CV 4 Jobs

Below are some quick CV tips to help your CV satnd out in the crowd. Some experts suggest that there are about 120 applicants for every job advertised. Is your CV standing out in that pile of paper?

Don’t let the spelling and grammar gremlins ruin your chances. I am not going to write too much about this basic stuff. Spelling, Grammar and Clean & Simple format.

First page of your CV is the important page. If it doesn’t make 1st page it is not important info. Don’t assume that an employer will take the time to read beyond this. Help the reader save time and energy by locating relevant data as early in the CV as possible.

Less is more – focus your content to relevant data. Try not to clutter your CV with irrelevant information. Help the reader find what they want – emphasis on relevant and less emphasis on irrelevant data.

Achievements and successes bring a CV to live and help you stand out in the crowd. This could be that little edge that makes your CV stand out over the competition.

Remember there is a CV workshop in Dublin on 25th April run by Paul Mullan & Jane Downes – for more info email info@measurability.ie

Jobseekers are facing a tough job market in Ireland and need to ensure they are in tip top shape to ensure they maximise full opportunities. The basic foundations need to be set in that you need to know what you are looking for. Key tools like CV’s and cover letters need to be sharp and ready for action. Then interview techniques need to be fine tuned. Jobseekers can no longer enter the job market without thorough preparation. Once upon a time any old CV would get you interviews and below par interviews landed job offers. Well you can no longer expect this as the job-jobseeker ration has swung full circle.

CV Tips

The CV is certainly a key ingredient for any successful attack on the job market. There is much advice available but stick to the basics outlined in these 3 articles and you will have a solid foundation.

CV Tip 1 – Make sure your CV is visually attractive

CV Tip 2 – Help the reader find the information they need

CV Tip 3 – Focus on the content of your CV

Take these CV Tips on board and you will find an improvement in your application to interview ratio. Improve this ratio and you will increase your chances of landing a job.

Read a view on CV Templates & CV Examples many jobseekers use online.

I have just finished running two successful CV & Interview Workshops over the last week. One was for a group of individuals who had just lost their jobs and the other for a group of students seeking work placement. What struck me was the amount of misinformation feed to jobseekers about CV’s and Interviews. Some of this information is so out of date it is unreal. More worryingly is the source of this information.

Jobseekers beware!! There are many career experts and wannabes in the market place offering so-called expertise. Unfortunately most of their knowledge has been taken for a lecture hall or text book. It is not real world and many of these experts have not experienced real world recruitment or job hunting.

CV Services and Interview Coaching services should be treated like any other service – purchase with care!! I suggest you seek referrals or recommendations from friends or family. If this is not possible check the service out online etc …..

Happy job hunting

As much as I preach and offer CV advice about the subject I still come across jobseekers that are sending the exact same CV for all jobs without tweaking or amending it. They leave the CV Layout, CV Format & CV Content the same. If this is you – then your job hunting is flawed and you will miss out on important interviews. Jobseekers with a general CV that they send to all jobs are saying to the recruiters – I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU WANT!!

CV Advice – Employer focused CV

As soon as you accept that every job is different and each employer is different you will appreciate that your CV must also be different and amended for each job you apply for. This could be major overhaul BUT it could also be minor tweaking. If an employer does not see what they want to in a short space of time they will file your CV under “B” for BIN

CV Advice – No pain no gain

Yes this will make the application process that little bit more time consuming BUT who said job hunting was easy. When you begin tailoring your CV for particular jobs then you will start to see increases in positive results.

If you need help and CV advice a professional can help.

You invest time into writing your CV and now feel you have a document that will make an impact and get you interviews. A strong CV will help but it is only part of the process for securing interviews. You have to distribute your CV. Easy you might say but you would be surprised how many individuals I meet who can’t seem to find jobs and manage their job search ineffectively. Below are some of the key channels to explore.

Recruitment Agencies

This is a popular resource for jobseekers as it takes the hard work out of finding a job. Send your CV off to an agency and sit back and wait for the interviews. There are some important points to remember when dealing with agencies. You need to find the right agencies for your skills so you must research the market. A tip to find suitable agencies is to see what agencies are advertising for your skills on the job boards and or you can ask for recommendations from friends or work colleagues. You must also try to meet the recruiter and build a relationship. A final point is to take the initiative and keep in touch with your recruiter(s). They may not have a job for you immediately and you cannot assume that they will call when they get a suitable job. Agencies house thousands of CV’s and recruiters vary in ability.

Job boards

CV databases are an increasingly popular tool offered by job boards in Ireland. You submit your CV to the job board database and the job board will offer this database to employers as part of their service. This is still in its infancy in Ireland and I question how many recruiters or employers actually put the effort in to searching the databases. If you want a good database try this job board.

Sending out speculative CV’s

It has been many moons since I heard of a jobseeker walking the local industrial estates and distributing CV’s. With the market tightening in Ireland this practice may return. If you cannot find suitable jobs online, with agencies or in the papers then go and look for them. This is a time consuming approach BUT an option all the same.

If you need help with CV distribution or you want professional advice on job search strategies in Ireland why not seek help from an expert. Help jobseekers nationwide – Dublin, Meath, Louth, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Sligo and all other counties.

I hope you find the FREE CV advice on this site useful.

For those new to the site it has information on CV writing, CV format, CV layout, CV mistakes, CV lies and much much more.

A CV is a key ingredient for success in the job market and you must get it right to make an impact and get the opportunity to interview.

If want more advice or a professional CV service visit this site.

Why do CV’s get rejected?

There are many reasons why a CV can be rejected by the employer and this post will examine some of those reasons.

CV has poor visual layout

Employers need to be able to find information quickly. You may use the correct wording, grammar and language but if it is difficult to find the information the employer will move onto the next CV. You should have plenty of “white space” on your CV, you should have clear headers and ideally use bullet points. Use white paper and uniform font and font size.

CV that is too long

I normally suggest that individuals try to keep a CV to two pages, unless a client requests that you provide a longer CV. If you find it difficult keeping your CV to two pages you are obviously writing the CV for you and you have not understood what the client is looking for. Remember employers only want to read information that is relevant for them and their recruitment needs.

CV that gives a poor first impression

Like most things in life first impressions count – this is also true for CV’s. You have a 20-30 second window to make an impact. Fail to deliver and fail to get an interview. An employer may have a pile of CV’s to review. Place the information that matters on the first page. Do not leave it to chance that an employer will read to the end of your CV

If you need help with preparing an impact CV why not seek the help of a professional.

When I review CV’s for jobseekers the big mistakes are obvious such as lack of focus, poor format, not selling the owner and poor content.

Ok – you can excuse jobseekers for these mistakes as they are not experts. But you cannot excuse jobseekers for the basic bloopers.

Here are some common basic mistakes you should avoid.

Misspellings & poor grammar – Ok you have a Degree but if you spell it “Degre” you will not make the impact that you want.

Chronological order (Reverse) – Employers want to read the newest stuff first.

Contact details – It will help the employer of they can contact you. I am amazed the number of CV’s I read with wrong phone numbers or email addresses.

Email address – Let’s be sensible about this. Blondandsexy@hotmail.com may not make the impression that you want.

Need a CV reviewed and designed then contact us now.

Offering expert CV advice in Ireland – Leinster (including Meath, Dublin, Louth, Kildare, Wicklow), Munster (including Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Waterford), Connaught (including Galway, Sligo, Mayo)

Quite often the CV is not the problem

I regularly get requests for CV writing and design services from jobseekers only to find out that this is actually not the problem. When jobseekers are not attending interviews it is obvious to think the CV is not working. Quite often the CV is reasonable and the problem lies in level of activity and job search strategies. This is where a little black recruitment book comes in handy as it will provide a clear picture of what you are doing. It sounds obvious but if you are not applying for jobs you will not get any interviews.

Are you struggling in the job market and don’t know why. Speak to an expert!!