Getting an Interview for a Brazilian Job in 3, 2 and 1

May 06 2013

Sending your application and CV (or Resume in USA) in hopes of getting a Brazilian job is only the first part of the equation, the second part is actually landing the interview.

And after today’s post, you should have the clear steps on how to get an interview and be closer to your dream of getting a job in Brazil.

As you were looking through job classifieds, you found one that caught your eye. This particular job seems to encompass you in every way and appears to be a perfect fit with your qualifications and desires.

So you eagerly write up a wonderful application and CV and are ready to send it in, in hopes of getting that elusive interview – will they contact you and schedule an interview or not?

Here are 3 easy-to-follow steps that will increase your chances of getting the interview by leaps and bounds:

1 e-mail to Separate your application and CV From the Rest
The 1 Phone Call that will Make Your (and Their!) Day
Sicking The Network You Didn’t Know You Had, after the Company

But First, do you know about the single largest mistake we make when sending our CV in that gets it put right into the trash?

Step 1: The 1 E-mail to Separate your Application and CV From the Rest

The single biggest mistake we make when sending in our application and CV to get a job in Brazil, is assuming that they are enough to get us the interview.

Your CV and application are a great to get a job but the single most important thing you can do to get it in front of hiring eyes is to send the right kind of e-mail and follow up with a phone call.

Let me show you a couple of e-mail examples when sending in your e-mail, can you tell me which one is best?

E-mail example one: The General E-mail

Dear Fernando,

I saw you were hiring for the position of “International Marketing Manager”. Therefore, I am sending my CV and Application in for consideration.

Best regards,
Kevin

E-mail Example two: The Specific E-mail

Dear Fernando,

When I saw that you were looking for an International Marketing Manager, I couldn’t hardly wait to send you my CV and application.

I’m so passionate about getting this job and convinced that you will benefit from me, that I’ve taken an extra step to reflect this in my application and CV.

Looking forward to hearing back from you (hopefully to schedule an interview).

Best regards,

Kevin

P.S. I’ll give you a call to make sure that everything made it through ok.

What did you think, number 1 or 2?

Number 2 right?

At least number 2 has been the most beneficial in my trying and I’ll tell you why.

The 3 Magic Ingredients Your E-mail Should Have

The 3 magic ingredient your e-mail should have is curiosity, a call to action and time-constraint.

Curiosity will make them want to open your application and CV to take a look at it: this is obviously what you want to happen and especially when there are so many applying.

A call to action to make them think about making a decision about hiring you: this is a good process in their mind to already begin (sounds a bit right?).

Time-constraint: by telling them that you will call them to make sure that everything has made it ok, it makes them want to be prepared so that they aren’t completely surprised when you call! The result of this is that they will open your application and CV to get ready for your call.

These 3 magic ingredients sprinkled throughout your e-mail will get the ball rolling, lining you up to the next step.

Step 2: The 1 Phone Call that will Make Your (and Their!) Day

After leaving the hiring manager in suspense with your wonderfully crafted e-mail, here is the 1 simple phone call that will make your and their day!

In the e-mail, you wrote that they would be getting a call from you to confirm that everything arrived ok. The truth is though, that you are attempting to cement the idea of you getting the job into their minds.

This is exactly what I did when giving the hiring manager a call for that recent brush-in with a 6 figure job.

I started out by asking about the position, getting him to reiterate what they were looking for, telling him that it sounded really exciting and having a couple of in depth questions ready.

It was a friendly and comfortable conversation but there was a very effective tactic implemented throughout the conversation: The “What If I Got the Job” tactic.

What if I Got the Job?

When calling up the hiring manager, you want him/her to always be imagining three things: you getting an interview, being hired and performing the job.

These are border-line NLP tactics (probably are) but very effective in their decision making about you.

Here is an idea of what you could ask:

If I got the job, what would the workplace be like?
Considering that you wanted to interview me, would this be conducted by you and where would it take place?
What is your idea of the picture-perfect ideal candidate for this position?

Number 1 get’s them imagining you at the workplace performing the job function and makes the wheels naturally begin turning in that direction.

Number 2 get’s them visualizing you at the interview and makes the thought of interviewing you more comfortable (plus it’s a natural next step to interview you if they are visualizing you at the work place!).

Number 3 is a future related question as you can get an idea of what they are looking for when you do get the interview. This allows you to get prepared and ready to be the embodiment of an ideal candidate (or rebuttal if you don’t match up in an area).

Ending the Phone Call

The phone call should feel natural, comfortable and progress nicely. You want to leave a good taste in their mouth, comfortable feeling about you and great visualizations of you in their minds.

And after you end the call with them, there is one last thing that you can do to secure you the interview.

Step 3: Sicking The Network You Didn’t Know You Had, after the Company

Did you know that you probably have a personal connection to the company but didn’t know it?

Yep, with modern technology we can see how closely related we are to a company through our social network – and it’s easier then you think!

A little while back, I did a writeup on how to use LinkedIn to find jobs in Brazil. Well, in the how-to video within that writeup, I showed you how to follow a company on LinkedIn.

When you follow a company on LinkedIn, there is a really powerful function that often gets overlooked: connections to the company.

Here is an example of a company I’m following:

How it functions is that after you click on the company’s profile on LinkedIn, you can see how you are connected:

1st Degree Connections: these are connections of your’s that work for the company or have worked there in the past.
2nd Degree Connections: these are basically “friends of friends” that work for the company or have worked there in the past.
3rd Degree Connections: these are friends of friends of friends that work for the company or have worked there in the past.

Obviously the best is to have a 1st degree connection that can put a good word in for you with the hiring manager, they have the most pull and can get you much more qualified for the interview and job. Though, if you only have a 2nd degree connection (likely the case for many), then figure out which of your contacts connects you to that 2nd degree connection and find out if you can get some inside help or a recommendation that way.

This makes your network work for you and gives you more pull to get the interview (and job).

Final Words

If you’ve been following these series of posts on how to get a job in Brazil, I have no doubt that you are lined up well to land that interview and maybe even the job.

I hope these 3 steps were beneficial to you and my hope is that they will bring you tons of success!

Please leave a comment below and let me know what you are thinking.

Valeu – cheers!

Kevin

P.S. give this a thumbs up if it was helpful!