Posts Tagged ‘Video Enhanced CV’
9
Aug/10
Since the job market has become more demanding and competitive than ever, careful and strategic career management is required to ensure you make the most of your skills and experiences.
Planning your career
The most successful career paths have good planning, a sense of direction, and clear milestones along the way. A career path needs to be flexible but it should always be structured. If you have a “map” of your intended route, you can make sure that all the activities in your working life help further your aims and give you a sense of purpose. Managing your career does not mean closing your mind to luck and chance, but involves talking and thinking about your career in a methodical way. This will help you gain further insights and recognise any opportunities as they arise, so that you can make the most of them.
Make the most of all the career choices that face you during your working life, be clear about your goals, alert to opportunities, and quick to make key decisions when necessary. Effective planning will help you be prepared and focused, so that when you need to, you can make the right choices. Nobody wants to look back on their career at retirement and wish they had taken a different path or done things another way.
So take action and give yourself the best chance possible:
- View managing your career as an exciting new project.
- Give planning your career the time and effort it deserves.
- Concentrate on career opportunities.
- Be prepared to look back as well as ahead.
- Ensure you have the best marketing tools at your disposal, starting with your CV or resume
Marketing yourself
CVs or resumes are critical and to be noticed a CV has to be powerful. It is your primary marketing tool. The easy answer is that you need as many versions of your CV as it takes. There are different types of Curriculum Vitae for different job-hunting methods — and if you are using multiple strategies and approaches to search for a job, you’ll probably need multiple versions of your CV:
- Traditional paper Curriculum Vitae
- Electronic CV for attaching to email applications
- Personal Career Website for hosting your CV, professional information and experience
- Video Enhanced CV to use as an attachment on electronic CVs or on your Career Website
Maximise your opportunities for success and ensure that you are approaching your career with a practical and realistic plan, a well-written CV and a range of marketing tools to help you stand out from the crowd.
Tags: career management, career planning, curriculum vitae, CV Tips, CV Writing, CVs, jobhunting tips, marketing tools, personal career website, Video CV, Video Enhanced CV, website cv
Posted in CV Writing, Personal Career Websites, Video CVs, career counselling | No Comments »
21
Jul/10
Your cover letter is usually the first thing a recruiter will see, and therefore needs to be carefully created to give you the best introduction possible. A cover letter is a short, sharp summary of why you are the ideal candidate for the advertised role. It should be tailored to each company you apply to, and give employers a brief idea of who you are and your suitability for the position.
Here are AccendoCV’s guidelines on how to write the perfect cover letter:
- Find out who the letter should be addressed to and personalise the letter accordingly.
- Format professionally, proofread and double-check spelling and grammar, names and addresses.
- Keep it to a single page, made up of 3 or 4 paragraphs (or bullet points) describing your relevant skills and experience relating to the job.
- If sending by email, don’t forget to attach your CV! (It’s also a good idea to ask for acknowledgement of receipt, in case it ends up in a spam folder.)
- Highlight what the employer is seeking by listing your skills, experience and characteristics.
- Provide exactly what is specified in the advertisement, eg: your CV and a 3 page outline of a successful project you’ve managed – no more, no less.
A helpful tool to write an effective cover letter is the acronym AIDA:
Gain the reader’s Attention by introducing yourself effectively.
Keep their Interest by showing you have the skills and experience to fulfil the role.
Ensure that the content is relevant to the advertised position and the recruiter will Desire to meet you.
Make sure that your contact details are clear in order for the recruiter to Action a response to your application.
No matter how good your CV is, your cover letter is your first point of contact, and should represent you positively. You can find more tips and advice on writing cover letters here and here, or perhaps you’d prefer to consider a more modern form of introduction, via a Video Enhanced CV.
Video CVs are the future of job hunting, providing a personalised, succinct introduction to your abilities and strengths using a short hosted video presentation. Visit AccendoCV for more details on how you can create the best first impression possible, and optimise your chance for success in your chosen career.
Tags: cover letter, CV Help, CV Tips, CV Writing, how to write a cover letter, Job hunting, Video CVs, Video Enhanced CV
Posted in CV Tips, Video CVs, cover letters | No Comments »
1
Jul/10
A CV is no longer enough to promote yourself in the current difficult marketplace – whilst still necessary and important, a conventional document CV does not provide the visibility required to make an impact. An obvious solution makes the most of the internet, technology and the ease of online networking – a complete vehicle for marketing your assets and talents – The Lifebrand Personal Career Website.
There is absolutely no excuse for not having an online presence in the 21st century; blogs, websites and personal networking accounts are easy to set up and maintain, but it is essential that any site which represents your professional life should be just that – professional. It must project your own personal brand in a believable and honest way, showing who you are and what you have to offer. Tacky, amateurish exercises in self-promotion are sure to put prospective employers off, as will inappropriate content or irrelevant information. An Accendo Lifebrand Career Website is a purpose-built, professional and impartial mechanism that will allow you to market yourself professionally and maturely.
What are the Benefits of a Career Website?
A Personal Career Website has many uses, and can become an integral tool in your own career development. The beauty of such a customisable idea is that each website will be unique and different, showcasing each candidate’s personal attributes and fulfilling a variety of aims. Here are a few ways to utilise a Career Website:
- A Marketing Tool – Having a link to your own website is a great addition to your CV, creating an opportunity to show more of your qualities and experiences than CVs or short interviews often allow. Use your web address on letterheads, in email signatures, on business cards and on your CV to give a professional view of who you are.
- A Sales Tool – A Lifebrand Career Website can make you stand out from the crowd, giving an impressive, professional, experienced impression to prospective employers or clients. It shows you value your attributes and talents, and have the foresight to showcase them in an expert manner.
- A Networking Tool – Online networking is a great asset to job hunting and career development. Providing clients, employers and head-hunters with a succinct summary of your work, your experiences and your best qualities means you don’t have to rely on your CV alone to publicise yourself. Your website will also show up in searches for your name/company, doing half the work for you!
- A Personal Brand – Personal branding is in important concept in career development, and an Accendo Lifebrand Personal Website can help build up a picture of who you are and what you are capable of.
What to Include?
Your Personal Career Website should project all the aspects of your personality and experience that will help you to find the job you want. You might want to consider the following for ideas on what to include:
- Relevant and compelling adjectives to describe you, and your brand attributes
- Your greatest strengths (think about what other people would suggest to describe you)
- What words do people use to introduce you? How do you appear to others?
- What are your short and long term ambitions or goals? How do you intend on achieving these?
- Do you know what your greatest weakness is – what is holding you back?
- Where do you want to be in 10 years’ time?
Accendo can help you to answer these questions, and assist you in creating an apt and intriguing portrayal of your personal brand, allowing you to be in control and actively and positively manage and promote your career. To ensure a high level of independence, credibility and quality, Lifebrand websites can only be edited or changed by Accendo.
Which kind of Lifebrand Website Should I Choose?
All sorts of professionals can benefit from an Accendo Lifebrand Personal Career Website. There are various different types to choose from, ranging from 3 pages to a totally bespoke design, and you can upgrade or change your type and style at any time. Accendo will guide you to the right decision for your own aims and requirements. Lifebrand Personal Websites are idea for all types of candidates, including:
- Graduates
- Sole-traders
- Business Owners
- Professionals
- IT Technologists
- Entrepreneurs
- Self-employed Professionals
In the current job market, finding work, changing jobs or developing a career is more difficult than ever. Finding a way to showcase your best attributes in an innovative, professional, contemporary way is vitally important. Accendo’s Lifebrand Personal Career Websites are the answer!
Visit the Accendo Lifebrand Personal Career Website today to find out more about our entire range of options.
View existing Case Studies for an idea of what your Personal Website could look like.
Check out Accendo CV’s other Career Management Services, including CV Writing and Video Enhanced CVs.
Tags: accendo lifebrand websites, career management, career websites, CV Writing, lifebrand personal career website, personal career website, Video CV, Video Enhanced CV, website cv
Posted in Personal Branding, Personal Career Websites | 1 Comment »
25
Jun/10
If tuition fees double, as has been suggested – from the current cap of £3,225 to a possible £7,000 – approximately 55% of young people in England and Wales claim they would forego attending university, according to a survey by the Sutton Trust educational charity.
Universities Minister, David Willetts, commented that students should see fees as “an obligation to pay higher income tax”, and that the cost of degree courses was a “burden on the taxpayer that had to be tackled”.
The number of places at universities has already been cut, and 70% of colleges plan on reducing the amount of courses on offer – leaving a possible 200,000 applicants without a place at further education in September 2010. Willetts suggested instead that students pursue occupational and practical courses.
The latest forecast, by Chris Morecroft, chairman of the Association of Colleges’ higher education group, is that the number of undergraduates will fall by 20% over the next five years, with more students opting for part time or online degree courses.
With more and more jobs becoming reliant on a degree, where does this leave graduates, or the multitude of students in limbo, when looking for a job? More emphasis on experience, life skills, organisation and initiative will be required to make a difference, with a well-crafted CV and excellent interview technique. The innovation of a Video Enhanced CV could be a winning solution to a difficult and saturated job market, showing forward-thinking, technological expertise and conscientiousness.
AccendoCV offers all aspects of career management, CV writing, Video CV and CV website creation and interview coaching.
Tags: CV website, CV Writing, graduate jobs, interview technique, Job hunting, job search, university fees, university places, Video CV, Video Enhanced CV
Posted in News | 1 Comment »
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