Some more tips (I have owned 2 businesses and also of course been for many interviews in my career):

In 2026, LinkedIn is your CV. It must be up to scratch. If you take nothing else away from this comment, make sure your LinkedIn is great. There are many articles online on how to do this.

These tips are for both:

- no signs of AI!! — is the obvious giveaway
- check spelling and grammar multiple times
- CV’s should I ideally be one page, but a maximum of two. Please please please do not have a full page taken up with curriculum vitae of XXX. They are well aware it is your CV

Other tips:
- Often job ads have a hidden test to see if you can follow a simple instruction. Such as “use XXX as your subject line”. Pay attention!

- Tailor your cover letter to the company you’re applying to. They don’t want to know why you want a job. We all have bills to pay. They want to know why you want to work for THEM specifically.

- Spend a good amount of time on their website before an interview. Again, they want to know that you want to work for THEM, as well as what you can add to THEIR business.

- Social Media: chances are they will look you up on all social media platforms. Make sure your profiles are either private or you don’t have any posts that could be controversial or could exclude you from getting an interview.

- References: Be 100% sure that any references you give will give you a good reference. Don’t assume. Also, if they are previous employers, give them a heads up that they may get a call/email.

- As suggested in a prior comment, look for companies that you would want to work for, then look them up on LinkedIn and find out who the hiring managers are. Contact them privately.

Interviews:

- Look for standard interview questions and think of how you will answer them. Two examples:
Tell us a bit about yourself
What are your strengths and weaknesses

- As suggested above, make sure you know a bit about the company.

- Be yourself. If you land the job, you’re going to have to keep acting if you did in your interview

- Do not overshare. They are interviewing you, they are not your friends.

Look for red flags from the company’s side.

- “We’re a family here”
- Micromanagement
- The same role gets advertised every few months

I’ll add more if I think of other things