'What Recruiters Want' with BAE Systems Digital Intelligence

Main ideas / concepts covered

What recruiters / hiring managers look for

• Recruiters are trying to fill open roles, often under time pressure and with many applications to sift.
• They look for key, role-specific skills/keywords early—especially on the first page of a CV.
• For interviews (including video/async), they search for evidence of competencies aligned to the job description.

Why applications may not get responses

Common reasons include:

• The application wasn’t tailored closely enough (missing or not surfacing essential skills).
• The role has been filled, and the recruiter must send rejections to close out the process.
• Automated/subjective review processes may be strict; missing details may not be obvious to the applicant.
• Sometimes the fit is cultural/team-related, or the role requires specific experience/skill not highlighted.

Career-change guidance (example: software developers)

• Career switchers can be successful if they highlight what’s most relevant and explain how they built the required skillset (e.g., portfolio, bootcamp, degree).
• New entrants may start lower salary-wise but can move up quickly if they perform strongly.

How to handle difficult interview situations

• If the interviewer seems disengaged (late, distracted, phone/email, formulaic), the suggested approach is to stay composed and redirect into questions to increase engagement.
• Reframe the interaction: don’t treat the interviewer as “the enemy”; aim to create a normal conversation.

CV best practices

• Tailor content to the job description.
• CV length
  • One page can be ideal early-career, but up to 2 pages is fine.
  • 3 pages isn’t automatically bad if content is relevant.
• Don’t rely on a “picture on CV”; it wastes space and may reduce clarity.
• Avoid formatting errors, spelling/typos, or broken formatting when saving as PDF.

Video interview advice (async / no interviewer on camera)

• Practice answering while looking at the camera (you can’t see the audience).
• Keep the camera steady (tripod/stand), avoid extra noise, and use headphones/mic if possible.
• Calm yourself before recording (breathing/centering techniques).
• Answer within the time limits; if cut off, move on to the next question.

Graduate / competency-style questions

• Video/written assessment answers go to hiring managers/assessors who use responses to check against a structured set of required behaviors.
• Avoid examples that don’t translate to the job’s context (e.g., sports captain leadership may not map to leading a technical project/team).

Interview logistics & communication

• When scheduling, be clear about availability and provide multiple options.
• If you’re waiting for a process step (e.g., references), gently chase and ensure references are identified early.

Questions to ask in interviews

• You don’t have to ask a question if everything is covered.
• If asking about salary/benefits, phrase it as an employee-value-proposition / what the role offers (not just money).
• Don’t invent awkward questions—only ask if you genuinely want an answer.

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Methodology / instructions (detailed bullet points)

1) How to tailor a CV to what recruiters want

• Start from the job description
  • Identify the key/essential skills (keywords).
  • Ensure those skills appear as early as possible, ideally on the first page.
• Make the “experience” section relevant to the role
  • Sales roles: emphasize targets hit, results, metrics, contract/SRIs as relevant.
  • HR/Finance roles: emphasize role-specific experience rather than generic skills.
• Use formatting to help scanning
  • Avoid a single dense block / big first-page list.
  • Break up the content so recruiters can quickly find the essentials.
• Manage CV length pragmatically
  • Early career: 1 page is often fine, but 2 pages can be acceptable.
  • Later career / tech backgrounds with many relevant items: 2–3 pages can be okay if content remains highly relevant.
  • Put the most relevant 2–3 experiences in more detail; list less relevant earlier jobs more briefly (dates/title).
• Create versions of your CV
  • Maintain a full “master” CV and create a targeted version for each role.
• Avoid preventable technical presentation problems
  • Save files with correct name and date (e.g., not “NAME NOW”).
  • Check PDF/Word conversion formatting (formatting can break).
  • Correct spelling and typing mistakes—recruiters may interpret errors as attention-to-detail risk.
• Don’t include a headshot picture by default
  • Pictures waste space; recruiters can typically find it elsewhere (e.g., LinkedIn) if needed.

2) How to respond if you get no reply or a rejection

• If you think you meet the requirement but received “not successful”
  • Review the job description again and check whether key skills were reflected in your CV.
• Consider a follow-up
  • Ask where the gap may be (especially for subjective roles).
  • If the application included tests with a pass mark, treat automated results differently than purely subjective screening.
• Don’t assume it’s personal
  • The job may be already filled, and rejections can be blanket/system-driven.
  • You may still be considered for future roles, especially if you enable alerts or reapply to similar positions.

3) How to succeed in async video interviews (no interviewer present)

• Before recording
  • Practice responses—even if you don’t know the exact questions.
  • Calm yourself first (example breathing rhythm: inhale ~4 seconds, hold ~4 seconds, exhale ~6 seconds).
  • Set up so the recording is ready; be composed before pressing “Go.”
• Camera & setup
  • Don’t hold the phone; use a tripod/stand.
  • Sit down and keep framing stable so your view doesn’t shake.
  • Ensure you’re visible enough for evaluators to see you answered.
• Audio
  • Use headphones with a mic if possible.
  • Don’t rely on laptop/room mic if there’s background noise.
• Delivery
  • Speak as if you’re talking to a friend—focused on answering the question (don’t waffle).
  • Stay on-topic and complete within the time limit.
• If cut off
  • If time runs out or you’re interrupted, don’t start the next answer with “one more thing.”
  • Finish the current response quickly and proceed to the next question.

4) How to answer competency questions (leadership/examples)

• Know what assessors are looking for
  • Responses are evaluated against keywords/competencies (examples: leadership, initiative/resourcefulness, ideas/impact).
• Use context-specific leadership
  • Don’t use leadership examples that don’t match the role’s context.
  • “Sports captain” can be valid, but you should explain leadership behaviors that match the job scenario (organization, responsibilities, ensuring outcomes), not only the achievement.
  • Ensure the leadership relates to what the job would require (e.g., project/team leadership, coordination, leading work).

5) Interview scheduling, chasing, and keeping momentum

• Scheduling
  • Provide straightforward days/times and a few options when asked about availability.
  • Don’t respond with only one possible time—processes can move fast.
• After interviews
  • If waiting for progress, gently chase:
    • Confirm whether things are moving and whether more information is needed.
• References stage
  • Identify the correct reference point early (who they should contact).
  • If unclear, provide a clear reference route so delays don’t stall the offer.

6) How to handle feedback requests (especially via agencies)

• Expect limited feedback
  • Agencies and internal recruiters may avoid negative feedback to reduce personal impact.
• Use a targeted follow-up
  • Ask what was missing or what the recruiter needed to see to move forward.
  • Reasons can include:
    • Missing specific skills (e.g., a required programming language)
    • Cultural/team fit mismatch
    • A requirement not clearly shown in the job description

7) How to conduct yourself during an interview

• Answer the “about the company” type prompt correctly
  • Research the right company/business unit.
  • Don’t rely on the wrong page (e.g., generic “BAE Systems” vs. “BAE Systems Digital Intelligence”).
• Prepare questions—but don’t force one
  • If everything is already answered, it’s acceptable to say so.
  • Ask only what you genuinely want to know (salary/benefits, team structure, work-from-home expectations, camaraderie).
• If interviewer seems uninterested
  • Stay calm and try to draw engagement through questions about the department/team to turn it into a conversation.
  • Don’t assume the interviewer is “horrible”—they may be under pressure or dealing with last-second changes.

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Speakers / sources featured (identified)

• Jess — sales lead (host of the session; introduced Harry).
• Harry Evans — recruitment/professional speaker from BAE Systems Digital Intelligence (main presenter).
• Christian — referenced as someone providing a questionnaire (name appears in subtitles; additional speaker details not captured).
• NADA — asked a question (name appears in chat; role not specified).
• Kimberly — asked about CV length (one-page vs two-page).
• Casey — asked about what to do if the interviewer doesn’t engage or ask questions/examples.
• Alicia — asked about tackling online video interviews with no interviewer.
• Katie — asked about getting feedback when recruiting through an agency.
• Additional participants in the chat — mentioned generally (e.g., “someone” attending an event; audience members asking questions).