Carve out your next path with hire ground

We'll be your job-hunt partner with insider knowledge on salaries, skills, negotiations and portfolio tips. We’re here for every type of work – freelance, contract, part-time and permanent.

Hire Ground's service to those on the job-hunt is free because we work with the best businesses in the industry. And the best businesses know how to say thanks (in the form of a paid invoice).

LINKEDIN OR OUT
We highly recommend keeping your LinkedIn profile current, particularly while actively looking for new roles and interviewing. A lot of potential employers use LinkedIn as their go-to to look for candidates and to advertise for roles.

FRIENDLINESS IS NEXT TO PROFESSIONALNESS
‍Being kind and friendly goes a long way. A professional approach is a clear go-to but along with bringing who you are to your LinkedIn, CV, cover letter and portfolio, bring it to all of your interactions and strike the balance. Forming professional working relationships and ways of communicating is a whole skill on it’s own, leaning on what you’ve already got working for you.

‍THEY’LL BE HIRING YOU, NOT JUST THE STUFF YOU’RE GOOD AT
‍Your LinkedIn, CV, cover letter and portfolio should be functional, but this doesn’t mean they have to be void of what you can bring to the table outside of your skillset. You’re allowed to show who you are in how you write about yourself and your work and how you present it. Work out how you’ll bring yourself through these functional pieces and you’ll be sure to stand out.

‍HARVARD REFERENCING
Kidding, that stuff is absolutely left behind in the days of uni. References and recommendations, however, are super important to your CV. Who you choose to put down and what previous working relationship you’ve had with them will speak volumes to trust and confidence in several ways moving forward. It’s a great opportunity to do a name drop if you have the contacts. Just don’t forget to ask permission of your references first. An unsolicited reference call can sometimes stump people. Courtesy is, well, courteous.

ORDER UP
When applying for a role and setting up your portfolio to suit that application, make it a separate task to select what projects to include and what order to put them in. You don’t always have to include a lot so order things how you would like them to be looked at on the receiving end. Imagine the recipient only spends a minute flicking through the first couple pages (sorry, it does happen), what is going to get them to keep looking?

‍TRANSPARENCY IS KEY
‍Teamwork makes the dream work? Yes? So make sure you say so. When prepping your portfolio, writing about the projects and describing what you did. Make sure to say who else did what as well. Not only is this giving credit where credit is due and prevents you from being stuck in a ‘oh-no-they-think-I-can-3D-render-THAT?!’ situation, it will also show prospective employees that you’re good at working with teams of people in various situations.

‍HELLO, SO NICE TO MEET YOU
A small introduction at the start of your CV, or on the email you send it in, (sometimes in lieu of a cover letter) that covers who you are, that you're applying and why is a great opportunity to make a quick and authentic connection with the person reading it. We mentioned personality earlier and this is where you really get a good chance to inject that.

THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE JOB (WE HOPE, NO GUARANTEES)
Timing your arrival is one of the most stressful parts of an interview. So instead of trying to figure out how to get to the exact location on time, look up a cafe or a park nearby and work out how to get there about half an hour before your scheduled interview. It’ll give you a chance to take a breath and run through your prep notes before calmly walking into the interview right on time.

‍THIS IS YOUR REMINDER TO DO INTERVIEW PREP
This is a relatively straightforward one. You think you know what you need to know for an interview, but it always helps to research who you’ll be interviewing with, specific people, recent projects, awards, any recent press. All of this is great fodder for you to speak about when you’re asked about why you have applied for the open position. If you’re keen, you’re keen, this is just a foolproof way to show it.
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SHOW AND TELL
On top of interview prep is being prepared to talk to your own work and experience. Turning up empty handed to an interview is a bit of a no-no, but printing folios is hard to do these days. So at the bare minimum have a PDF presentation version of your folio ready to roll, on your own laptop, opened, with your hotspot ready to connect, so you can dive right in. If you have anything else to take along that is of interest or related to your folio, do it. Tactile versions of work in an interview are even more impressive.

UNO REVERSE CARD
Interviewing the interviewer is one of the oldest tips in the book. But it’s a good one. The best place to start with what to ask is to work out their core values and what they really need from the role, team, workplace culture and all sorts. If in doubt, hit up Google for some suggestions. But whatever you ask, having your own questions for the interviewer will always show a keenness and care.

‍YOU’RE ALLOWED TO NEGOTIATE
With the ever-changing working environment, especially during the last couple of years, an increasing amount of work flexibility is being seen across various industries. If a role advertised doesn’t quite suit the hours or salary you need, you’re allowed to reach out and ask about it. If you’re the perfect candidate, you never know what the company may be willing to be flexible on.