Employment on Ibiza. Eva Porto: “You are the product and your curriculum, your marketing brochure”

How does Eva Porto explain her sudden success?

It is due to the power of social media. Nowadays, it is clear that you can use social networks to learn as well as to teach. I noticed it by following three professionals, including a pharmacist I love, and I thought: I’m in human resources, I think job search is a very difficult thing and I would love to help those people who, as a recruiter, I see as lost from the other side. I started sharing videos with the aim of helping. I think that was perceived and appreciated by people.

During the conference, Eva Porto confessed that she posted her first videos on Instagram, but they barely had any impact. She thought that this lack of response was because she was not good at it. But she persisted and tried Tik Tok. It was then that her number of followers began to skyrocket. She currently has more on Instagram. Eva Porto uses this as an example in her talks of how you have to persevere and look for other ways to achieve your final goal: “If it doesn’t work, change the approach”. And that ties in with another part of her speech: “When I was a child, I was taught that I had to be humble. And that’s the opposite of what you have to do when you’re looking for a job”. But don’t overdo it and don’t lie. And with a carefully measured CV.

A few days ago I had to read the resume of a person I was going to interview. It was 20 pages long, 19 of them with every single article she had published on her specialty. Is that a good CV or is it one of those that you recruiters throw straight into the trash?

It’s not good. But that’s because we haven’t been taught how to write a CV. They should give us a little marketing class, because what you’re doing in a job search is really selling yourself. You are the product. And your résumé is your marketing brochure, it’s what represents you. Would you read a 20-page marketing brochure all the way through? That’s why you have to try to make your resume concise. If you want, make two versions, a long one for you and another one to ask for a job. One sheet of paper, two at most, is enough.

Confess, have you ever applied for a job interview and been rejected?

Of course. Rejection is an inevitable part of the job search. Maybe that’s why I empathize so much with people, because I’ve suffered what it’s like to be rejected, to feel bad. I understand how they may feel.

Rejection is an inevitable part of the job search. Maybe that’s why I empathize so much with people, because I have suffered what it’s like to be rejected, to feel bad

You are successful in the networks, but does your advice really work? If they were the magic formula there would be no unemployment in this country.

I give advice and people apply it. I do my bit, I help them to realize that they make certain mistakes, but the final result depends on a personal process. Sometimes it depends on the objective. If you are looking for a job that is in low demand, even if you follow all my tips you will have a hard time getting a position in that field if there are hardly any job opportunities. They are not miraculous help, but tips that can be implemented. The important thing is what you do, your reflection, and having the capacity for reinvention: if something doesn’t work well, change it.

You are a psychologist. Is psychology essential when facing a job interview?

Yes, it is fundamental in all aspects of life, even more so in the search for a job. In an interview, recruiters, being human, have biases. There are parts that are unconscious, such as the way you dress.

Is that important?

Well, no. Recruiters don’t point out ‘wear a suit and jacket’, but based on the way you are dressed, they get an image of you. If you come to the interview stained or a bit casual, they might get the idea that you don’t care about that interview.

If you come to the interview stained or a little casual, they might get the idea that you don’t care about the interview.

I’m not dressed for a job interview today.

No way, you come perfect. The main thing is to be clean.

And as a recruiter, have you ever been tricked?

Yes, yes. She told me she had a degree, but when we asked her for her diploma, she couldn’t present it. Everything was discovered at the end. That is why it is not convenient to lie, because everything is revealed in the end.

In an interview, besides not lying and not picking your nose, what else shouldn’t you do?

Don’t say everything that pops into your head. The interviewee must understand that he/she is in a professional environment. You are one way with your friends when you go to a party. Well, when you go to a job interview you should not behave like that. You have to focus on the professional aspects and talk about work-related issues. If you are asked why you want that job, saying that it’s because you are unemployed, even if it’s true, is not the right answer. You have to persuade the other person that you are the best candidate and be more specific. Many people are looking for a job because they don’t have one. You have to look for another reason.

Sincerity mixed with euphemisms.

Sincere, but always thinking that you are there to sell yourself professionally. Of your truths, you should highlight what is most valued. You can talk about many things about yourself, but maybe the interviewee doesn’t care at all that you are super nice or that you like to party. You have to be smart and think about what matters most in that interview.

I will ask you a question that appears in job interviews: What is your dream job?

Whenever there is this type of question, I advise not to get carried away and talk about general aspects: where I am valued, where there is a good atmosphere. But if you say that you would like a job where nothing is done, you are in the wrong place. You have to know where you are.

You don’t recommend putting gender on the resume. But in the end you can tell by the name. Is sex so important when looking for a job, is it such a determining factor?

The résumé should have relevant information regarding the professional field. Sex, religion or nationality have no place, as well as date of birth. It is true that sex is inferred by the name, but hopefully in the future resumes will be blind because, as I said before, there are biases, an unconscious part in recruiters, although they do not want to discriminate. Some get carried away by those unconscious biases.

Have you noticed it when looking for a job? Has being a woman been a determining factor?

I have not noticed it, perhaps because I have worked in a very feminized sector, that of human resources. But I did feel, as a recruiter, that being young and female, I was biased.

You?

Yes, I noticed it. They told me in the company that they needed someone for the cashiers. And I imagined a cashier. I already had that preconceived, stereotyped idea.

Not that of a male cashier

I associated it with a job for women. Unconsciously. I was looking for men and women, but I caught myself thinking that.

At what age is it better not to send a resume because it’s not worth it?

I think there’s no age for that. We put a lot of barriers for ourselves, we think that we will not find a job because we have already turned 60. But we should focus on the fact that, yes, it’s a big challenge and age can be a big barrier, but you have experience. And those who are young lack that experience. Others lack training. We all have different challenges. You have to be aware of the ones that matter and the ones that don’t matter. And the ones you can change: you can’t change your age, nor does it matter professionally, because you have experience.

We put a lot of barriers for ourselves, we think that we will not find a job because we have already turned 60. But we should focus on the fact that, yes, it’s a big challenge and age can be a big barrier, but you have experience

It should be, but does a recruiter take that into account?

I think so. I at least did not take age into account, except when the job involved, for example, carrying 50 kilos, physically demanding jobs. In those cases I asked the interviewee if he/she was aware that he/she was going to carry that weight, if he/she felt prepared.

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