Good Advices Part Two – Nailing CVs and applications

Welcome to part two of our series on job hunting, job applying, job interviewing and (hopefully) job getting.

Everyone’s got an opinion on what makes a killer job application or CV. These range from the eminently sensible (you have six seconds to make an impact so make every word count) to the frankly bizarre (the man who stapled his CVs in the top right hand corner, because by going against the norm recruiters would remember him – they did, and not in a good way).

We thought this was a good time to see what’s being talked about in job application world, and offer a few wise(?) words of our own.

First up, here’s a few stories buzzing around which caught our attention;

‘Selfie generation’ intimidated by writing a CV – yay for pigeonholing! *sigh*. Cheesy clickbait headline aside this piece of research (as reported by the folks at Ri5) has some bizarre findings and good tips. 76% wouldn’t include computing skills on a CV?? Ditto 48% for problem solving and 42% for organisational skills?? It’s a strange world out there. You, of course know better – am I right? Read on regardless, you might surprise y’self.

How to make a video CV – not for every candidate (or every industry), but for creative industries such as Advertising, Marketing and PR? Could be the ticket to make you stand out in a *very* crowded marketplace. Wise words and samples from the Future Rising crew via the link above.

Firm ‘hides’ university when recruits apply – the firm being big hitters Deloitte who changed their selection process so recruiters do not know where candidates went to school or university. It hopes to prevent “unconscious bias” and tap a more diverse “talent pool” – the BBC’s quote marks, not ours btw. Interesting stuff, eh? Let’s hope it’s the start of a trend. In the meantime, all the more reason to focus on developing and selling key employability skills*…which takes us back to the first story in this post – are we slick or what? You’re welcome.

*Links to a pdf our Employability Skills Matrix. Handy stuff.

Tips and support from the Careers Service

CVs, covering letters and application forms – our suite (if you please) of pages on how to write, format and target all of the above to:

1. Make life easier for recruiters (they’ll love you for it).
2. Get ahead of all the people who send the same old same old CV to every employer (we know who they are – and so do the employers, sadly).
3. Maximise your chances of making the shortlist for interview (which is where we’ll be going for Good Advices Part Three, so stay tuned).

Also, we’re here to check over applications and CVs and give you advice on how to best sell your strengths to your prospective employer. Call us on 01273 642855 to email careers@brighton.ac.uk to discuss your requirements.

And finally…

Folks like The Job Crowd and TargetJobs InsideBuzz have no end of tips (from recent graduate recruits, no less) on making applications to specific industries and specific employers that you can check out.

Image Eileen Healy via Compfight