If you are in the job market or considering entering it, rather than just diving head first into applications and trying to organise interviews it might well be worth taking a slower more measured approach.

A little time spent now, researching the market, doing your homework and getting inside the head of a prospective employer could well save you a lot of time in the long run as well as helping you secure a better position at a better rate than you might have otherwise. Sit back and put your self in the shoes of your prospective employer. Consider closely what is making them tick, what they are looking to get out of the recruitment and interview process and how best you can work your way into fulfilling those needs, into matching their requirements.

Whether you are applying for jobs through healthcare recruitment agencies, doctors recruitment agencies, nurses recruitment agencies, pharmacy recruitment agencies or a non-specialist employment agency the thinking still applies. You need to think like they think, see things as they might see them, feel things as they might feel them – be them. Armed with that kind of insight you will be fully prepared for interview and significantly enhance your chances of success.

What sorts of things might you want to consider? Here's a shortlist of the sorts of things your employer might be thinking:

Best fit

Employing the wrong person can be costly and time consuming. It is estimated that in the UK SMEs waste more than £70m every year on poor recruitment decisions. An employer needs to match a candidate as closely as possible to the job in hand. If you have done exactly that job, in the same culture, with the same pressures then you're a safer bet. Use your past behaviour to reveal likely future behaviour. Show you can hit the ground running.
Remember that as well as any pressure you might feel applying for a new position the person employing you will also be under pressure to deliver the right candidate. Make their decision as easy as possible.

A “will do” attitude

Be sure to tell your prospective employer what you WILL do for them, not what you CAN, might or could do. There is a big gap between the WILL and CAN a difference that could be the difference between being offered the position or not.

Not too keen

Usually, really good candidates are few and far between. Someone particularly gifted will in all likelihood have had their talents identified and in order to stop then upping and leaving will already be well appreciated where they are. Whether you truly are that gifted person is immaterial – believe that you are. Confidence in yourself and in the attitudes of others towards you is an attractive asset. It's simple human psychology. By exhibiting this confidence and not being over-keen on a new job you will strengthen your chances of an offer.