Career advice from an expert - Looking for Work - CV Writing - Interview Help
Career Advice - Going back to work - Returning to work
Hello and welcome! I created this page after many years of giving career advice to professionals, students, the unemployed, women going back to work after having children....the list is endless. People come to me because the wealth of advice (without blowing my own trumpet too much) I have gained over the years has helped not only countless people get new jobs or return to work, but has also helped me advance far in my own career. Now it's time to give this job hunting advice to the masses!
Key Factors in getting a job
The key factors in getting a job, whether you have been unemployed for a long period, or been made redundant, or any reason, I will list below. If you are serious about getting back to work, or seeking new employment, you should look at these three key areas;
Yes seriously, take a step back from yourself for a moment. Get your other half or friend or mum to take a picture of you (if you don't already have one), where you're not smiling (important). Now look at the picture, and ask yourself "Do I look like the right person for the job(s) I am applying for?".
In an ideal world, appearance shouldn't matter one iota, but in reality, it's a HUGE factor in applying for a job. If the employer doesn't think you LOOK right for the job, you're unlikely to get very far.
Looking right for a job application is tricky, in that it really does differ from one job sector to another. Turning up for an interview as a plumber looking pristine, in a saville row suit is just as unsuitable as turning up to an office-block with a nose-ring in.
The BEST way to check whether you physically look like you'll fit in - if you REALLY want the job, go down to the office/workshop/building around 8.50am and check out what everyone else is wearing. If for example you see an office is full of people wearing shirts with no ties, then you can probably make a call and turn up in a nice suit, but tie-less. Relaxed office environments are common place nowadays, and some managers are put off if you appear too 'stiff'. One example of managers not liking military-stiff people is Lord Alan Sugar.
Every job application is different, don't assume one office attire will match the next.
As with everything in life - the more research you do, the better you will do.
Yes, we've heard it all before. But how many of us do it right? Not many, I can assure you, and that means if you DO do it right, you're in a better position than the next candidate.
You're here on the internet looking at this page - you're sitting in front of best possible tool for research. The web-research you do will not only make you look smart in front of the hiring manager, but it will also give you an insight into the company.
How will this help? It will enable you to ask questions. I can't emphasise enough the importance of asking questions BACK in an interview. Think about it - if you sit there silent, nodding and smiling, answering question robotically, then you're hardly going to come across as dynamic, willing, keen and able are you?
Most of the information you'll need will be on the companies website. Check it out, browse the site, get to know WHAT they do, WHERE they do it, HOW they sell/operate, and absorb their mission statement (if they have one).
What countries do they operate in? What percentage of employees move about in the company? What areas do they cover? Do they have plans to expand? Do they have cost-savings plans in place?
Ask the manager how long he or she has been at the company, and smile and nod appreciatively, whatever the answer!
"Two months". Your reply: "Wow, that's great, so you're looking to re-inforce your team, or fill a particular gap, what specific skills do you see as most important that I would need to bring?". And as you've (hopefully) read the job spec fifteen times, you will have examples of the areas they're looking to pinpoint already and will have some clever answers!
"Eleven years". Your reply: "Wow, that's great, so clearly this is a good company to work for!".
Along with looking at the company website, check out their financial information, you can do this for approximately £2 on companies house if they are a Limited company - http://www.companieshouse.org.uk/
And lastly, your friend the search engines, Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Search on the company, search on the hiring managers name. The latter can provide brilliant help in an interview, if you see him or her holding a dog on their facebook page, or complaining about the lack of snow in Italy in Twitter. Dropping the fact that you love dogs into a conversation or that you recently came back from skiing in Bansko, can do wonders in building a relationship between you.
DON'T however reveal that you've been hunting them down on the internet, you're dropping clues so that THEY make a connection, not so that they think you've been rummaging through their bins at night.
What can I say about the humble CV or Resume, that I have not repeated a million times. How often this is the single biggest factor in the failure to get a job.
Your CV or Resume is THE most important factor in your job hunting. Your CV is your weapon. It needs to SELL you for everything you are, everything you've done, and everything you CAN BE.
Your CV needs to read like a really good book, albeit a very short one. It needs a defined beginning, readable content, and a succinct ending. You need to create a CV that grabs the attention of the hiring manager, above all the rest. This doesn't mean using garish colours or bizarre configurations of information.
Putting a photo on your CV is something that sometimes works well on the continent (especially eastern Europe), but is looked upon as being very old fashioned in the UK. Not only that, but they may decide not to invite you for interview on the basis you don't look like Lisa Snowdon, or Brad Pitt. Leave it off.
Fancy fonts do NOT make your CV more attractive. Fancy curly fonts, or script deriven fonts give a CV or Resume an amateur appearance. Stick to the main fonts, Times new Roman, Arial, Tahoma, Courier new even.
You DON'T have to stick to two pages for your CV. Sometimes it just isn't possible to get everything you need on two pages. However, you shouldn't make it more than three. Four is a push too far.
There are exceptions to this, but they are normally restricted to NHS and public sector jobs.
Everyone can have a CV that looks good. Don't kid yourself into thinking "I've been a builder for twenty years, what skills do I have that are applicable to me applying for an office job?". Be creative about yourself (I don't mean lie), analyse your skills down to a minute level, pluck out things you've done and display them well on your CV or Resume.
If you're not sure about your CV, seek independent advice. I have literally heard of horror stories of recruitment consultants, who have torn up a CV in front of the applicants face. Whereas (thankfully) this was an isolated incident - the fact is that if the Recruitment consutant doesn't like your CV very much he or she is less likely to put it forward to the employer. Why would they if they have several other better-looking better formatted CV's on their desk?
You can use the advice of recruitment consultants about your CV, but more often than not they do not have the expertise to give you the honest advice and assistance you need. They may be fantastic at find you work but they will not be experts in drafting your CV or resume.
I have created many CVs and Resume for people in the past, but other than close family, I'm now unfortunately too busy to do any more. There are two companies I reccommend to people now, that I know do excellent jobs in crafting very good CVs indeed.
4VVE CV Writers
The first CV Writing company I would reccommend is 4VVE - this company are personal and friendly, and cover all sectors of jobs. They have specialists in different areas writing CVs, and their cv services are very affordable. Forget £200+ CV services, the last time I looked a Premier CV Writing Service (which is comprehensive) is around £60. They can be found here http://www.4vve.com.
UKCV CV Services
An outfit I have had heard positive things about are UKCV, a CV Writing company specialising in people looking to work in the UK (or USA). They will produce a professional CV for anyone however, not just foreign nationals (as their website says). They can be found here http://www.ukcv.co.
CV Writers - Bespoke CV's
Another company I have had good reports on is CV Writers - from the results I have been shown they offer superb value for money and really write a professional bespoke CV. They can be found here http://www.cvwriters.co.
On a final note I am going to reccommend a recruitment company in London that I have had dealing with the last couple of years. TDA Recruitment, based in the City, have proved to be very reliable, and I've built a great partnership with them over time. Website is here http://www.tda-group.com/ .
Email: bill@careerhelp.co