How to shine above other candidates in the Packaging Industry

Being natural is the key! Along with many other top tips provided by our Packaging Recruiters.

Ben Robson, Katie Gaitley and Natasha Cranfield from Monocle International provide their insight...

• This is actually the easiest aspect of interviewing to overcome, even though you do not know your competition! The best way to overcome the candidates you are competing with is to do the following; and remember all of this comes down to whether you can be bothered, because it’s free!

• Firstly make sure your appearance is faultless, now let’s consider preparation, there is so much information widely and easily available that it is a crime not to be exceptionally well prepared, the fact is that in the current market it is not always the best candidate that gets the job, it’s the best prepared candidate! And finally when you walk out of the room you should have left them with the overwhelming feeling that you genuinely want to join their business. “So being better than the rest comes down to can you be bothered”.

Tony Moroney from Wallace Hind Selection  provides his insight...

• Be smart in your appearance. Men should avoid wearing shiny suits and open neck shirts. Shoes must be polished. If you look good, you will feel good!
• Hide obvious tattoos. Some companies do not look favourably on tattoos.
• Answer questions confidently and succinctly. Do not waffle, if you do not know the answer say so!
• At the end of your interview, thank the interviewer for their time, tell them that you believe you could do this job and tell them why, by referring to two or three points that you discussed during the interview. This shows that you have listened, which is the greatest attribute of a successful salesperson. We can all talk, but not many can or will listen. And, tell them that you want the position.
• Nowadays a lot of employers check candidates’ social media pages, such as LinkedIn and Facebook. Make sure your profile picture is not showing you in an embarrassing light.

Ian Roe from Mercury Search and Selection provides his insight...

• The glib answer to this is loose the ego.  I am not talking about self confidence but rather the tendency to frame everything from a “me” perspective.  Clearly you cant talk about your achievements, skills and experience without refereeing to your self but to really shine you need to demonstrate the “what’s in it for me” for the employer, i.e. why its god for them to employ you rather than how good this job would be for you or just how wonderful you are.  Conversely in an attempt to avoid sounding egotistical some people refer over emphasise “we did…” to the extent they don’t take credit for their own achievements so make sure you identify your own success. 

• Then when you talk about a particular skill or achievement relate it to how that would add value to the employer.  For example a sales person may identify previous sales achievements with a particular client that the potential employer has struggled with.  They could then, without giving commercial sensitivities, identify that a particular approach is required to be able to satisfy the clients need.  Everything needs to be in the context of this is what I have achieved or done which means that I can contribute x to your business.
• None of this is possible without sufficient research prior to interview and reasoned and structured questioning during interview.