Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Getting your CV read

Monday, June 3rd, 2013

I know have written about this before but I don’t think you can say it too many times – your CV has to sell you!

If you’re looking for a new job you have to write a CV and when you’re writing a CV it has to be good enough to get you in front of prospective new employers. So far so obvious BUT a lot of people are still making huge mistakes when it comes to writing a CV that will get read in the first place.

DO – Start with a profile of your main skills and achievements showing what you can do for your next employer. Keep it brief, keep them wanting more! Without a summary of your skills the hirer needs to read your whole CV and pick out the skills themselves and if they have two hundred CVs for one position and only need to find ten good candidates then they may not have time to read your whole CV. Make sure yours gets chosen by showing clearly you have the skills required. Use a three to four selling statement summing up your career background, areas of expertise, key skills and motivations

DON’T put your education, exam results and schools, University etc., at the beginning of your CV (unless you have just graduated), keep it until the end. Employers are far more interested in your work experience and career history.

DO put your work history in reverse chronological order (i.e. start with your current or last job). As we’ve said before most employers and recruiters will skim read your CV so they want to know what you are doing now not 20 years ago.

DO avoid typos, spelling mistakes, slang and abbreviations – These show that the application was done in a rush.

DON’T use abbreviations and too much technical jargon as your CV may be read by a recruiter who may not be familiar with them and please don’t use text speak. “i wud lk 2 apli 4 this jb” will get your CV straight into the reject folder. Check your CV and get someone else to check it before sending it to ensure there are no typing or spelling errors.

DON’T Write lots but say nothing – If recruiters or hiring manager have to concentrate too hard to find relevant information on your CV, they won’t read it! Grab their attention with bullet points rather than long sentences. Two pages of A4 are more than enough to persuade people that you’re worth contacting for an interview! According to researchers, the 10 top words/phrases to use in a CV are: achievement, active, developed, evidence, experience, impact, individual, involved, planning and transferable skills.

DON’T Apply to positions you are not qualified for – Recruiters and hiring managers don’t have time to sort through hundreds of CVs that are in no way a match for the requirements they are trying to fill. If you are interested in a company but they don’t have a relevant position at present you could write in your cover letter ‘please accept the attached CV in anticipation of future, suitable opportunities’ but it’s better to target your market effectively and ensure you are qualified for the job vacancy.

DO include achievements – This is the section that is missed out most on CVs. Your CV is about you and your results and not about the jobs you did. Highlight specific achievements that are relevant to the job. Think of new procedures, time saving activities, successful campaigns, increased sales and money saved and made. This demonstrates to employers that you are commercially focused and results driven. Although not all roles have quantifiable key performance indicators, think of the impact you have had on the businesses you previously worked for and TELL a prospective new employer about these on your CV.

DO include accurate dates – A CV that does not include dates especially for long periods of time sends “red flags” to the recruiter or hiring manager that you’re trying to hide something. If you have gaps, explain them in your cover letter or your CV.

DON’T – Be vague and clichéd – Vague statements that could apply to anyone e.g. ‘seeking a challenging position in a professional environment’ tell the reader nothing. If you have worded your achievements well, clichés such as ‘good communicator’ and ‘team player’ are not needed because it will be evident from your experience that you already have these skills.

DO – tailor your CV to a specific role – Do not send your CV to as many companies as possible in the hope that you will increase your chances of getting an interview. Each employer is looking for a CV and cover letter that applies to their role and as all roles are different, you should make small adaptations so that it matches their specific requirements. Show that you understand what it is they want you to do.

DON’T – use ‘I’ too much – There’s nothing worse than reading a CV that’s full of ‘I did this’ and ‘I did that’. Using action verbs to start sentences is a good way to overcome this e.g. achieved, organized or developed.

DO – Pay attention to the layout of your CV. Recruiters only look at CVs for a few seconds before deciding whether to continue reading, so clarity of information is important. Contact details should always be clearly visible at the top of your CV. Choose a plain font like Arial which is easy on the eye.

AND finally good luck with your job search.

Work – Life balance – have YOU got it right?

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

Recently read an interesting article by Facebook’s COO -Sheryl Sandberg, regarding leaving work at 5.30 p.m. every day.

There have been discussions about work-life balance for many years now and it affects most of us – male & female and at all levels within the organisation. Let’s face it we know we are more productive if we aren’t tired, we know that it is great to get home and have more time in the garden, kitchen, bath or wherever – but what stops us?

In our 20s and 30s the career minded are pushing boundaries, showing the boss how hard they work and how good they really are to ensure they get that next promotion or pay rise and again in our 40s it is often about the next promotion. In our 50s and 60s it may be to prove we can still cut it and prove that our energy levels are as high as the young turks out there!

The culture of the organisation can help to promote a work life balance – it’s not about the hours you put in but what you put in to the hours that matters. Quality over quantity is what I say.

An old boss of mine – name check, John Tucker – used to take out his diary at the beginning of every year and plan out his holidays. We were working in a large corporation at the time, and as he said – “Pat no one will ever say ‘Pat Deeley was great, she never took any holidays’.” He’s right and I’ll never get those missed holidays back!

As a business owner, of course I have put the hours in over the years – in my last company I was first in every day at 7.30 a.m. to 8 a.m. so that I could leave at 4 p.m. Did I ever leave at 4 p.m.? Rarely, usually after 6 p.m. Work life balance? No. Who’s fault? Mine and mine only.

Now at AV Jobs – I get in at 9 a.m. and I leave at 5 p.m. and I work from home every Friday. Do I get as much done? I think so – possibly more because I get more quality work done. It does’nt mean I never work after 5 p.m. sometimes I have to and yes it’s nice that I get the choice. (And the rest of the staff work flexibly too – it makes for a happy office and we definitely have that).

What do you think? Have you got the balance right? Has your company got the balance right?

Get that Job!

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

Newpapers, TV and radio have all been reporting on unemployed job seekers in the last couple of weeks. Why people aren’t getting interviews even though they have a degree (in some cases three degrees!), the fact that no-one gets back to them after they have applied for jobs,the number of jobs people have applied for being in 100′s and so on and so forth.

Having been in the same situation myself, I know that it is a frustrating experience and receiving no communication is just one of those frustrations – probably more frustrating than receiving the dreaded “No thanks” letter or email. Looking for a new job whilst you are unemployed is almost a full time job in itself and it really has to be worked at in the same way i.e. with diligence, committment, purpose and a positive attitude.

So how can  you avoid some of the pitfalls and ensure you target job vacancies effectively? First thing is to ensure your CV is up to date and relevant for the job you are applying for. Read the job description  and then read it again and get the boxes ticked e.g.

  • Can you really, honestly do the job you are applying for?

Sounds pretty obvious but you would be amazed at how many CVs we receive where the candidate has no experience whatsoever of the job they have applied for.

  • Do you have all of the skills that the company is looking for?

Again be strict with yourself – is it wishful thinking on your part or can you really prove that you have the skills to succeed in the job role advertised.

  • Have you worked in that industry and in the same sector and discipline that the company is in?

For example you have worked as an engineer in the AV industry but have applied for a job in AV sales – how realistic is this if you have never sold before? Think of the calibre of competing candidates who have a successful track record in AV sales – aren’t you setting yourself up for rejection?

Less is More

If you send out applications for 100s of jobs you are just setting yourself up for rejection time and time again. Why? Because you haven’t really targeted your job marketplace. You must ask yourself what are you offering a new employer? Where do your skills lie, what is your relevant experience, which industries have you worked in, what transferable skills do you have, how can you help a new employer to add to their bottom line, improve productivity, cut costs, save time and so on and so on……

By targeting your vacancies effectively you will be sending out many fewer applications but to people who really do need your skills and experience. As you are targeting your market you can ensure that each CV is tailored towards the job you are applying for as well as ensuring a good quality, relevant cover letter or email is sent with it telling a prospective employer why you are worth interviewing.

I’ve said this before but not ashamed to say it again – check your CV and letter and then check again and then get someone else to check it for you.

There are no excuses for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors or sending the wrong letter – all of these will count against you. Examples we have seen include a letter beginning “I have always wanted to work in Financial Services…” when they were applying for job in Audio Visual.

  • Keep your CV to two A4 pages
  • Highlight the reasons you would be successful in the new role
  • Show what you have achieved in your last position(s)
  • Don’t just list job responsibilities – show how you improved things.
  • Highlight your soft skills -
    • problem solving
    • communication
    • team player skills
    • conflict management
    • interpersonal skills
    • planning and organisation
    • leadership and motivation skills
    • initiative

    etc., these are all transferable skills but don’t just list them, show examples.

One Degree Under

As a Graduate job seeker you will be in fierce competition with others who have more experience and, of course, you need the experience to get yourself on that career ladder. So – highlight the work you did whilst at University (both paid and voluntary, as well as your course work) what skills this gave you. Tell your prospective employer (on your CV or covering letter) what you can do for them, what your ambitions are and what you have achieved so far in life. A degree on its own is just that – a degree. Well done on achieving it but you need to add your personal skills into the mix to prove to a prospective employer that you are worth employing.

It’s Good to Talk

If you’re not used to communicating by phone start practising, because very often the first point of contact is by telephone – either from the recruiter or the employer – so be prepared to listen and to talk confidently about yourself and the skills you can offer.

Communication is key – don’t send out emails, CVs or letters using text speak! Be professional, that way you will be treated professionally and this goes for employers and recruiters too – communicate. Send rejection emails or letters to all applicants – from a jobseeker’s point of view it is better to receive some communication than none at all. Return phone calls and emails as soon as is reasonably possible and, for jobseekers, understand that the employer or recruiter is busy and they will get back to you as soon as they can. We get back to all applicants within 7 working days whenever possible, though we accept we’re not perfect but we do try!

Good luck in your job search and if you would like to comment please do.

 

 

 

 

Increasing Sales and Profits

Friday, October 14th, 2011

We have been training sales people for many years and have recently joined forces with another successful trainer Mark Boardman.

Mark is a UK Sales Trainer and has helped Salespeople, Sales Managers,Sales Directors and Business Owners to increase their sales performance by an average of 30% within three months.
He has recently launched a sales training course called The Secret Sales Formula. It addresses three of the biggest challenges in the sales profession.

1.  Generating enough of the right kind of sales opportunities to create a strong pipeline.

2. Ensuring that the right people in the account are engaged, in particular those with the authority to place an order.
3. Closing a good percentage of the opportunities in the pipeline.

As you will know any increase (or decrease) in any one or more of these variables can dramatically affect sales results.

We realise that you may already have either in house or sub contracted sales training programmes in place,and will be constantly addressing those three big challenges that we all face in the sales profession.

However, we wanted to introduce you to a range of sales training programmes as they take a different approach to any type of training you will have experienced before. They address these three challenges in new and more effective ways than traditional sales courses.

Mark wrote The Secret Sales Formula after he had spent two years researching what the world’s best salespeople do differently to the rest.
One of the outstanding differences he found was how the top sales performers use specific sales techniques to generate far more sales opportunities than their peers.

Additionally, once they are in a sales cycle they use a selling system that gives them much more control over it. They get contact with the right people so that they close a much higher percentage of orders than their colleagues. Surprisingly the sales techniques are not complex. In fact they are very simple to learn and to implement. Any salesperson has the capability to use them.
Mark used the techniques in 2007 and his business profits almost doubled. That was when he decided to write the course and called it The Secret Sales Formula because many of  the sales techniques used by the world’s top performers are not to be found in any sales book or course you may find. In addition to using the sales formula himself he has trained individuals, teams and companies to use it.
One of his clients has over 200 salespeople and his sales increased by 42% in 3 months. Another one of his clients saw an increase in her sales pipeline of 70% in 6 months. They are his two best results – his average delivery across all clients is a 30% increase in sales within 3 months. The lowest figure is an 11% increase.

For information on our Sales Courses please email Pat or Mark quoting “AV Sales Training” for a special discount on any booking made before January 2012.

Do ask for us for details of our full range of services or check out our new website www.avjobs.co.uk Employer services

Checking the detail – reasons your CV falls at the first hurdle.

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

We have so many jobs on at the moment that this is the busiest August we have seen as a company. No complaints there of course! We had already taken the decision to recruit a Graduate Trainee for AV Jobs and I thought I should share some of the issues we have seen – particularly from Graduate applications, but often from others too.

The number of times I have seen an application to a job where an applicant has clearly done a cut and paste job and not made it relevant to the job they are applying for – too many to count! Some examples just from today:

Applying for a Graduate Trainee Recruitment Consultant role:

I am an extremely responsible youth willing to accept position to gain experience within a realm of retail-banking customer services.

I am looking to further my knowledge within accounting or information systems.

Dear Miss Baker (we don’t have a Miss Baker!)

So not a good start.

Spelling mistakes – too numerous to mention. If you’re not a great speller then Spellchecker won’t always help as the spelling may be right but for a different word in a different context – so get someone who is good with words to check your CV before you send it.

Examples: There and their. Roll instead of Role. Loose instead of lose.

Affect and effect – affect is a verb as in “Your ability to communicate clearly will affect your income immensely.” Effect is a noun as in “The effect of global warming is immeasurable.” You can’t put a “the” in front of a verb so this should help you decide which word you need.

Grammatical errors – now here I do accept that I am a big fan of Lynne Truss (Eats, Shoots and Leaves) and have even been called pedantic (moi?) but I do believe people should get these things right in something as important as a job application.

The apostrophe! There when it shouldn’t be and not there when it should. The apostrophe is a raised comma ‘ – it is used to show possession or contraction e.g. The dog’s tail (possession), it’s a lovely day (contraction).

Common misuses – It’s and its – It’s is a contraction of “it is” as in “it’s lovely and warm today”.  Its is a possessive pronoun as in “the car has lost its shine”.  An easy rule of thumb is to say your sentence out loud using it is and if this sounds ridiculous then use its (no apostrophe).

Your and you’re – again your is a possessive pronoun as in “your wife”, you’re is a contraction of “you are” as in “you’re messing up your CV if you use your when you really mean you are!”

It’s often incorrectly used when the word is a plural – job’s instead of jobs.

Using text speak in your letter or CV – this is fine when you are sending a text or emailing friends but has no place in business correspondence.

“i am sending u my cv 4 the job ad on AV Jobs ref AV8777.”

“I am sending you my CV regarding the job advertised on AV Jobs – Ref.AV8777″.

So end of rant – but I promise if you take more care with your CV and covering letter (if you enclose one) you will not fall at the first hurdle. Just take more time in reviewing what you have written and get someone else to check too.

What do you think?

 

 

 

 

What questions you should be asking a future employer at interview.

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

Whilst most job candidates are reasonably well versed in the questions that a future employer will ask them at an interview, very often they forget that they should be asking questions too.

Asking questions shows a sign of interest and when a hiring manager asks “What questions do you have for us?”, they won’t be impressed if you say none!

It’s a two way interview, you are assessing them as much as they are you – are they the sort of company you want to work for, can they offer you the career path you need, can you see yourself fitting in with the team? This is no time to be shy and reticent, the employer expects you to ask questions so don’t let yourself down. Always ask an open question – which will elicit a full answer rather than a closed one which can only be answered by a Yes or No. i.e. all open questions begin with How, What, When, Where, Who or Why.

And don’t leave your questions until the end of the interview – make sure you are really listening to the employer’s questions and where necessary ask them a question back i.e. to seek clarification and ensure your understanding.

Ask several questions on different topics i.e. the job, the company, the prospects, the process and really listen to the answers, show interest and ask another question leading from the answer if you want them to expand on this.

Here are some questions you can choose to ask at your next interview (but not all of them!) -

“How would you describe the responsibilities of this role?”

“How would you describe the company’s management style?”

“How would you describe the company culture?”

“What exactly are looking for in the successful candidate?” * If you ask this one early enough you can ensure you offer them the perfect candidate!

“What are the most important skills required in the job?”

“What are the prospects for career advancement?”

“What are the priorities in this job?”

“What are the most challenging aspects of the role?”

“What do you like about working here?”

“What don’t you like about working here and what would you change?”

“What are the company’s plans for growth & development?”

“What is the next stage in the recruitment process?”

“When are you looking for someone to start?”

“What would keep you from offering the job to me now?”

“Are there any other questions you need to ask me to convince you I am right for this role?”

Questions NOT to ask:

“What does your company do?” – you really should have done your research prior to the interview.

“I’ve got a holiday booked for next month – are you OK with that?” – discuss things like holidays etc., after you have been offered the job.

“How long is the lunch break?” -  :-/

“Are the working hours flexible?” – asking questions about the company benefits is not relevant at this stage, it’s about the job.

“How does you sickness benefit work?” – red flag alert – how are often do you expect to be sick?

This is obviously not a list of ALL questions you should or should not ask but hope they give you food for thought. Let us know if you have any other questions you feel are worth asking (or ones you should never ask).