Candidates

The Refined Group uses a variety of methods to identify talent in the market including on-line research, networking at trade shows and other business events, eliciting recommendations and referrals from people already in our network, etc. If we are contacting you for the first time and you have not registered with us previously, we probably used one of those techniques to identify you. Although it may come as a surprise to suddenly receive a call or e-mail from us for the first time, please understand that we will handle your private details very carefully, and our only purpose is to introduce potential good opportunities to you.

If you are satisfied with your current work, that’s great! However, even people who are happy might have good reasons to consider a change, such as a chance to get a higher position, more salary, more responsibility, a better work environment, etc. If you are unsure of how a job change might benefit you, our consultants can offer advice.

There are several reasons why using our services for your job search is a good idea. For one, clients often share details on job openings with us that you will not find advertised anywhere else and you would be unlikely to hear about, so we can introduce such opportunities to you. Perhaps more importantly, one of our jobs is to serve as a mediator between you and the client and help with things such as interview preparation, negotiations on things such as salary, start date, etc. Having us there to support you on these things can be beneficial, and our goal is always to support you until you have found the new job you have been seeking.

Even if you are not planning to change jobs immediately, registering with us can be a good idea. We will keep you informed of interesting opportunities until the timing is right.

It is fine if you would like to register with us without sharing a complete resume. However, please keep in mind that the more information we have on your background and experience, the easier it will be for us to send you information on positions that might be interesting for you. For that reason, sharing a detailed resume is recommended as it allows us to more accurately match your skills to a new job opportunity.

Because of confidentiality reasons, we are unable to share a full list of our clients. However, whenever we have an opening or a company that we think may be of interest to you, we will introduce details on that particular role or firm.

Definitely not. We take your privacy very seriously and will not share your information with any third parties without your permission. For more information on how we handle private information, please check our Privacy Policy.

We only send job details to you when we feel that we have an opening that is suitable for your experience. The particular jobs we have at any given time are constantly changing, and we may not always have an opening that matches your specific skill set. However, whenever something that is a fit does come up, we will certainly contact you.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused if one of our consultants sent you information on a role that does not fit you. However, this typically happens because we only have limited information on your background, which makes it more difficult for us to know exactly what type of information to send you. The best way to avoid this happening again is to register your detailed English resume with us.

We understand how you feel: maybe you have ongoing projects at your current company that you would like to complete, or perhaps you are waiting for one more bonus that will come next quarter, or perhaps another colleague just resigned so you do not want to leave as well because you are worried about how it will affect your other colleagues, etc. Whatever your reasons are for not feeling that timing is right, I am sure we have heard them before, as many candidates have the same worries you do. However, the fact of the matter is, the timing of your career change will almost never be completely perfect. Nonetheless, you should not let this stop you from trying for a good opportunity. The longer you wait, the less likely you are to move on to something better. The important thing to keep in mind is this: applying for a job does in no way obligate you into taking that job; it is simply an opportunity to help you learn more. You have nothing to lose, but potentially a lot to gain, and for that reason we recommend applying for any job that looks interesting to you.

If you have not received feedback for several days after applying for a position, it is probably because we have not received feedback from our client yet, either. We try to get a response from clients in a timely manner, but in some cases it may take days or even a few weeks before we get news. You can rest assured that we will let you know as soon as we have an update.

If you have already applied for a position through The Refined Group, you should wait until we have feedback from the client for you, and you should most definitely not apply through the other agency again. Some candidates make the mistake of applying for the same position twice through different agencies, but this can look negative to the client company and may cause your application to be rejected.

Definitely. We certainly understand discretion is very important when considering a job change, and as such, all information you share with us will be kept strictly confidential and not shared with any third parties without your permission.

Since most of our clients are North American or European headquartered firms, it is true that the majority of openings do require some English language ability. However, the level of English required differs depending on the client and position. As such, even if your English is not perfect, we may have openings that could be a match for you.

For candidates interested in improving their English skills, we also offer English training services.

Yes, our consultants are experts on how to create a more powerful resume that will help you to get more interviews and the new job you have been looking for. Do not hesitate to ask us if you need help.

Whether you can get a salary increase with a job change depends on a variety of factors including your skills, years of experience, current salary, etc. Not every job change will automatically come with a salary increase, but in cases where it is possible, our consultants will negotiate on your behalf to get the best increase possible. On average, you may be able to expect an increase within the range of 10-30%.

If you would like to apply for one of the open positions we have, the first step will be for you to provide your resume for the role if you have not already registered with us. (Even if you have registered your resume with us previously, in some cases it may still be necessary to make adjustments to your resume before submitting your application so that it better fits the job requirements.) After that, we will share your resume with the client and provide additional information and recommendations we gather from interviewing you. If the client is interested in your background, we will then arrange interviews and help you prepare for them. Finally, if you manage to get to the offer stage, we will guide you through the negotiation process on things such as salary, start date, etc. Lastly, we will assist you with resigning from your current company if required, and then with your initial start into the new company. We will then follow up with you a few days or weeks after you take your new job to make sure everything is going smoothly.

Resigning from your company can be stressful and emotionally difficult, so it is important that you do it the right way. Our consultants are happy to guide you through the process so you can leave professionally and on good terms.

Accepting a counter offer is almost never a good idea. There are several reasons for this and our consultants can explain them in more detail if required. However, it is important that you keep in mind your original reasons for wanting to change jobs in the first place. Are these reasons going to go away just because you received the counter offer? Probably not. Furthermore, an important question to ask yourself is if your current employer really wanted to keep you, why didn’t they offer you something better previously? Why did it take the threat of resignation for them to treat you better? A little reflection on such questions should help you recognize that taking a counter offer will usually do little to increase your job satisfaction, and once you have made a decision to move to a new company, it is better to stick with it.

Should you have any questions or concerns that you feel more comfortable discussing with us rather than with your new employer, that is no problem at all. We will continue supporting you even after you accept an offer or start work at your new company.