Perfect resume, no interview: nine reasons why recruiters in Asia are rejecting you
You’ve applied for a banking job via a recruitment agency in Singapore or Hong Kong and your CV and covering letter are spot-on.
All that now stands between you and meeting the hiring manager is an initial interview with the recruiter, a mere box-ticking exercise, surely, especially if you work in a sought-after sector of Asian banking like risk, compliance, internal audit or relationship management.
Your situation is not actually as straight forward as it may seem, however. As banks in Asia try to reduce hiring costs, they are putting more pressure on recruiters to streamline the hiring process and only forward them exceptional candidates.
If you don’t come across well when you meet a recruiter, they won’t hesitate to reject you. “Even if a candidate has an excellent CV, poor verbal communication skills are the biggest turn-off; you need to succinctly sell yourself to a recruiter when you first meet,” says Chris Mead, regional director of recruitment firm Hays in Singapore.
Recruiters in Singapore and Hong Kong outline the main reason why they screen out some candidates and don’t recommend them to their banking clients.
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1) Starting out with disrespect
Show respect to the recruiter when you first meet – even if they’re less experienced than you (this isn’t uncommon in Asia), even if they’ve never worked in banking and even if you’re not a big fan of recruitment agencies generally. As a rule of thumb, dress and behave as though you’re at a job interview with a senior banker. If you make a bad first impression on a recruiter, they will assume the hiring manager will think the same and won’t waste time recommending you, says James Incles, managing director of ESG Search in Hong Kong. “Do you make good eye contact? Are you wearing smart attire? Decisions are often made when you walk through the door.”
2) Leaving your research too late
It’s a big problem: candidates who think they can do their research into the job only when they clinch an interview with the employer. “You’ll be expected to have done your homework and be able to talk about the employer with the recruiter. If not, it doesn’t really signal that you want the job,” says Mead.
3) Covering up your mistakes
Too many candidates in Hong Kong and Singapore think career mistakes should be covered up to save face rather than properly explained. “They sometimes rush through talking about their CVs like a runaway train,” says Adam Jeffes, manager, investment banking, finance and operations, at Morgan McKinley in Hong Kong. “At every point you want to hide something, instead ask yourself if you can rationalise why you made the mistake. Whether it’s a low GPA or joining a firm because of a manager who left shortly after, use it as part of the story you tell the recruiter; it will help engender trust.”
4) Mid-interview phone use
Switch off your device! Recruiters in Singapore and Hong Kong complain that too many candidates are checking their smart phones in the midst of job discussions. This doesn’t show that you’re a connected, sought-after finance professional; it suggests you’re not interested in the new job. Evelyn Lee, manager of financial services and legal at Robert Walters Singapore, has even seen candidates answering phone calls during interviews.
5) Giving short, dismissive answers
Candidates in Asia often assume that their (excellent) qualifications and (achievements-focused) CVs should speak for themselves. “Because of this, people with strong resumes sometimes fail to articulate anything relevant during an interview,” says Sarah Curtis, Hong Kong country manager at iKas International. “It’s exacerbated when they answer with one-word or vague responses, saying ‘that’s on my CV’. But banks won’t hire you because of something amazing on your CV – you have to nail the interviews and if you can’t do a good interview with me, I would question your ability to perform well in front of my client.”
6) Getting aggressive
Don’t expect a recruiter interview to be a light-weight chat; except to get grilled on the same subjects that you would at a bank. And when you are asked tricky questions, don’t lose your cool because you’re “only talking to a recruiter”. Vince Natteri, director of Pinpoint Asia in Hong Kong, explains: “We once had a candidate with a top-notch CV who seemed perfect for an IB client. But when we probed into her background, it became apparent that she wasn’t a good fit: her answers weren’t consistent and she became defensive and aggressive. This attitude meant we didn’t refer her to the bank.”
7) Hiding your real reason for leaving
“If we sense you’re not being truthful about your reasons for leaving a company, alarm bells will ring,” says Jeffes from Morgan McKinley. “This can have implications later down the line, particularly at the reference stage, and can jeopardise the whole hire, so be honest with us, and ensure that the information we impart to a client can be collaborated.”
8) Telling irrelevant tales
Recruiters also find it irritating when candidates use a meeting to show off about their general career achievements without explaining how they add value to the advertised vacancy. “Answer questions directly and always relate your career experiences to the job description,” advises Mead from Hays.
9) Badmouthing
If you’re sick of your current company or colleagues, it’s tempting to use a recruiter as a sounding-board for your grievances. “Criticising other people is never a good idea in an interview with a recruiter. Try to focus on the positive when talking about situations or experiences,” says Mead.
