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Your CV personal statement: the hidden pitfalls

19Oct By Kristina JonesNo Comments

CVs

Your CV personal statement: the hidden pitfalls

Your CV personal statement goes at the top of your CV, after your name and contact information. This small but important section can be called by a range of different things: personal profile, objective, and so-on - but whatever you call it, it has the same purpose. The personal statement is a few lines in which you tell the employer how you meet their requirements and why they should pick you. It's important to note: Although 'personal statement' is possibly the most common phrase used, it's not the same as your university application personal statement that you likely sweated away over for many a late night (see for example, personal-statement-examples.com). Why include a personal statement? Before we can discuss the pitfalls you first need to understand the reasons for ...

7Jul By Kristina JonesNo Comments

CVs

The Art of CV and Resume Writing

Overview Making sure you have a well written resume is just as important as having the required skills for the job you are applying for. Simply being an ideal candidate as far as your expertise and experience is concerned will not guarantee you the job if your resume is poor. After all, how are you going to show the employer that you are the best candidate for the position if you do not even get to the interview stage? Employers often have so many resumes to review, that the initial screening process usually only allows for a short amount of time to be spent looking over each resume. It is therefore extremely important for the applicant to submit a resume which gives a good first impression, is grammatically correct, and gives a clear image of that candidates' skills. A badly wr...

The 6 best achievements to show on your CV

3Dec By Kristina JonesNo Comments

Blog, CVs

The 6 best achievements to show on your CV

To gain an interview you have to write a great CV. Whilst every employer has their own opinion on what makes a top class CV, it can be agreed throughout the recruitment industry that each application requires two main ingredients: A list of the relevant skills, qualifications and experienceAn indication of past performances and a list of results/achievements Every job seeker aims to cover the first part of this important strategy, but most fail to provide any kind of evidence that they are a capable worker. Anyone can claim to have a whole range of skills, but how is the employer able to identify to what level that person can function within the workplace? The answer is surprisingly simple – include achievements on your CV and demonstrate your worth. We all achieve a lot in l...

3Dec By Kristina JonesNo Comments

Blog, CVs

These hobbies will benefit your CV

The main focus a job seeker has when they write a CV is how they can demonstrate lots of relevant skills, qualifications, and an extensive career history. The aim is to prove they have what it takes to be the next hire. But is there something extra they could do? The hobbies section of a CV is the most underrated part. Why would an employer want to know what you get up to in your spare time? Well, the first and obvious answer would be to say that it helps them to get a feel for your personality. With an application that’s littered with skills and achievements, there isn’t a great deal of room to interact on a personal level. There is also one other thing that would be of interest to the employer – and that’s your soft skill level. As opposed to a hard or specific skill that is o...

2Nov By Kristina JonesNo Comments

Blog, CVs

3 signs that you need to write a new CV

With such fierce competition in the job hunting market you cannot afford to take liberties with your CV. You only get just the one chance to make a good first impression with your application, and any kind of mistake will result in rejection. So you may be wondering if your CV still holds up today, or if you need to start again from scratch? We would like to set the record straight and help you make the right decision. A brand new CV could be just what you need to push past those out of work blues. Here are the 3 signs telling you that you need to write a new CV. Your CV is very old If you’ve stuck around with the same old CV for the past few years or even decades – then now is the time to write a new one. Presentation is everything, and your CV will not fair so well in to...

How to create work experience for a school leaver’s CV

11Oct By Kristina JonesNo Comments

Blog, CVs

How to create work experience for a school leaver’s CV

Writing your very first CV can be an extremely daunting task. One of the most important parts is the ‘work experience’ section, and you’re probably wondering what could go here if you have never had a job. The good news is that there are lots of things you can put down here and steps you can take to gain some work experience. You just have to be creative and willing to stay proactive. Here are some great tips on how to create work experience for your school leavers CV… Take advantage of school projects A big misconception about school, college or university is that it isn't actually 'work' as we see it in the traditional sense. All of the above is of course classed as being in 'education', however it's important to recognise that this is still work and can be used on a CV....

The top 10 soft skills you must have on your CV

6Sep By Kristina JonesNo Comments

Blog, CVs

The top 10 soft skills you must have on your CV

Knowing which soft skills to demonstrate on your CV could be the key to success. But if you don’t know what a soft skill is, then you could be missing out! What is a soft skill? Unlike a specific skill – computer programming or speaking 5 languages – a soft skill relates to a more common and generic trait. A soft skill is what enables a worker to perform their daily tasks – interaction, communication, time management, and so on. Injecting lots of relevant soft skills into your CV helps present the employer with an indication of how well you could perform for them. Provide as many examples as possible that cover the most relevant to your career, which will boost your chances of getting an interview. Here are the top 10 soft skills you must have on your CV if you wa...

3 reasons why your work history is letting your CV down

18May By Kristina JonesNo Comments

Blog, CVs

3 reasons why your work history is letting your CV down

The work history section of a CV is one of the most important parts. The employer is going to be reading this section very closely to see which skills can be used within their company. However, if you choose to go down the traditional route of listing all your previous roles along with the daily tasks and responsibilities, you are making a big mistake. Here are the 3 reasons why your work history is letting your CV down… No indication of performance One of the main reasons why an employer reads the employment section of a CV is to find out how that person performed. If you only list your tasks underneath each role, this won’t provide any indication of performance. Anyone can list the tasks they conducted on a daily basis, but that doesn’t mean to say that individual exc...

17May By Kristina JonesNo Comments

Blog, CVs

Why should you care about ATS?

ATS is a buzzword that's being bantered around many a careers office - but what's it all about? Simply, it's software that is now being used by a lot of larger organisations to vet candidates before a human reviews their CV. The software scans submitted CVs for keywords which relate to the requirements of the job such as particular skills, qualifications and experience. Those candidates that appear to meet the requirements are then reviewed by a person. Large firms receive innumerable levels of applications for some of their positions, so ATS software saves them a lot of time. It filters out applicants that don't meet the job spec but have applied nonetheless. On the downside, ATS software filters out some applicants that DO meet the job spec by accident. 62 percent of ...