CV 4 Jobs

Measurability have launched two new websites to expand their CV & Interview Service to jobseekers in Ireland.

The first site www.cvsolutions.ie offers a professional CV writing service nationwide. CVSOLUTIONS delivers high quality CV’s to jobseekers across a range of levels, roles and industry sectors. You can also find excellent CV tips and advice on the site (although this is still being developed).

If you need help with a CV visit www.cvsolutions.ie now.

The second site www.interviewsolutions.ie offers professional interview coaching to jobseekers. INTERVIEWSOLUTIONS delivers a high quality interview preparation service tailoring programmes to meet individual needs. Again you will find some free interview tips and advice on the site.

If you need help preparing for interview visit www.interviewsolutions.ie now.

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.

There is a wide variety of interviews jobseekers can face. You have the traditional interview, panel interview, competency based interview, internal interviews and of course the phone interview.

From experience many jobseekers cut corners with a phone interview as most seem to be relaxed about the thought of answering questions away from the glaring eyes of the interviewer.

It is important to prepare for phone interviews and below is a few phone interview tips.

1. Ensure that you use polite and proper phone manners.

2. Have your CV beside you for references

3. Ensure that there will be no disturbance or disruptions during the call.

4. Pause after each question and do not rush to answer the question, think it over first of all and take your time to answer it.

5. Have a pen a paper to take any notes that might assist you.

6. Focus on the hard facts with examples. Phone interviews can be short and to the point. You need to ensure that you get your message across.

7. At the end of the interview ask about feedback or the next stage of the process.

Some additional information that may help – interview tips skills, interview questions and answers and how to handle competency based interviews.

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

Many jobseekers are reactive when it comes to job hunting. When I say this I mean is that they rely on recruitment agencies or job board and sit back and wait for the interviews to roll in. Great if it is working (there are some great job boards in Ireland) but what if you are not experiencing positive results. You have a number of options;

1. Keep doing the same thing – BUT you will keep getting the same results!!
2. Try a different approach when dealing with agencies or search the job boards.
3. Try a proactive approach.

What is proactive job hunting?

There are a number of possible strategies available including speculative CV’s. Here are some tips if you are following this strategy.

Take a focused approach –target an industry sector or a geography region. Approaching this strategy in an ad hoc manner can prove fruitless.

Bypass HR – Sending a speculative CV to Human Resources can prove a waste of time. Although recruitment is managed by the department they may not be completely aware of what is happening in departments. For example the Finance Manager may know that an accountant has just handed in notice or that it has been agreed with the Directors to increase headcount and this information has not reached HR.

Focused cover letter – A generic cover letter will lose impact. Find out the name of the department manager and address it to him/her directly.

Follow Up – Follow up with the person you have sent the CV to. Prepare short sales pitch for the call.

This article was provide by Paul Mullan a CV expert in Ireland.

I came across an interesting employer survey by law firm in the UK called Peninsula. The survey asked employers t identify what they disliked most about jobseekers. Well here is what the survey found.

These are the top 10 reasons why jobseekers do not land their dream job:

1. 26% of those surveyed disliked candidates with improper dress.

2. 19% of those surveyed said lateness was their greatest frustration. The survey also revealed that 1 in 7 jobseekers arrive late to interviews.

3. 15% of employers dislike candidates too focused on money and salary.

4. 11% of employers surveyed disliked jobseekers that were cynical towards colleagues past or future.

5. 9% of employers rated a limp handshake as a major NO.

6. 7% surveyed were not impresses by jobseekers that lacked direction and career ambition.

7. 5% indicated that poor eye contact was a key hate.

8. 4% said lack of research into the company put them off jobseekers.

9. 3% said poor verbal communications and mumbling was a reason to reject jobseekers.

10. 1% of employers surveyed disliked the know-all

An interesting point about the above findings is how much is non-verbal – improper dress, lateness, handshake, eye contact, research into the company. Interviewees are warned it is often not what you say that dictates interview performance.

Here is the scenario – you are searching for a job BUT you are struggling to get interviews. You have been applying for many jobs directly through the newspapers but you don’t seem to have the relevant qualifications or experience stated. This means straight to the PFO pile or more politely – the thanks but no thanks pile.

What do you do?

If you keep doing what you are doing then you will keep getting the same results. In your case – NO interviews and therefore NO job.

a) Try a different strategy.

There are many strategies to can source new employment such as networking, recruitment agencies or online job boards. Explore these avenues as they many produce different results.

b) Play a game of hide the CV.

When many organisations recruit staff they use the following process. Design a job spec, post an advert and screen CV’s according to the job spec, interviews for successful and rejection for unsuccessful. Most employers realise that there are applicants who apply that are capable of doing the job but they are being rejected because they don’t fit the job specification. If you send your CV it will go straight into the “NO” pile.

Here is the challenge or game. Try to get an interview without sending a CV. This will involve calling the hiring manager, using the short time you have to make a pitch and secure an interview without him/her actually seeing your CV. It is difficult but it can be achieved.

Lets switch to Interviews for this post.

What questions should I ask at job interviews?

This is another popular question along with the salary question that I am regularly asked by my interview coaching clients. Some career experts will advise to ask questions that make you look good BUT I advise you to ask question to get the important information you need to make job choice decisions.

An interview is a two way process and you have to ensure that the job and the company are right for you. You have identified what you want in a new job so use this opportunity to get the valuable information that you need. There are many questions on the internet that people suggest but if you ask questions for the sake of it you are missing an opportunity.

Points to consider when asking questions at interview.

Most questions are fine except perhaps the salary question. It is probably better to let the client bring this up. When asking questions it is important not to ask for information that has been provided during the interview. If your questions have been answered during the interview then point this out to the client and never say that you have no questions to ask.

If you are seeking new employment in financial services or the shannon, tralee or carlow regions check out careersandjobs.

I know this article isn’t about your CV but I will be posting on related topics from time to time. Anyway if you are interested in CV’s you must be job hunting. I was asked yesterday (for the zillionth time) how do you handle the “S” word – Salary. During any interview process it is inevitable that the subject of money will eventually arise. Unfortunately most are not prepared to handle it. Here is my approach:

At interview keep your cards close to your chest

Try your best not to show your hand first and disclose your expectations. This will force the employer to make the initial offer. If asked the question a response like “I am currently on 40k but I am open to salary depending on the role and the company” or answer this interview question with a question such as “what would a role like this pay in your company?”.

I recommend this approach for a number of reasons. Firstly it disguises money motivations. Secondly, putting forward a figure can rule you out of contention – from experience you can negotiate an offer upwards if it doesn’t meet your expectations. The final reason most jobseekers do not consider is that your figure could be lower than the figure the client intended to offer.

Interviews – I want more money

I will point out that if money is a key motivation and the most important factor in your decision feel free to put forward your expectations. Do try to let the client bring up the topic though.

Over 90% of CV’s fail because they lack focus. Most jobseekers write CV’s without considering the employer and what they want. The result is that many include irrelevant information and leave out the important stuff. Lack of focus can mean missing out on important interviews. Focus on the employer and your application to interview ratio will improve greatly.

So how do you do this?

Analyse the job specification and if possible talk to the employer to identify what is key for them. Identify what are the essential skills, experience, personal characteristics and write your CV with this information in mind. Mirror the language used by the employer in the job specification. Develop a value statement to capture the attention of the employer.

Yes this does mean that should change or tweak you CV for each job you apply for. It is hard work but this hard work will pay with results.