8 seconds!

Had a very interesting meeting today about the future of CV Uk Writer Ltd, gave me lots to think about, one of the bigger talking points was the 8 second rule. 

When a hiring manager looks at your Cv, they will take about 8 seconds to make up their minds as to whether you are in or out based on what they read (or scan in reality). 

Think about it, you may be looking to prove yourself in your first job or you may have 30 years experience, regardless, 8 seconds isn't great if you're trying to get your foot in the door, I mean what can you legitimately do well in 8 seconds......

Down a small glass of water

Scratch your itchy nose

Put on a pair of socks

Turn your car on and put your seatbelt on

Sing the opening line of your favourite song

You can see that 8 seconds isn't a long time to change the world, I'm being glib but my point is that not much can be done in 8 seconds that is significant so when someone is reading your cv for the first time, if all you've got is 8 seconds, you'd better make sure it's the very best it can be! 

So how can you do that? Obviously you could leave it to the experts (us) but some tweaks you can make; 

*Make sure your formatting is clear and regular

*Keep to one font, no italics

*Keep your education short and bulleted (you don't need to list all of your cse's from 1972) 

*Keep your personal statement clear, concise and no more than 4 lines MAX

*Make your latest job title clear

*Get your current job highlights at the top of the list, make sure you put your greatest responsibilities and achievements right at the top of your current job history, that's the one hiring mangers will be interested in so make sure you're blowing your own trumpet.

Personal statements can be tricky to write (it's a whole other post) but drafting a few versions can help you pin point what you want to say, steer clear of repetition and of using too many adjectives. 

8 seconds is not long, don't be fooled into thinking the job you're applying to doesn't fall into this bracket, the likelihood is that it will, competition is still high as I'm always saying so make your 8 seconds count and ensure your CV headlines pop!

Further reading:

Citing original study: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/recipe-perfect-resume-revealed/story?id=23782664

Updated article;

http://www.careerealism.com/resume-glance-pass/

Older article which talks about a 6 second rule!! http://lifehacker.com/5901056/recruiters-only-look-at-your-resume-for-an-average-of-six-seconds-and-this-is-what-they-see

International Women's Day 2016

So international women's day is over for another year, did you mark it in any way? Did your place of work? I have to say it's only in recent years have I actually known it existed, with no place of business I've ever worked marking it bar one, once! It was in fact started way back in the days of suffrage. It's made headlines in more recent years though and this year was no exception.

The theme this year was for planet 50:50 by 2030, a focus on gender parity. If you want to read more then do look at the official page http://www.internationalwomensday.com

I wanted to touch on IWD in this blog as the theme is equality, in all areas of life and as I'm a CV writer I will focus on careers.

Having worked in STEM industries my entire career, I have often observed how wide the gender gap is in terms of skill set, engineers are in the majority, men, scientists are in the majority, men, HR, mostly women. So what can be done about that? There's a point to tackling the issue with our peers, to bring sexism and inequality to the fore but international women's day should be used to target our smallest people, not to highlight the difficulties they may face as men and women but to reiterate the point that you can be anything you want to be, science, engineering, even space doesn't have to be for a majority sex. 

And this message should be a theme throughout their school lives, not just a one off. Certainly when I was at school there wasn't much work done on that as a subject, I remember a brief chat with a career guidance counsellor but nothing to light my technical fire, nothing that would make me want to find out more about building a bridge or finding a cure for cancer.

Nothing is wrong with any career but we have to ask ourselves why is society perpetuating the cliche that boys build stuff and girls nurture when both can do....both. More needs to be done to encourage boys and girls into different fields of work and to show that both are equally capable. The male dinosaurs that I've worked with in my time are slowly retiring, those that refuse to hold meetings with women in HR (yes really), those that ask questions about babies, childcare and marriage in interviews (yes really) and more open minded people are coming to the fore, actually holding discussions about encouraging women to retrain and how they can attract women to work in their business. But again, it needs to start earlier, you're not going to magically increase the number of female civil engineers in the marketplace but given time and effort, the girls taking their GCSEs now could well be designing bridges in 10 years time. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/international-womens-day-2016-what-when-is-it-why-was-it-set-up-a6917341.html

Back to basics

It's been quite a while since my last blog update so I thought I'd get back to basics.
If you've ever worked in recruitment then you'll know that one of the prime times for job searches is the new year (that and the first two weeks of school summer holidays believe it or not), so with that being said, it is a good time to throw some job search tips out there in case you're reading this and you're looking or just thinking about it.

Research - Where will you look, what sites are most relevant, what companies do you want to work for, if you don't have specifics what type of companies will you look at (considering ethics for example). You may not be that fussed but it pays to know where you will be spending your time looking for a job because.....

Organise - If you know where you're looking you'll be able to organise your time and your approach to your particular job search, for example, how long will you spend posting your CV on job boards or applying to roles on a particular board. Do you have the relevant industry publications to hand if that's your approach or what companies are you going to contact direct on what day. Being organised will mean you stay........

Focus - Its very very easy to lose focus when doing anything really and job searching is no different, you might get bored, disheartened, depressed even but making a plan about your approach as above will help halt those feelings. Unless you're lucky or particularly in demand you'll probably need to revise your plan of action, do more research and re-organise your time but that's OK and will help you to stay focused on your ultimate goal which I would assume would be - a new fabulous job!

Finally it is so important that you get your CV together. Obvious I know but people don't give it enough time, it needs effort and attention, what are you trying to say, what do you want to say, what do you want people to think about you? It can all be conveyed through your CV so you need to invest in it. Think of it as a submission to an exam, you want to get it as right as possible and unless you really don't care (in which case why are you reading this), you want to get the highest score as you possibly can and beat your peers.

Job searching isn't anyone's favorite task but if you follow the simple steps above then it can be a little less painful, you can always come talk to us to see how we can help as well of course!

Happy hunting folks, I'll not leave it so long next time!

Lose weight - Fast!

Okay I've not gone crazy and nor am I about to start writing about weight loss. I'm talking about slimming down that CV.

A general rule of thumb says that your CV should be no longer than 2 pages long, this means you need to summarise your experience as best you can but remain interesting and appealing. No mean feat for most but if you've a whole heap of experience then it can be a really tricky task (NB sometimes its ok to push to 3 pages particularly in certain industries where your experience will be technically/scientifically specialist).

So how do you go about reducing all of that information that you're CONVINCED is so important
and every employer MUST know? Hint; they don't.

Layout - make sure the layout of your CV is conducive to keeping it short. If you're short of space then don't have your address listed, have it on one line across the top, the same goes for your education, don't list it vertically, do it horizontally.

Necessary? - Is everything you're including in your education necessary? You really don't need to include all of your GCSEs or O'Levels, you can summarise your A Levels unless they are specific to your role (which if you've a lot of experience they won't be any more). Just remember that an employer wants to look at your experience and your skill, not necessarily your education before you were 18.

Training - Unless it is really relevant to the role you're applying to, you don't need to include every training course you've ever been on. A prospective employer is unlikely to be interested in your 2011 Fire Marshall training course or your 2008 Word refresher, make sure the courses you're listing are specific to the role. Degree courses are always good to include even if the role is in a different field, you're likely to get questioned if that's the case but it will show you have commitment and dedication to study.

Job specifics - Here's where it gets tricky. You want to make sure you're including everything that's relevant but you don't want to waffle on for multiple paragraphs. So how do you go about it? It's pretty simple really but a LOT of people can't be bothered because it takes effort.

You need to tailor your CV to the role you're applying to.

Make sure you read the job advert and apply it to your CV, don't make it too obvious of course but it doesn't take a genius to read a job ad and find out what they're looking for. Make sure you include any relevant experience, specific matches are good, for example if they're looking for someone with team leadership experience and you have it, put it in (You'd be shocked how many people miss off the most obvious of things), if you don't have that specific experience then see if you have anything that vaguely matches up, if you don't have anything that does then don't waffle on about something that is completely irrelevant, you can try and make up with your lack of experience in one area by shining in another.

Remove any information that doesn't align with what they're after but if you have something outstanding to include then do put it in.

If you feel you just have too much marvellous experience and simply CAN'T slim it down (trust me, you can) then you can start a list, again, horizontal rather than vertical, and you should focus on responsibilities rather than achievements.......

Responsibilities and Achievements - This is a rather old school approach to a CV but if you're struggling for space it can save you, by splitting your experience this way, you can really see the wood for the trees - as can an employer - you will be able to identify the two areas and also identify what information is most relevant to the job you're applying to. You can also create lists this way as described above.

This is a simplified approach of course but it can get you on the right track to removing irrelevant information and making your CV match as closely to the job as possible whilst also showcasing the talented individual you are!

Come and talk to us if you need further guidance. We can help you find the right balance www.cvukwriter.com 

Staying positive

I've seen quite a few articles of late about staying positive in your job search it sort of follows on from my last blog post of remaining positive when you've been made redundant. This post will focus more on some other aspects of remaining stoic and constant when you're job hunting, especially if you're currently unemployed.
These pointers count whether your a graduate who has recently left uni or someone who has been working for many years.

1 - Don't be complacent in your efforts. It really does help to set daily goals, to be proactive and to maintain a positive outlook. Don't just sit and wait for something, if you put the effort in, it will happen, it might not happen as quickly as you want it to but it will happen. The following pointers reiterate this but if you want the best out of something you have to put your best in, it's that simple really. Don't expect miracles to happen, work hard, play hard, learn to dance in the rain and other motivational musings!!

2 - Don't machine gun applications, its obvious and it looks unprofessional. What do I mean by this? When you're searching for a job, say you're on Reed.co.uk and you see a role that looks like it matches some of your skills but not all, so you think - sod it, I'll give it a go - that's fine and sometimes if enough skills align then it could be a good thing, but if you're just hammering out CVs to anything and everything it will be obvious, you probably won't be doing a cover note, you probably won't be tailoring your CV, you probably won't be checking your accuracy in terms of skill match and you probably won't be reading the job specs thoroughly. It will be 100% obvious because of these points that you are just throwing your CV out there and that is highly off putting to a hiring manager or recruiter. Why should they take the time with you if you can't take the time with them?

3 - Remain accurate - follows on from above really. If you're sending out a lot of applications and you're doing it right, make sure your contact is the right one for the right job, your cover note is addressed to the right company, and the job title is the right one. If a candidate can't take the time to check these minor details I can tell you now as a recruiter, it is SO off-putting and is again likely to lead to you ending up in the no pile.

4 - Don't lie!
I was talking to a colleague today about a couple of candidates who had lied to get a foot in the door. Both had got to offer stage before they came clean and now both offers weren't going ahead and the candidate's reputation was in tatters.
Even after all these years in recruitment I'm still baffled as to why people lie when applying to a job. These particular people had lied about their degrees. Each had said they were qualified in an area that they weren't, we understood their desperation to get a permanent job as they'd both been out of work for sometime but we would now never touch them with a barge pole - its that simple, how could we possibly trust them in our business when they've lied before they've even got here?
Lying about anything on your CV is just a straight no. Embellish, maybe, if you can pull the skill off you have embellished but outright lie? No way.

The following links are the recent articles I've seen. Come and have a browse on our Facebook page www.facebook,com/cvukwriterltd

http://www.careerealism.com/happy-job-seekers-habits/

http://www.brazencareerist.com/blog/2015/08/04/feeling-down-5-ways-to-stay-healthy-while-looking-for-a-new-job/

Not quite job related but still relevant - http://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-to-keep-your-spirits-up-even-if-youre-bombarded-with-negativity-all-day/

Redundancy

What a boring title! Sadly, for those going through it, it's not a boring situation.

If you worked through 2008/2009, it's likely you knew 1 if not more people, who were made redundant or were placed at risk of redundancy, it was a very scary time and I was one of those placed at risk, I retained my role but seeing so many colleagues and friends have to leave the jobs they'd worked so hard in through no fault of their own was heartbreaking at times, and i'm not exaggerating.

Redundancy happens all the time, its a way for companies to keep costs down, loose excess headcount and slimline a burgeoning business in tough times. Its never pleasant but it happens and it may happen to you, I just wanted to write a post on it to highlight a few things to keep in mind if you're put in this position and how to remain positive and proactive.

1 - Every cloud
I don't mean that to sound flippant but it may be that this is the best thing that has ever happened to you. If you're fairly new to the business, well, who wants to stay in a business that is making people redundant, its not the greatest of signs so perhaps its best to get out early. If you've been there forever then all the more reason to celebrate, perhaps you were stuck in a rut, afraid to get out, happy in your comfort zone, well now you HAVE to move, you have to do something and this could be the push you needed to find something bigger and better. It won't always be that obvious when you're worrying about your bills but do keep it in mind, it will help you through the tough times.

2 - Dust off that Cv
It may be that you've been using the same CV for a while, or not, either way this is a good opportunity to really take a long hard look at how you're selling yourself, after-all your position is a bit different now so you need to really understand how you can present yourself in the best way possible and get in front of that new hiring manager. Are you clear, concise and able to demonstrate your expertise, whatever that may be? Of course cvukwriter can help you with this if you're not sure....!

3 - Don't dwell
There's no two ways about it, even if you were quite hoping for redundancy for whatever reason, its still not a great place to be and for 99% of the population, if you're going to leave a business you'd rather do it on your own volition. But don't dwell on this, try and keep your head up, dwelling on the negative will only stall your efforts to a more positive future. Motivated people will do more and be more, unmotivated people who dwell on the bad times will more likely be the people sitting watching Eastenders of an evening rather than tweaking their CV for that role they just spied on Indeed. Easier said than done buy it's often a case of mind over matter

4 - You're better than you think
So you've been made redundant, try not to take it personally (yeah right). That made sound like a daft statement but it's the case, self confidence can go a long way (although when it tips over into arrogance then no one can save you!), just because you've been made redundant doesn't mean your skills won't be valued elsewhere, doesn't mean you won't thrive elsewhere and it sure doesn't mean that someone else won't hire you. They will, you just have to keep the faith and as per post 3, don't dwell on the negative.

For further reading these articles might be of interest:

Aimed at the over 40s but valid points that can apply to many people regardless of age; http://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/finding-work-redundancy-40s-tips-for-success

Good tips that hopefully your employer would have covered anyway; http://approachthemarket.co.uk/10-tips-to-help-you-cope-with-redundancy/

The serious side of redundancy, know where you stand, another useful article from the Guardian; http://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/jan/20/how-to-cope-with-redundancy

(Not so) Great Expectations

As you leave university you will have spent the last 3 or 4 years working hard, playing hard and hopefully enjoying your time before you have to start making some choices about your next steps which for most graduates will be, what job do you want?

It’s important that when you’re stepping out post university that your expectations match the outside world and most of the time, these expectations revolve about money and time.
If I had a pound for the amount of times I’ve spoken to a graduate and they ask “What is the salary” or “do you offer flexitime” I would be a rich person right now, they’re not taboo questions to ask but there is a time and place and within the first 10 minutes of an initial phone call with a potential employer is not the time nor the place. Which brings me back to the point of this blog, what are your expectations? It’s a really important question to ask as it could demonstrate that your “wants” are totally out of whack with the market you’re applying in or the employment market in general.

It’s not uncommon these days for businesses to offer flexible working, this could mean working from home, staggering your hours or working from a different office but that is not to say that as a fresh graduate with no experience you won’t be expected to come in, on time, to one location, every day for some time to come. You have a lot to learn and you can’t do that if you’re not with your team, it’s not only about learning a skill or demonstrating yours, it’s about learning to be with people in a professional environment, answering the phone, being in meetings, conduct with clients or senior members of staff, very important skills to learn and you can’t do that at home on your sofa and expecting to be able to flit here and there as and when you want is very off putting.

Money is the other embarrassing point and there are far too many grads who think they should be in line for £35K for just graduating. Don’t get me wrong, there are certain jobs that will pay that such as Oil and Gas engineering but most won’t and coming in all heavy handed with expectations of “at least £30000 starting salary” (immediate reject) is so off putting and recruiters will often have to have a very uncomfortable conversation about what you’re thinking!! This usually results in the candidate swallowing their pride or flouncing off somewhere else only to be told the same thing.

These two examples just demonstrate some extremes of behaviour and to ensure you’re on the money when you apply to roles, do your research, what is the market ACTUALLY paying, what benefits are most common in your field? You can play hardball but know your limits and you’ll not only come across as interesting but also astute and someone that an employer may want on their team, unlike someone who’s expectations are so above what they should be, you’re dismissed before you’ve even started the process.

It’s worth me ending by saying that graduates in the main are keen, enthusiastic and present themselves well as they know it’s a busy market out there but there are the odd 3 or 4 that let everyone down and give them all a bad rep. There’s certainly more that can be done at universities to change that but that’s for another post (and it’s certainly not a criticism).

Any comments about this article? Is it too harsh? Do you think graduates have a right to be pushy? Do let me know