It’s tough working in universities right now. Money is tight. Many institutions are restructuring, with some staff facing redundancy. Staff roles are changing. AI will inevitably have an impact on some job roles.
The following post offers guidance on preparing for jobs, making applications and attending interviews. The advice is provided by staff who successfully achieved promotion to Grade 6 roles within university Professional Services. However, much of the advice is applicable regardless of the grade you’re applying for.
Preparation tips
- Think about, note down and take stock of things you have taken ownership of within your roles. They don’t need to be big, or entirely yours (small things can have a big impact and can demonstrate your approach) – projects, process improvements, innovation, problems you’ve solved creatively.
- Find tangible examples of those things you’ve done and think about how to explain them in terms of the measurable impact (stats, numbers, feedback) they’ve had, and the ways the things you’ve done have met strategic aims (could be tying in to local strategic goals, or bigger Uni ones).
- Make the call!! If they offer an informal chat on the job ad, get in touch! It helps you see if you really want the role, it helps you make the application and will definitely at the very least make them remember your name. It shows proactivity and enthusiasm.
- Follow people on LinkedIn. There are hundreds of articles, blogs and videos about applications and interviews.
- Follow people on topics that interest you and you’ll find yourself keeping up to date with developments without feeling like it’s any effort. For example, EDI, organisational development, career coaches, female empowerment specialists. It’s amazing the tips, free courses and policy updates you digest without even realising!
- Prepare using the STAR technique so you’ll have a ready bank of scenarios/answers for different competencies.
- Start to observe/research, even if you’re not quite ready to move on yet, to build up your awareness of roles out there, different departments, grades etc, and as a way to check with yourself. What are you really interested in doing next? What excites you when you read it?
- Start to build up a few contacts in different departments. Go to networking events. Get talking to people (have a short summary or ‘elevator pitch’ ready; focus on you/your skills/what you are seeking rather than the job title you currently have).
- Don’t talk yourself out of applying for a role if you don’t meet all the criteria (men don’t tend to do that!).
The application form
- Apply only for things you genuinely want. Ideally have a vision for your career, what motivates you, what are you good at, what do you get energised about and what you hate.
- If there is a contact name on the application for any questions, contact them. They will remember you when your application goes through. It also gives you a true indication as to if you could collaborate with this person and it’s an opportunity to have a head start.
- If in doubt, apply for the job. Any chance to practice interviewing alone is so valuable. Even if it didn’t go well, note down all the questions you were asked for next time.
- Actually go for jobs. Don’t rule yourself out, even if there are descriptors or criteria you aren’t sure you meet. You don’t have to meet all the essential criteria to be hired: companies like to see room for development and areas to train people up.
- Desirable criteria are nice to haves so don’t hesitate to apply if you don’t meet these. Instead, show that you have done some research on the role/industry and organisation that relates to that desirable criterion. E.g. Haven’t worked in Student Recruitment specifically for a job that desires experience in it? You can research and showcase your understanding of the stake holders involved, the issues they’re facing and understand what the job at hand will involve.
- Think about what you could offer to the role overall. How you can address the criteria creatively (maybe from outside the day to day activity of your current role?).
- Note down each of the essential criteria in the job spec and highlight key words for the skill or experience required. In your statement for the application, make sure you are mentioning these words specifically but also giving examples (1-3 ideal) to demonstrate how you meet as many essential criteria with either transferrable skills or direct experience. Some examples will cover multiple criteria, so your 1-3 examples might tick many boxes but still great to give as many examples as you can.
- Mention specifically essential skills or experience that you don’t meet as areas that you want to develop and are keen to progress in professionally.
- Evidence any experience you have through your statement. Include any certificates that may be relevant to the experience that you can upload.
- Check your statement, double check it, amend it several times. Ask a friend to proofread it.
- Send your application in early rather than leaving until last minute. This shows you’re keen and organised.
- Ask for feedback on your application. You may have not got the position for a simple reason. To know the reason and understand is worth everything. Don’t be afraid to ask. Take the feedback on board and use it towards your next interview
The interview
- Use the STAR method to prepare for interviews. Many interviews follow a pretty standard formula. Behaviour/competency-based questions are all looking for what you did and what impact it had.
- Identify potential practice interview questions working from the person specification and the essential criteria. Highlight the key skills in the Person Spec. Competency questions will be drawn from these. e.g. ‘Can you give us an example of a time when you had to….solve a complex problem/deal with a challenging situation/manage a project.’
- Practice answering questions and record them. Play the recording back and make a note of how you could improve.
- Keep a note each week of your achievements. This helps with Annual Reviews as well as applications. Think of it as journaling but for your career. It’s a great way to capture examples of your impact.
- The Amy Cuddy power poses work pre-interview to boost your self-confidence.
- GlassDoor interview index is very useful. Or you might ask Chat GPT. Enter details of the job role and organisation. While there are no guarantees the questions suggested will be asked, they can help you prepare.
- Be yourself and be enthusiastic about the role. You need to be yourself because you don’t want to get stuck in an environment you don’t enjoy, with people who don’t get you!
- Try to think of the interview as a 2-way conversation. This can help shift the power dynamic and ensures you don’t come across as desperate for the role. Each party is checking the other out- it’s not a one-way process.
- The key to both applications and interviews is impact and evidence, so try not to just say what you do but also how you do it and what the result is. Effecting change is often a big winner so if you can demonstrate improving a process then talk about that. The best way to evidence your work is to talk about the impact it had.
- No harm in pausing after being asked a question in order to compose yourself. Repeating the question back to the panel can help you make sure you’ve understood the question before answering it.
- Have a notebook to refer to. You can use this to jot down possible questions for the panel. If you’re asked if you have any questions at the end, you can say- “I did have some noted down” and then check. This also works even where you don’t have any- as you could say “I did, but I think you’ve covered everything I needed to know during the interview.”
- If you feel at the end of the interview that you’ve not had a chance to say something you wished you had- you could ask: “is there anything else I can add that would convince you that I have the skills and experience you require for this role?”
- At the end of the interview, thank the panel and confirm your enthusiasm for the post.
Look out for future posts, which will provide insights and advice from university staff who have experience in shortlisting, sitting on interview panels and making the hiring decisions.