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Our Top Ten Posts of 2012 December 20, 2012

Posted by TCG Info in : CVs, Industry Focus, Interviews, Right side of the Law, Skills and Competencies, career profiles, employability and skills, networking , add a comment

We’ve had a busy year here at Develop your career. We’ve covered loads of career topics like internships, avoiding job scams, networking and, of course, CVs and applications.

If you’re new to Develop your Career, or simply can’t remember all the posts you’ve read in the last twelve months. Here are our top ten most popular posts of 2012

We’re away for vacation now but will return with a new post on 3 January 2013. Do let us know if there are any topics you’d like us to cover in 2013.

The deadliest CV mistake and three steps to solve it June 21, 2012

Posted by Kirsti Burton in : CVs, Selection Process, The Careers Group Blogs , add a comment

Originally posted at QM Jobs Blog

I went to visit a small business about a month ago. It’s a small engineering firm but it has a fair few students apply speculatively to ask for internships and work. The person who looks at these CVs had some strong opinions. His biggest criticism was for one of the most common mistakes – which is also unfortunately quite a major error that will almost certainly stop you getting through to interview.

The mistake is this: The person writing the CV hasn’t stopped to think about the person reading it and hasn’t done enough to try and understand what the recruiter is looking for.

So what is his advice?

When a recruiter looks at a CV, they do so fairly systematically. They have a list of things they are looking for. The process of shortlisting candidates is not rocket science. If the recruiter can see evidence of these criteria on the CV, then they go through to the next round, if not, they go in the bin.

Three step solution:

1. Find out what the criteria are:
For most jobs this is fairly easy, the criteria will be shown on either the job advert, the job description, the person specification or the company website. If not, then you could either just think about what the job involves and try to predict the types of skills they will look for, or alternatively you could look at similar jobs elsewhere to see what skills they ask for.

2. Make sure that throughout your CV you include evidence for ALL of the skills they have asked for:
Saying “I am great at customer service” is not good evidence. You need to write something that will persuade them that you are good at it, such as “I have over three years experience in customer facing roles and have received excellent feedback from my manager for my positive attitude and friendly manner.”

3. Make your skills OBVIOUS:
A recruiter won’t spend hours reading and analysing your CV. They simply don’t have time. If they can’t see evidence for the skills they are looking for on the page, then they won’t put you through. So never assume that they will read between the lines. I often hear students say things like “It’s obvious I have analytical skills, I do an Engineering degree.” But a recruiter who is quickly scanning through looking this skill won’t necessarily spot this, so for every skill, give a concrete specific example as evidence.

Is your CV heading for the shredder? August 17, 2010

Posted by Helen Curry in : CVs , 1 comment so far

**** Be aware this content is over two years old ****

Photo by Matthijs Rouw

Recruiters are having their say about common CV mistakes to avoid in The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) LinkedIn discussion group – some useful tips here that I had to share.

Mistakes to avoid:

Stating they have four A-levels ranging from A* to C is of no help… I’ll cynically assume there were more Cs than A*s!

It is so easy to pick up the phone to find out the name of the lead recruiter – a personal approach is so much more powerful.

Creative CVs for creative jobs – inspiring examples June 17, 2010

Posted by Helen Curry in : CVs , 8comments

**** Be aware this content is over two years old ****

If you are applying for jobs and internships in very creative areas, like graphic design, fashion, illustration or film, why should your CV be cookie cutter dull? While you should still include all the standard elements – personal details, qualifications, skills, experience – you can also make an impression and show off your passion and originality by getting creative with the design.

First of all, think about:

Remember – getting a second opinion on your CV is all the more important – is the design distracting? Does your design ‘fit’ with the company you are applying to? Following it up with an email or call to get feedback might be a good move too.

And now, the gorgeous examples:

Clear, easy to print, yet still highly distinctive

Such an original concept

Love the colour

Here you can see the standard CV information is still clear and easy to read

Great character

Sweet yet practical and professional

Such attention to detail

Showcases illustration skills

Post your design online, and it might even go viral like these :)

What do you think? Are these bold approaches risky?

Power words to bring life to your applications July 1, 2009

Posted by Helen Curry in : Uncategorized , 1 comment so far

****Be aware this content is over two years old****

When writing a CV or application form, it is easy to hit a writer’s block on finding new ways to say “I did this… then I did this… my duties were…”, and of course you are not selling yourself by using flat lists. What you need are dynamic, positive words that prompt you to describe your achievements in a job and celebrate your initiative. Easier said than done? Try this cheat-sheet to find inspiration…

Leadership/management

Initiative

Success

Communication

Attitude

Notice a relation to key skills? The words lead you to analyse your work history and experiences for evidence of your abilities – that is what employers are looking for from your job application. I find it useful having a list like this in front of me when writing to get me thinking along these lines (and because there is something energising just reading these possibilities).

For more information on job applications, see The Careers Group helpsheet on Job applications


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Photographs on CVs – don’t do it! June 9, 2009

Posted by Helen Curry in : Uncategorized , add a comment

*****Be aware this content is over two years old*****

We asked students for their questions for recruiters in marketing, advertising and PR when making a series of podcasts, and one that came up was “Should I include a photo on my CV?” The employers’ consensus was no, not unless they ask for it.

I was reminded of this when I spotted this blog post backing up the point.

In response to the question, “What should candidates omit from their CVs?” the most common gripe from recruiters was photographs (71%).

They also note that a photo can actually adversely affect the candidate’s chances.

From my own experience, I would say a photo can distract from the record of qualifications.  It is difficult to find a photo that will present the right, professional image and capture who you are – it must be selected very carefully or taken specially, and you should ask a range of people – friends, tutors and careers staff what sort of impression it gives them. It is safer to leave it to the imagination, as not having a photo is unlikely to affect your chances.

For a more personal, yet professional, touch they recommend developing a LinkedIn profile and including a link to that instead, which I agree is a good approach.

**EDIT please note that I am talking here about CVs for UK employers. Different countries have very different CV formats, so if you are applying for a job in another country, do some research to find out what their CV conventions are. Photos are a must in China, and are common practice in some European countries.


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Competency-based CVs December 9, 2008

Posted by TCG Info in : employability and skills , add a comment

*****Be aware this content is over two years old*****

CVs should be treated as a work-in-progress. Of course there’s always a line to add for a new job or recent training course, but how long has it been since you thought out the design and structure?

A traditional CV is arranged something along the lines of:

This is a clear, familiar structure that works well when you are applying for a similar job to your previous ones, or where your qualifications at the start of the CV clearly match the job requirements. But what if you are applying for something a little different?

Competency-based CVs are good for career-changers, or for jobs where your experiences and skills may be more important than your A-level grades. As many employers are now using competency-based systems to analyse applications, spelling out your competencies in your CV can make it easy for them to find the evidence that you tick all the right boxes.

So what are competencies?

Competencies might already be outlined in the job advert, defined by words like: communication, team-work, leadership, commercial awareness. They are the abilities and skills the employer wants to see.

In the competency-based CV you change the structure to be more along the lines of:

In the personal statement you summarise your career, your strengths and interests. Then in the work experience section, instead of putting in bullet points summarising what tasks your performed in that role, you select and highlight the accomplishments, actions and responsibilities that demonstrate the required competencies.

Competency-based CVs are not necessarily the best choice for all people and all roles, so don’t assume that this is that latest thing and you must switch. Consider first whether your strengths are in your educational qualifications, or in your work experience. The key point to take away is that CV structures are not necessarily fixed, you can re-arrange the structure - always tailor it to the job and tailor it to you.

For more general advice on CVs, check out our leaflets, available for free download:

Or you might be interested in our booklet How to Write a CV.

Updated 17 April 2013
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