What Mark’s Ideal Candidate Looks Like

Mark Brennan is The Works’ head of construction recruitment and receives hundreds of CV applications a day for roles he and his team are currently working on. Here are the things that he looks out for in an ‘ideal candidate’.

Professionalism

Take the time to appear as professional as you can when you apply for a job throughout the entire process. From your CV to interview, you want to give off the best impression of yourself to an employer, so don’t fall short by sending a poorly written CV through and don’t get the dress code wrong when it comes to the interview. An ideal candidate will have already considered these things or will know the questions to ask to find out.

Intelligence

You don’t need to be an Einstein to apply for a role (unless you want to become a scientist, only then might that help you!), but having a firm knowledge of your trade/job role and giving detail to us on the types of projects you have worked on in the past will help us understand if you are suitable for the jobs that we have on offer.

Commitment

Seeing a candidate with good service lengths throughout their career is something we are always on the lookout for, or someone who has good reasons for moving jobs often. There’s nothing we feel worse about than letting a client down after placing candidate who after a few days decides the job isn’t for them and doesn’t turn up to work.

Clear Career Goals

We like to see candidates who know what they want to achieve from their job, so we know that we can find the perfect match for them. Having clear aspirations that you have set out to achieve, things you can explain clear clearly to us, will ensure that we will find a job, not just that pays you, but one that you will reap the benefits from for years to come.

The right qualifications

If you see a job from us that asks for a CSCS Card, and you have one, make sure you say so in your CV or when you speak to us! Some people may presume that it’s a ‘given’ that someone applying for a role will have the required certifications/qualification needed. But if your CV doesn’t say it and a job description asks for it, there could be a chance you might not be considered for the role (even if you’re perfect for it!).