The roles and responsibilities of HR include transactional and functional activities such as establishing a compensation structure, addressing employee relations matters, recruiting qualified applicants and maintaining workplace safety. 

The HR department is responsible for posting job vacancies conducting preliminary interviews and a coordinating the pre-employment process such as drug testing, background investigations and reference checks.  In small businesses these positions may be filled by HR journalists who have expertise in every HR discipline.

You’ve prepared well, done the interview and now you’re breathing a big sigh of relief because you think it’s all over.

Don’t stop now. There are still a few more things to do, while eagerly waiting for that important phone call or email saying, “Congratulations! You’ve got the job.”

Here are a few tips to further impress your future employer:

First impressions count. Let’s face it, we all judge someone when we first meet them, even if we don’t know the person all that well. We make assumptions and prejudicial decisions.

Research proves that one third of employers will make a hiring decision in the first 90 seconds of a job interview.

A confident, positive attitude when you enter the room accounts for 55% of the impact in the interview. So, make those first 5 minutes count.

Proper preparation therefore is the key to a successful job interview.

Desire for a successful career and full life influences job choice.

Global research from Accenture, titled ‘Defining Success', has found that more than two-thirds of professionals around the world say they can “have it all.”

In fact, both a successful career and a full life outside work are important. Many choose a job based on its potential impact on work-life balance.

84% of both gender groups in South African believe they can have a successful career and a full life outside work.

However, 49% also said they cannot “have it all at the same time.”