Being one of the senior persons in our group, I have been involved in the hiring process of our institute over the past 1 & 1/2 years. After having gone through ~80 CVs and sat through ~18 interviews for various positions such as data science developer, junior data scientist, postdocs and assistant professors, I have noticed a bunch of do’s and don’ts to potential applicants that I list here:
- always mention where you are now: both academically and professionally
- always add the country along with the affiliation in your CV, don’t assume some one knows where the company/affiliation is located
- don’t write “honestly speaking” in your motivation letter
- don’t write “since most of the requirements are met, I am eligible” – that’s for the evaluator to decide
- don’t just say that you have expertise, show it through project descriptions (can be brief)
- when mentioning your technical skills, mention the level of expertise (again can be via project descriptions or perhaps via a scale)
- highlight relevant expertise depending on what position your applying to
- do read up about the institute/company you are applying to – don’t bluff and mention incorrect facts
- dont make the motivation letter too long and boring
- make sure you read the job description and add a few sentences as to why you fit *that* particular position based on your previous projects !!!
- don’t use abbreviations and the three dots in your letters and CVs !!!
- format justify the text
- don’t give an interview while sitting in the dark (don’t have a dinosaur toy behind you) – true stories 😉
- when asked “tell us about yourself”, start with your name
- listen to the question(s) carefully – there might be two questions asked
- don’t say “I don’t want to take too much of your time” in an interview and then talk a lot – keep you answers brief
- update your LinkedIn/website if you add a link to it in your CV
What do you think of these tips? Do you have some Do’s and Don’ts to add?
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