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Written by Deena Patel on the Find Your Fit Programme
This week on the Find your Fit Programme we took a trip to Birmingham and visited Millennium Point where we spoke to the people who worked there and the different job roles we might not know even existed! We learnt about recruitment skills, tips on CV’s, applying for jobs and Interview tips.
First up we were welcomed by Abby, Vanessa and Lily. Abby who is the CEO of Millennium Point and overseas a lot of staff in different department to ensure that everything runs smoothly on a day to day basis.
Vanessa - Head of People, Learning and Development and Lily - People, Learning and Development advisor talked about their job in recruiting people to work at Millennium point and what skills and information an employer looks for in an employee.
We learnt why recruitment is important, what employers are looking for and how job descriptions can help with your application.
Employers need recruits for a few different reasons, they may have a high workload and need additional resources, they may have also created a new role or need new skills or be expanding departments a need more people to help fulfil duties.
Each employer is different and so will look for different qualities and traits in the people they are looking to recruit and see how they might fit into the team as well as the skills needed for the job.
Things and employer might look for: Confidence/ positive attitude, willingness to learn and develop the skills needed for the role, willingness to work hard and what I think is the most important for any job, good communication skills.
Job description and person specification can help your application and included what key skills and qualifications are required for the job role, adjusting your application to include some of things mentioned on the job description can help the likelihood of your application being short listed. Planning and preparing for an interview can be very helpful so you can expect what kind of questions you might be asked and help ensure it goes well.
It's a good idea to look on the company website and research about the employer and their mission values and aims. Familiarising yourself with the job description and predict questions you could be asked and how you can show relevant experience for the role.
Planning your journey and ensure you're at least 10 minutes early can create a good first impression as well as ensuring you're not rushing getting stressed before your interview.
When talking about yourself and how you can be a good fit for the role a good technique to use is the STAR technique.
Situation: share the nature of the event project or challenge Task: describe your specific responsibility in the process Action: steps undertaken to move towards an outcome Result: and results of your individual involvement
Tips on making a good impression at an interview: Dress appropriately, arrive in good time, body language, expect the unexpected, ask questions.
Later on we were given a tour of the facilities at Millennium Point including the venue space for the Birmingham Film Festival, the Auditorium and the bar! We also spoke to JJ the Finance Director, Harry the Events Operations Manager, Ryan the Marketing Co-ordinator and Linda the Facilities Director, who told us how they got started in their careers and advice on what we can do how to improve our CV’s through gaining relevant experience in the department we were interested in.
“Fake it till you make it”
Linda says confidence is key when starting a new role, even if you're not 100% sure what you're doing, can help you excel and learn new things, willingness to learn a new skill can make you more appealing to employers as it shows dedication and passion in your job.
Overall we had a fantastic day at Millennium Point and learnt a lot about recruitment and how we can improve our CV’s and interview skills for job searching.