies on ethics and values, intellectual horsepower, interpersonal savvy, and communication,” she explained, in the end of the coaching session.

(ERON)