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This is a good topic would like to understand it, too.

Hi Julie,

Little feedback from my side, first if you don't speak czech ensure english speaking is enough for the job otherwise don't waste your time

One thing the company will check for sure is your will to settle down in Prague, you will have this question so find a nice answer !

Concerning the salary it is up to you to find it, remember that you could have big differences between 2 companies for same kind of position (could double !).

Also if you go through an agent, pick the right one some of those are really incompetent (REED) some other excellent (GRAFTON).

At last but not at least, be patient as things move slowly on the Prague market.

Hope you'll do good
Cheers

Nico

Thanks for your contribution Nico!

Harmonie.

مشكورين جميعا

In English please hazemelzeini!

I am a expat and work as a recruiter for an International recruitment agency in CZ so I thought I'd give you some tips about how to get a job here!

The market here is indeed slower than let's say in the UK or Ireland so be patient as Nico wrote before. I would say that depending on your profile it can take from 4 days to 2 months to get a job here. Therefore, it is important you stay motivated and keep a track of jobs you applied to so making a list of jobs and companies you applied to can be a good thing to do.

Now before we get to the job interview part here is an important piece of advice: Make sure your CV is accurate and has no typos!!! Let's face it, we are human and mistakes do happen but there are no excuses when it comes to writing a CV. You can take all the time you want to for writing it, you can have it reviewed by as many people as you want so please make it right! Example: if you have written "costumer service" on your CV either send your CV to a theatre or to a company that makes costumes for movies but do not apply to any "customer service" job that requires "attention to details".. Costumer isn't the same as customer Example 2: If you wrote you are fluent in German, expect to be tested during the interview so be accurate and do not oversell yourself. Also, do not apply to a job if you do not match at least 50% of the requirements. If the job description says “Senior Project manager: min. of 7 years of experience required in project management position in telecoms industry” you should not apply if you worked as Finance controller but feel like you would do a fantastic “senior project manager”. Our job (agency recruiters) is to ensure our clients receive only relevant CVs from candidates that we screened beforehand so if you do not match any job advertised, why not just sending an email to the recruiter with your CV attached saying you are looking for a job and would appreciate if they could let you know of any suitable opportunity for you in the future.. If a job description says you need to speak Czech, it really means you need to speak Czech.

Before getting a job interview, you need to apply for a job first and for this you have 3 options:

1.    Applying through an agency: Agency recruitersÂ’ goal is to try as hard as possible to get you a job at one of their client. Thus, they will try helping you until they do find you something. Please also bear in mind they usually cannot represent you to a company if you already applied there on your own explaining why you should keep a list of jobs you applied to and do not send your CV to every single company operating in CZ either way, they will not be able to represent you anywhere. The advantage of working with agencies is that we know our clients and can prepare you for interviews (how many rounds, what sort of questions and tests you can expect, things you should know about the job and company, presentation of the company). We also provide feedback and let you know the status of your application. We can also propose you different options within different companies and are here to help You!

2.    Applying directly to a potential employer: HR recruiters have as mission to find the right fit for each position they have vacant and this as fast as possible. Therefore, they are no here to help every single candidate but to process only the qualified ones for the job they have opened at the moment. Depending on their position (HR Recruiter, HR specialist, HR manager) they may also have many other responsibilities than recruiting so their time is precious and they cannot always remember each single candidate who applied in the past to one of their job.

3.    Internal referral through a friend or connection of yours: This is used more and more and I believe it can work well but chose very carefully who refers you. If your best friend works for a company and you love him but you know he has a problem with being on time maybe he is not the best person to refer you for a job. Putting your CV on the desk of his manager saying “look at the CV of my friend, he is great guy, can you take him?” whilst he arrived the same morning 15 minutes late at work could just make all your chances to get this job disappearÂ…

As you understand it now, each option is valid but has different scope: agency recruiters are here to help both companies and candidates find the right fit for each other and try for as long as it take to help candidates getting a job. HR recruiters are rather here for filling positions they have vacant at the moment within their organization and internal referral is an alternative but be careful with whom is referring you since this personsÂ’ reputation could greatly affect your chances to be considered for a job (in a good or bad way).

Now, if your CV is good and if you match the requirements of the job you applied for, the job interview should be only a confirmation that you are suitable for this role! You must understand that if you were invited for a job interview, it's a good sign because time is precious and recruiters don’t invite candidates for interviews if they don't think they may have a job for you now or in the near future. Thus, be on time (arrive 10 minutes before the interview on the spot), don’t come with snickers and your favourite football team shirt (I’ve seen it before), this is a job interview not a local pub’s meeting with your friends so wear a suit and tie for men and dress and shirt for women. Make sure you read the job description beforehand so you remember what the job you are being interviewed for is about. It is also good for you to read again your CV before to go since it makes bad impression on a recruiter when a candidate doesn’t remember what was his job about only 2 years ago… In case this is a job interview with HR recruiters, then make sure you know what the company is about and their recent activities (launch of new market or product, new project). When answering questions, be accurate and organized in your way of explaining things so the recruiter can have a good overview of your tasks before getting into details. Make sure the recruiter is following what you’re saying and that you don’t lose him/her in too many details. A job interview can really be enjoyable if the candidate knows how to explain things and make sense out of it. It’s a bit like a movie, the topic is not always what matters and even the worst story delivered by the greatest actor/film director can be fantastic! I would also recommend to be as natural as possible specially! It happens we – recruiters – leave an interview and tell our colleagues “ this candidate was great: professional and funny at the same time, I’d love to work with her/him!” then you can be sure we will try very hard to convince our clients you are a must hire person! I woudl also highly recommend to be honest with recruiters since we will check your references so if you lied abouty something we will find it out at some point.

If you are under stress donÂ’t forget the person who will interview you is only hoping that you are this great candidate who will match perfectly the job they have vacant at the moment so both Agency and HR recruiters are here to help and hope youÂ’ll be the one!

These were only few tips since there is way too much to say about job interviews so if you want to know more or want to hear about job opportunities for you, send me your CV (without typos) to Samuel.leduc@cpljobs.cz

Wishing you all good luck for your next job interviews!

Best regards

Samuel Leduc
Business Development/ CEE Recruitment Specialist
CPL Jobs, s.r.o.

Phone: +420 515 800 804
Email: samuel.leduc@cpljobs.cz