Recognising your potential and skills @aaltouniversity @heinihm @tek_akateemiset

RECOGNISING YOUR POTENTIAL AND
SKILLS
AALTO UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF SCIENCE
23.3.2015
HEINI HULT-MIEKKAVAARA
ACADEMIC ARCHITECTS AND
ENGINEERS IN FINLAND – TEK

ON THE AGENDA
23.3.2015From Inspiration to Action_Aalto School of Science_TEK_Heini Hult-Miekkavaara
LET’S GET PHILOSOPHICAL:
•  REFLECT ON YOUR COMPETENCE
AND CAREER DREAMS
•  FIND OUT WHAT EMPLOYERS NEED
LET’S GET PRACTICAL:
•  A GOOD CV AND APPLICATION
•  WHY TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA
PhotosusedinthispresentationarebyIstockphoto,unlessotherwisementioned.

OKAY. LET’S START WITH THE
PHILOSOPHICAL.

FOCUS YOUR
PROFESSIONAL
PROFILE BY
1. RECOGNISING YOUR
COMPETENCE
2. RECOGNISING YOUR
DREAMS
3. RECOGNISING THE
NEEDS OF EMPLOYERS
PHOTO:
HEINIHM

1. RECOGNISING YOUR COMPETENCE
•  What have I done (work/studies/hobbies)?
•  How have I done things?
•  With what competence?
•  What have I learned and achieved?
à Take a concrete task/project and go
through it in detail à repeat x times

•  What do I think I’m good at?
•  What do others think I’m good at?
•  What is easy for me?
1. RECOGNISING YOUR COMPETENCE

2. RECOGNISING YOUR DREAMS
PHOTO: JOONAS LINKOLA

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS:

Q1. WHAT GIVES ME THE KICKS?
PHOTO:
HEINIHM

Q2. IS THERE SOMETHING IN COMMON WITH
THE THINGS THAT GIVE ME THE KICKS?
PHOTO:
HEINIHM

Q3. HOW DO I WANT TO
CHANGE THE WORLD?

Q4. HOW CAN OTHERS BENEFIT
FROM MY COMPETENCE?

1.  WHAT IS THE COMPANY
SAYING ABOUT ITSELF?
2.  WHAT ARE OTHERS
SAYING ABOUT THE
COMPANY?
3.  WHAT IS HAPPENING IN
THE WORLD THAT WILL
AFFECT THE COMPANY?
à HOW CAN YOU ANSWER
THEIR CHALLENGES?
3. RECOGNISING THE NEEDS OF
EMPLOYERS

1. THE POSITION
2. THE ORGANISATION:
PRODUCTS, SERVICES,
PROCESSES
3. THE BRANCH, ECOSYSTEM
From Inspiration to Action_Aalto School of Science_TEK_Heini Hult-Miekkavaara
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE EMPLOYER THAT
INTERESTS YOU?
23.3.2015

MOVING ON TO THE PRACTICAL.

EVEN HE NEEDED A
CV IN 1448
Leonardo’s core competence:
•  Throwing rocks
•  Designing light-weight
bridges
•  Sculpting (during
peacetime)
http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/history-of-cv-
info/
From Inspiration to Action_Aalto School of Science_TEK_Heini Hult-Miekkavaara 23.3.2015

1.  TOOLS TO HELP YOU FORM
YOUR PROFESSIONAL
PROFILE
2.  YOUR MARKETING MATERIAL
YOUR CV AND APPLICATION ARE:
23.3.2015

•  WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT
THING YOU WANT YOUR CV TO
CONVEY?
•  WHAT DO YOU WANT OTHERS
AT LEAST TO REMEMBER?

A GOOD JOB APPLICATION DOES THE
THINKING FOR THE READER
•  Never assume the reader knows exactly what you mean
•  Titles and positions mean different things in different
organisations
•  Something ordinary to you can be special to someone else!
REMEMBER – YOU ARE NOT THERE IN PERSON TO
ANSWER QUESTIONS OR GIVE MORE INFORMATION

YOUR CV: WORK EXPERIENCE IN A
NUTSHELL
YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES CONCRETELY:
•  WHAT YOU DID
•  WHAT YOU ACHIEVED
•  WHAT WAS THE BIG PICTURE (SYSTEMS THINKING)

PUT THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE
I PUBLISHED FIVE PAPERS
I ORGANISED 50 WORKSHOPS
THERE WERE 500 PARTICIPANTS
I WAS IN CHARGE OF A BUDGET OF 50 000 €
THERE ARE 5 M CUSTOMERS

WHEN GOING FROM UNIVERSITY TO A
COMPANY
•  Speak in a language that others understand
•  Find elements in your research work and
university/academic surroundings that
resonate with business companies
•  project work
•  results orientation
•  finding fundings
•  virtual teams
•  global teams and customers

COMPANY
•  Ensure the reader that you can do more than ‘just’
research, eg. teaching, supervising, managing,
leading, product development projects done in
collaboration with companies…
•  How do you interact/communicate with others? Do
you eg. negotiate with funders, are you leading a
research project or do you supervise others’ work?
What sort of contacts outside the university do you
have?

COMPANY
•  Be specific with your achievements so that
the employer understands that you get
things done, and would be a good
investment for the company.
•  Help the reader understand what impact
your work has on a larger scale, and how
it relates to the big picture in your field.
•  Be concrete!

WHICH ASSETS DO PHDS HAVE THAT NO-ONE
ELSE HAS?

P.S. WHAT ABOUT PUBLICATIONS?
HAVE THEM ON A
SEPARATE APPENDIX,
DON’T CRAM
EVERYTHING IN YOUR
CV

1. WHAT CAN I DO?
2. WHAT DO I WANT TO DO?
THIS WILL GET YOU STARTED:

THIS WILL GET YOU TO THE
FINISHING LINE:
WHY AM I APPLYING FOR THIS JOB?

THIS WILL WIN YOU THE RACE:
HOW CAN I MAKE
A DIFFERENCE?

TARGET YOUR JOB SEARCH!
1.  APPLY TO POSITIONS AND
COMPANIES YOU REALLY WANT TO
2. TAILOR YOUR CV AND APPLICATION
FOR THE POSITION AND COMPANY

1.  FOCUS YOUR PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
à  WHO AM I, WHAT IS MY GOAL
2. TARGET YOUR JOB SEARCH AND JOB
APPLICATIONS
à WHY AM I APPLYING FOR THIS
PARTICULAR POSITION
•  BOTH IN YOUR CV AND COVER LETTER
•  ON YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT (IN SOCIAL
MEDIA)

SO I NEED A TARGETED PROFESSIONAL
PROFILE, CV AND JOB APPLICATIONS TO TELL
PEOPLE WHO I AM AND WHAT I CAN DO.
NOW WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH
SOCIAL MEDIA?

SOCIAL RECRUITING (RECRUITING IN
SOCIAL MEDIA) IS ALL THE MORE
COMMON…

…BUT YOU STILL NEED A GOOD CV

MANY ORGANISATIONS STILL REQUIRE
A TRADITIONAL CV. SOCIAL MEDIA
PROFILES COMPLEMENT YOUR
APPLICATION.

SOCIAL MEDIA HAS CHANGED RECRUITMENT
FOR EMPLOYERS:
•  Recruiting is faster, or positions don’t even make it to a
public recruitment process
•  Finding passive candidates is easier
FOR JOB SEEKERS:
•  Contacting employers is easier
•  Doing the research on companies and finding suitable
positions and organisations is easier
•  Bringing out your competence and interests to a wide
audience is easier
23.3.2015

GOOD CV’S AND SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES
•  FOCUSED AND CONCISE
•  EASY TO READ
•  BRING OUT COMPETENCE AND PERSONALITY
ENSURE THE READER THAT THE
APPLICANT KNOWS THEIR STUFF AND FITS
THE ORGANISATION

BUILD YOUR CV AND SOCIAL MEDIA
PROFILES SIDE BY SIDE. IT’S CONSTANT
WORK IN PROGRESS, AND THEIR
FOCUSES DEVELOP ALONG WITH YOUR
CAREER.

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO LEAVE A
DIGITAL FOOTPRINT AND PROFESSIONAL
PROFILE?

1. WHILE YOU’RE DISCUSSING AND
COLLABORATING WITH OTHERS ON
SOCIAL MEDIA, YOU’RE ACTUALLY
WORKING – IT WON’T GO UNNOTICED
BY RECRUITERS.

2. YOUR NEXT EMPLOYER COULD BE THE
GUY NEXT TO YOU. WHAT DOES HE KNOW
ABOUT YOU?

3 . T H E P O W E R O F W E A K L I N K S

WHY TRULY INNOVATIVE JOBSEARCH
DEMANDS A LEAP INTO THE UNKNOWN
•  http://www.ted.com/talks/
uri_alon_why_truly_innovative_science_demands_a
_leap_into_the_unknown
•  HERMINIA IBARRA: Working Identity -
Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your
Career

BOLDLY GO WHERE YOU HAVEN’T GONE
BEFORE
•  SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES LET YOU
’DOCUMENT YOUR FUTURE CAREER’
UNLIKE A TRADITIONAL CV
•  YOU CAN BE PROFESSIONALLY ACTIVE
EVEN WHEN IN BETWEEN JOBS OR IF
YOU’RE STUCK AT THE WRONG JOB, OR
DON’T HAVE OTHER MEANS TO ACHIEVE
THE REQUIRED COMPETENCE.

THREE THINGS TO HELP YOU
RECOGNISE YOUR POTENTIAL AND
SKILLS – AND MAKE YOU SUCCESSFUL
AT JOB SEARCH

1. DO YOUR RESEARCH

2. FOCUS YOUR CV, APPLICATIONS
AND SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES

3. DREAM

CAREER SERVICES
www.tek.fi/urapalvelut
Twitter: @urapalvelut
TEKrekry
LinkedIn group
Twitter: @tekrekry
•  Career coaching
•  CV Clinic
•  Webinars
•  Interview simulators
•  Career Events
•  Teekkarin työkirja
THANK YOU!

@HEINIHM

Recognising your potential and skills @aaltouniversity @heinihm @tek_akateemiset

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Recognising your potential and skills @aaltouniversity @heinihm @tek_akateemiset