Nearly every year we recruit new staff at Leicester Outdoor
Pursuits Centre, and we often get a great mix of personalities knocking on our
door - showing us what they have to offer. However there are traps and pitfalls
that so many young potentials just get wrong. Here are my top 5 tips to prevent
them happening to you.
Disclaimer, if you do
any of these - don’t panic. These are not ‘you’ve blown it’ moments, there
shouldn’t be any in an interview. Remember our objective is to try and find out
as much as we can about who you are, if you’re the right person for the job it
will come through. These tips will just help that process.
1) Wear a suit
If you’re reading that and wrinkling your nose with
disapproval then I’m talking to you in particular. Unless you’ve been specifically
told otherwise this is a no brainer. I know the outdoor industry isn’t about
being smart and we all take a pride in getting away from the formal office environment.
We all love the RAB Jacket and the Mountain Equipment Trousers but this is an
interview and you need to consider what message you’re giving in how you
present yourself.
Nobody has ever been marked down for being ‘too smart’ and
chances are you’re not going to either. But if you turn up scruffy there’s a
very real chance that first initial impression isn’t going to be a good one.
I’d question how serious you’re taking this interview and how professional you
are as a colleague, and now you’re on the back foot before we’ve got started.
2) Talk is cheap – arrive with substance
If I had a pound for every time I was told about how a
candidate was ‘passionate’ about the outdoors and ‘loves’ to be out in nature
and has the ‘enthusiasm’ to spread that in others, I’d be a rich man. It’s easy
to say that and to be fair it’s probably true, but you need to evidence this.
If you say you love the outdoors we want to know what you’re
doing outdoors and why you love it. If you tell us you once went in a canoe and
liked it, that’s really not going to cut it. Maybe you belong to a club? Do you
volunteer with anyone? What experiences have you had? If you build a story of
your love for the outdoors then suddenly you’ve got a bit of substance.
3) Tick the boxes
On your application we’re looking at the person
specification and trying to decide whether you meet our essential criteria.
Read that essential criteria and make sure we know you meet it. Almost all
applications have that section to write about yourself and support your
application. Use it and abuse it! This is your chance to sell yourself.
Remembering from lesson 2, try to evidence it too. You have
brilliant customer service skills…….prove it! Write about all those customers
who said they had a great time. Tell us about those letters from customers
commending your efforts that ensured they had a great time.
4) Consider what you ask us
A lot of times in an interview you’ll get the chance to ask
us a question. This tells us more than you probably appreciate. Yes we’re
judging you and we’ll look at anything you do for clues as to what you’ll be
like to work for us and what you ask is a great opportunity.
We know you’ll ask about pay – everyone wants to know that –
after all it’s the primary reason you’re sitting in an interview. We won’t
judge you on that. But if you were to start asking us insightful questions
about our Outdoor Education provision we’ll know we’ve got someone who’s got a
keen interest in the right thing. Your questions tell us about what you’re
interested in, they also tell us how much you know and researched. For example
if you were to ask “How many NICAS Level 2 courses do you deliver?” I instantly
know you’re interested in delivering these courses and you’ve researched the
organisation and am aware we deliver them.
5) You don’t have ‘lots of experience’
A lot of candidates seem to come to an interview having done
about 1 or 2 seasons. This is great we’re always looking for people with a bit of experience. That’s exactly what
it is, a bit.
Please please please when telling us why we should employ
you don’t say it’s because of your experience. We know how much experience
you’ve got, you put it on your application. It’s ok to be inexperienced, it
means you’re a blank canvass ready for us to develop. You might look at things
differently with a fresh set of eyes. Use that rather than telling us you have
a lot of experience. Unless of course you do.
Finally don’t get disheartened too much if you don’t get the
job. I’ve turned down a lot of people I’d loved to have worked with but at the
end of the day we only have so many places to give out. Get feedback and learn
from it. If you really want the job you’ll get it.
Good luck to anyone looking for a job in outdoor pursuits. It's a brilliant industry full of lots of interesting and enthusiastic people.
David Robinson
Good luck to anyone looking for a job in outdoor pursuits. It's a brilliant industry full of lots of interesting and enthusiastic people.
David Robinson
