Job Hunter Hints & Tips

Additional Reading
The 10 second CV Test
Producing a targeted covering letter
How to write the perfect covering letter
Understanding the job and career market
Interview preparation tips
At what point does it become lying?
CV writing - the art of the possible
Outplacement- where do we go from here?
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Did you know that you have as little as 10 seconds to impress a prospective employer with your CV? No matter how talented and qualified you might be or how suited to the job if your resume and covering letter fails to catch the eye you will be heading for the bottom of the pile.

Career Tool – the CV.

Interestingly, even though it is easy for candidates to seek advice, or use one of the many opportunities to purchase a professionally written CV, when a job is advertised at least half - usually more – of the CVs submitted will be poor. It would seem sensible, if you really want that job, to spend time making sure you stand a good chance of getting over the first hurdle of having your CV taken seriously.

The same faults appear whatever level of job being applied for. It is no good reading this and saying ‘I’m a lawyer/teacher/accountant and I know what I am doing; they aren’t writing about me,’ because this simply isn’t true. Poor CVs abound in all industry sectors.

What makes a good CV?

So, what is it that will makes for a good CV, one that will stand out from another? At AccendoCV we set about identifying the issues. If we start with the basics, there are rules that govern the layouts, size and content, all of which are readily picked up from CV writing websites, and include the following:

Do’s

• It should be pleasing to the eye – good condition (no recycling or poor photocopies allowed), well laid out and neat.
• It should be easy to find your way around and clear.
• Do include the usual facts about yourself such as date of birth (no point hiding your age whatever the reason - it will just be an irritant), address, education, email address (this is very necessary as you just look a bit sad if you don’t have one!) and, most importantly, work experience.
• Be positive and sell yourself.
• Be short and to the point – try and have all the important information on the first two sides of an A4 sheet. You can then email it with ease.
• Help recruitment agents (they will cut & paste your CV, accept that fact and help them) by not using headers & footers, giving your document a name that helps them store and recover your CV.
• Adapt it to suit the job you are applying for – one size does not fit all.

Don’ts

• Do not include any failures – be positive and don’t say why you left jobs or that your marriage broke down etc.
• Do not typewrite it as you will look as though you have stepped off the Ark so always use a computer (there are typewritten ones floating about!)
• Do not use photographs (there are a few exceptions)
• Do not include every thing you have ever done – the qualification you got for swimming a length of the pool when you were six is not going to be relevant.
• Do not make things up or exaggerate.
• Avoid complex formatting, patterns and covers.
• Avoid using CV templates.

Use these guidelines and your Curriculum Vitae will certainly be a lot better than most, but how do you take it that little bit further? If, as is the case, you have such a short time to get the prospective employer to have a serious look at you, how do you make sure that your CV stands out?

CV Writing Service

There are people who can sell, but for most of us selling is very difficult and selling ourselves is nearly impossible. Whilst we might have had various appraisals carried out at work, none of them will be geared up for the competition that is out in the market place. Summing up what we have done in our lives so far in such a way that it sounds like you are the ideal candidate for a job is actually very difficult. If you have any doubts about your ability to do this well it would be worth using a professional CV writing service.

There are companies who will help you write your CV and a quick search on the internet will give you several to choose from.  There is a wide range of services being offered and it is essential to make sure that your expectations will tie in with what the various companies are offering. For example, it is unlikely that a CV costing less than £50 will be much more than a standard template version. These can be perfectly adequate if you are just starting your career and have very little work experience but not if you are more senior. At senior executive level you should be looking for a company that specialises in working with senior executives and who use senior, market specific, specialists to write for them. They are most likely to have been, or still are, people who have had long experience as employers and recruitment consultants. They should also have someone for you to work with who is experienced within your field or the field you are hoping to move into. CV writing companies working at this level will usually have career management expertise as well and can give help with job applications, interview techniques and other aspects of your career. At AccendoCV this is the area where we excel. By using exclusively HR Directors, MDs, IT Directors, Technical Directors, Finance Directors, Senior Recruitment Consultants etc, we can record both the substantial elements of your career and those relevant to the role sought. We engage in a discussion with you about your career and goals at the correct level – the one you are aiming for! – with people who know it.

Although they can seem expensive in comparison with the bottom end of the CV market, if you consider that a CV is your primary marketing tool it must be a sensible investment to get it right. At the end of the day, you should have a CV that will position you at the right level, demonstrate your skills and experience as required for the job you are applying for, and also, emphasise the benefits you will be bringing to the new firm. A really good one will also bring out a little of the personality behind the CV and have your talents and achievements jumping off the page in front of your next employer – remember, ten seconds is all you have!

Phone: 0845 170 7654
Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm

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