Job applications

[chellie]

I don't suppose it's acceptable to put down that you're only applying for the job as your current hours are being cut due to cutbacks Am trying to think of a better answer on an application and am struggling lol

 

[drew83]

"I wish to improve my working hours to better suit my family needs" ?

They don't know that those needs you speak of are a new set of shiny sticks...:thup:

 

[chellie]

"I wish to improve my working hours to better suit my family needs" ?

They don't know that those needs you speak of are a new set of shiny sticks...:thup:

LOL's. Thing is I'm only part time now. This is less hours and loads less money but it's a case of needs must at the moment.

 

[Hobbit]

As a manager who sees countless CV's I would prefer to see something about ambition. If I feel a candidate sees us a "lifeboat" to help them get away from something, rather than a chance to go to something better they might not get an interview....

"I see this as an opportunity to broaden my skills..."

 

[chellie]

As a manager who sees countless CV's I would prefer to see something about ambition. If I feel a candidate sees us a "lifeboat" to help them get away from something, rather than a chance to go to something better they might not get an interview....

"I see this as an opportunity to broaden my skills..."

Thanks

 

[Rooter]

And the role being part time allows you you to continue in your humanitarian charity work. (Aka golf)

 

[Tashyboy]

As a manager who sees countless CV's I would prefer to see something about ambition. If I feel a candidate sees us a "lifeboat" to help them get away from something, rather than a chance to go to something better they might not get an interview....

"I see this as an opportunity to broaden my skills..."

Hobbit, me man. As you may or may not know. Tashyboy is out of work in the very near future. I am not after work but have been to one or two job sessions. In essence all the lads have been told to keep CVs down to one page as the people reading CVs spend on average 10 seconds reading them. Missis Tash who read CVs when setting people on for the NHS said that's codswallop. Saying " if people spend time to write them out, the least I can do I'd read them".
Any basic advice re CVs and is 10 seconds the norm, as per Job centre advice.

 

[Hobbit]

My first read is the qualifications. If their qualifications aren't right for the job I don't read any further. I then look at the number of jobs they've had, e.g. if they've had 5 jobs in 10 years it goes in the bin - I'm not spending a fortune on training only for them to leave in 2 yrs. Then I read what jobs they've had, and is their work experience relevant.

A vacancy, typically, sees me with about 30 CV's from HR, who've done a raw sift. These will be sifted down to approx. 10 within a couple of hours. These are the ones that get a good read. The final 10 will then go under the microscope, with the aim of shortlisting it to 4, i.e. a full days interviewing.

Prior to interviewing the final 4, I'll use the t'interweb to research their previous employers/jobs/hobbies/past times. If, during the interview, it becomes apparent that their CV isn't strictly accurate... thank you and good bye. If, after a days interviewing, we can't separate the best, we'll call both back for another interview.

 

[MadAdey]

Hobbit, me man. As you may or may not know. Tashyboy is out of work in the very near future. I am not after work but have been to one or two job sessions. In essence all the lads have been told to keep CVs down to one page as the people reading CVs spend on average 10 seconds reading them. Missis Tash who read CVs when setting people on for the NHS said that's codswallop. Saying " if people spend time to write them out, the least I can do I'd read them".
Any basic advice re CVs and is 10 seconds the norm, as per Job centre advice.

No company reads every CV. Like Hobbit says they have a quick look and then it either goes on the maybe pile or the bin. I have been in the job market for the last 7 months and I have learnt very quickly that after condensing my CV I have had far more success.

This is is what I learnt. Have a good opening paragraph that's short and to the point. Think of it like a sales pitch and sell yourself in one short paragraph to get their attention. Now list your skills that you have that is relevant to the job your looking at. Now list your jobs and bullet point your responsibilities, do not write paragraph upon paragraph as it will not get read and maybe any potential employer might not see the one thing that gets you an interview.

These tactics have gotten me to final interviews for jobs that are asking for a level of higher education and experience than I have, but I got their attention with a short to the point CV that interested them enough to read into. During the interview is when your previous employment and experience will get expanded on.

BTW, it has finally worked and I am starting a dream job in 3 weeks, that I didn't expect to even get an interview for.

 

[Fyldewhite]

My first read is the qualifications. If their qualifications aren't right for the job I don't read any further. I then look at the number of jobs they've had, e.g. if they've had 5 jobs in 10 years it goes in the bin - I'm not spending a fortune on training only for them to leave in 2 yrs. Then I read what jobs they've had, and is their work experience relevant.

A vacancy, typically, sees me with about 30 CV's from HR, who've done a raw sift. These will be sifted down to approx. 10 within a couple of hours. These are the ones that get a good read. The final 10 will then go under the microscope, with the aim of shortlisting it to 4, i.e. a full days interviewing.

Prior to interviewing the final 4, I'll use the t'interweb to research their previous employers/jobs/hobbies/past times. If, during the interview, it becomes apparent that their CV isn't strictly accurate... thank you and good bye. If, after a days interviewing, we can't separate the best, we'll call both back for another interview.

I think this is a very fair synopsis of the usual process.

Regarding the "many jobs on CV" point, one of my staff many years ago said in describing another member of the team (who was, let's say, under-performing)....."I'm not sure if ****** has 10 years experience in IT or 1 years experience 10 times". Very prophetic, and one I always watch out for.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

or........I have always wanted to gain experience working in the .........field.

Best to write about your interest in the company/industry rather than........look pal I am massively overqualified and you should consider yourself bloomin lucky that I am applying for this job. [I used to see lots of those]

Good luck anyway.

 

[drewster]

Working in recruitment the CV is my sales tool. There's no rule about min/max number of pages but i always keep it to two if i can. Sometimes that means a bit of creativity with font size !!! I always makes sure the front page contains a bullet pointed profile that is bespoke for the job being applied for. Filler stuff like "works well on own initiative and as part of a team" and "possesses excellent communication skills" is very generic and appears all the time. Make sure it's relevant to the job being applied for and if you have a wide range of skills have a cv for say Sales and one for Operational Management rather than a generic one size fits all arrangement. If you've got a linkedin profile put a link to that on your cv. As has been said already , recruitng managers and consultants will always undertake some internet/market based due diligence beforehand so make sure that anything on social media doesn't demean you. A profile picture of you on faceback half naked , covered in paint, with 10 emply bottles strewn around you is more likely to lose you a job interview these days than your cv.

 

[Khamelion]

I've recently had to interview to fill a slot in my team, I got numerous CV's from HR, as Hobbit wrote, I skim the CV looking for basic errors, spelling, grammar etc. the CV is not hand written, it's more than likely been done on Word so no excuse for poor spelling or words used wrong, bare and bear, their, there and they're spring to mind. Then read the quals and previous history.

One spelling mistake is forgivable, two or more and it's just poor quality checking, they are selling themselves and if they can't be bothered to get the simple stuff right then bye bye.

To me qualifications are fine, but like exams they just show that for a period of time that person had a retentive memory, I see a lot of very qualified peoples CV's but they all lack one thing, experience. Okay it's catch 22, they don't get employed without experience, but how do they get experience if they can't get a job. To be honest not my problem, I wasn't looking for a trainee or apprentice.

Then on to experience, how long have they been in the roll or similar to which I'm looking to fill? How many times have they moved companies, moved a lot and either they don't fit in or get bored easily, great for contractors not so good if you're looking for permanent staff. I look at the reason for leaving their last job and cross check with any references.

Then based on the skills which they have listed I write the questions I want to ask them to see if they are bull******** or not.

The CV has to sell the person, it's the key to getting them through the front door, after that it's all down to personality.

As for the length of CV, I've always kept mine to one page and had a second one prepped with additional info if it's requested.