We have put together a few bits of advice and resources below to help you through your recruitment journey.
1. Sell yourself early
Your opening paragraph should be tailored specifically for the role that you have applied for. When faced with hundreds of CVs, recruiters / hiring managers can often miss important information about candidates if it is hidden away in the latter pages . Assume their decision will be made no later than the footnotes of page 1. Make their decision an easy one by grouping all pertinent skills and experiences on this first page.
2. Make it clear
Less is absolutely more here. Pick out the main 4-5 requirements in the job advert (and ideally role specification) and draw out personal examples that are demonstrating these traits / experiences. It is also safest to assume that the person vetting the CV’s will not understand acronyms or sector jargon.
3. No more than 2 sides
This isn’t a hard set rule…but really emphasises the point about only providing relevant information specific to the role – If you are applying for a Finance Director position for instance there is absolutely no need to refer back to your part time role whilst a student– this perhaps seems quite obvious however it is a common failure seen across applications.
4. Doing something different / being mainstream…
Check this link out: http://www.rleonardi.com/interactive-resume/
We absolutely love this take on a CV! However be warned… Ensure you
know your interviewer / market. Whilst very cool this could go down like
a lead balloon if inappropriately pitched.
As a minimum:
Going the extra mile:
Be prepared – like any good scout worth their weight in hand-sewn badges of achievement.
There is no real magic formula for competency based interviews. There are however a few common reasons for a below par performance. Both of which can be mitigated if not completely eradicated.
Our advice therefore is to be prepared and focus on you!
When you think more closely about your proudest moments in work, often you will have demonstrated a wide range of competencies. Therefore pick your best 5-10 moments, write them in a list and read them before you go in to interview so they are fresh in your mind.
Structuring your answers will also help:
We like to refer to the simple story telling method – the real key is to always refer to the actions and the influence that YOU had as an individual in any of the examples you use.
Remember to provide a Beginning, Middle and End!
Congratulations! If you are reading this you must have secured a job offer (or are pretty confident about doing so and are planning ahead!)
Notifying your current employer of your decision to move on is often a lot scarier in your mind than it is in reality. There are a few things that you should consider prior to starting the formal resignation proceedings.
Keep your cards close to your chest.
Do not consider telling anyone until you have a contract in hand – we recommend all of our candidates hold fire until this moment – do not be pressured into pressing the button before this event. There are no certainties in any recruitment process however if you have a contract it clearly demonstrates the company’s commitment to hire and the document also contains the finer detail of your wider benefits package.
Let your manager know first.
When you have 100% decided that you are going to leave ensure that your line manager is the first person you inform (even before your close friends and trusted colleagues).We believe it is important to leave on the best terms possible. There is nothing worse as a manager finding out through the office grapevine that a member of staff from your team is leaving.
It is a very small world.
How overused is this saying?! Your odds of bumping in to past colleagues are shortened even more greatly if you remain in the same niche sector. Always leave on the best terms possible and avoid releasing the years of pent up anger / disappointment in an unprofessional way (most good companies have a leavers process where there is a closing interview – this is the best time to suggest improvements to help them stop others from leaving the firm).
Notice Period.
Your future employer (and recruitment agent!) will likely want you to start your new job ASAP. Most good employers will however completely understand if you have to work your full contractual notice period – do not feel pressured into leaving early and marring your experience and brand that you will have created over the last number of years. (Refer to point 3 again)
Letter of Resignation
You do not need to go war and peace on this document. There are only a few necessary bits of information required:
we have a basic letter of resignation template below to help you.
We hope this helps you and we would be more than happy to answer any questions that you might have that are not covered in the information above.