Professional Documents
Culture Documents
What Information Will You Need?: Personal Details
What Information Will You Need?: Personal Details
Personal Details
Your full name, address, home telephone number and mobile phone
number. You don't need to include date of birth or marital status. You
may want to include nationality if you are applying for jobs abroad or if
you are a British/EU national and your name does not sound like other
names in the country you are applying to work in. Do you have a full
driving licence? Is it clean?
Education / Qualifications
List your qualifications and education history, for example:
If you have a degree you probably will not need to list all your O
Levels/GCSEs; just listing the number is probably sufficient.
Professional Qualifications
List your professional qualifications, membership of professional
associations and professional ID numbers.
If you recently completed a college or university degree or HND or
Diploma, etc, then you may want to list the courses you studied if the
subject you studied was relevant to your target job.
Training Courses
List any work related training courses which you attended, including
company courses and any you attended on your own initiative. If you
obtained a qualification on any course please list it. You only need to
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
list the important courses you attended; no one really cares if you went
on a time management course as everyone gets sent on these courses!
Work Experience
If you have been working for a number of years you probably do not
need to include any part-time jobs, vacation jobs, voluntary work or
unpaid work experience. Charity work could be included in your
interests. However you might want to include these jobs if they covered
a period of unemployment, or a time when you were not working for
any other reason, or you feel that some of the experience you gained
will be useful in your next job. You should normally concentrate on your
two most recent jobs (unless you were only there for a short time),
because employers are usually most interested in these.
Start with your most recent or last job and work backwards. For each
position (treat internal promotion as a new job and record the dates
separately) list your job title (e.g. Manager, Supervisor, etc), the job title
of the person you reported to (e.g. Director, Manager, etc) and when
you started and finished in each job. Give the name of the company and
include a brief description of the service they provide (using the terms
they would use to describe themselves). Set out your main
responsibilities, achievements, duties, and skills that could be
transferred to another employer. Be specific and positive about your
skills, e.g. 'good written skills' may be a better description of your
abilities rather than 'good communication skills'.
Include your level of responsibility if any, e.g. 'responsibility for
departmental budget of £100K and managed 10 staff'. In particular list
any achievements you had in each position, including increases in
sales/productivity and cost savings made. Quantify your achievements
if possible. 'Increased sales by £100K' is more interesting and positive
than just saying 'Increased sales'. You should try to include some
achievements such as meeting deadlines, budgets, etc, and any
information that may be relevant to your next job.
Major Achievements
When you are listing your achievements in this section, only list 3 to 6
of your most important work achievements; your other achievements
can be described under the work experience section. You should only
list achievements which are relevant to your next job and indicate how
you achieved them.
This section is very important as an employer will only invite you for an
interview if they can see a benefit in doing so. Your achievements may
sell you to an employer and make them choose you for an interview
rather than someone else. For this reason it is vital that you think
carefully about your achievements.
Other Experience
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
List any computer skills you have, including the make and type of
equipment you are familiar with, the software and operating system
used, e.g. IBM compatible PC, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Office
97.
If you have foreign language skills which may be relevant for any jobs
which you are applying for, please list them and indicate whether your
skills are spoken, written, business or technical. Please also indicate
your level of fluency: fluent, good working knowledge, etc. You should
only list these skills if they are relevant to the jobs you are applying for
as no one really wants to hear about a French language course you did
at school a long time ago.
If relevant to your next job please include your typing or shorthand
speeds.
Interests / Hobbies
List your interests, hobbies and any sports you play. List any positions
of responsibility you hold or have held in any club or organisation, and
say what your responsibilities and achievements were.
References
You do not normally need to list referees on a CV, but it is a good idea
to think about whom you could ask now. For some professions however
it is normal to list referees; these include the teaching and health
service (NHS) professions - your referees in these professions are often
asked to provide you with a reference before you are even asked to an
interview.
Summary
List your major skills, strengths, personal qualities and achievements.
Be specific, e.g. good team player, excellent written skills, versatile,
able to motivate others, etc. Look at your staff appraisals or at your
references.
General CV tips
1. These days you can write your CV in the first person (i.e. I have)
or the third person (i.e. he/she has). However, you do not need to
use 'I', 'he' or 'she' in a CV because its use is implied.
2. Do mention things you are good at, but do not go over the top.
You can oversell yourself.
3. Don't mention things that you are bad at or say negative things
about yourself in your CV.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
4. Make sure that the CV you write conjures up the right image of
you and your skills, capabilities and achievements. If you do not
match the picture you have painted with your CV at the interview,
then your application will not be taken further.
5. Be careful when you use abbreviations - they can be
misunderstood.
6. If you are not happy with your CV or you only seem to get
rejection letters then please get a professional CV writing service
to write it for you. Yes, you will have to pay for it. But, it could
save you a lot of time, lead to you getting less rejection letters
and hopefully you should get an interview that much quicker.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Performance CV
In a Performance CV your employment history is shown in reverse
chronological order, with your most recent job first. Job titles and
company names are strongly emphasised and duties and achievements
are described under each job title. You should use a Performance CV
when you are seeking a job which is directly in line with your past
experiences or your last employer was a household name. The only
difference between a Chronological CV and a Performance CV is that
the Performance CV highlights a list of your major achievements near
the start of your CV.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Functional CV
This type of CV highlights the main functions/achievements of your
whole career and it can therefore be very useful if you have had a
varied career or you are seeking a change of career direction. In this
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
format, job titles and company names are given less dominance or even
omitted in some cases.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Targeted CV
This type of CV emphasises your abilities and achievements which are
directly relevant to a specific job target. It is best used when you are
planning a change of career direction.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Alternative CV
This sort of CV is suitable for creative careers in, for example, writing,
public relations and fashion designers. It is not suitable for senior
managers/executives who would be better advised to use the
Performance CV.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Length of CV
It is usually best to try and keep your CV to two pages of A4, unless
someone specifically asks you for a longer CV. If you cannot keep your
CV to this length then you probably have not understood an employer's
requirements. Employers do not want to know your whole life history -
just enough to decide whether they should interview you or not.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
employer why they should employ you then it has failed. An employer
will only want to employ you if they can see a benefit in it for
themselves. So do tell them the benefits of employing you.
Example performance CV
Christopher Jones
24 Mansfield Drive, Chedlee,
Manchester, M23 4DJ.
Tel: (0161) 234 1234
Chrisj@gepofoods.com
PROFILE:
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS:
1989 -
GEPO FOODS LIMITED
date
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Page 2 of 2
1985 -
SURRET FOOD PRODUCTS LIMITED
1989
QUALIFICATIONS / EDUCATION:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
INTERESTS / HOBBIES:
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Profile/Summary
This should be a short summary of your experience, skills and abilities,
and be contained in four to six lines of text. Only list the attributes that
will be of interest to your next employer; do not include irrelevancies.
Achievements
List 3 to 6 achievements which you feel will be in line with your next
position. Do not list achievements which are not in line with what you
want to do next. Bullet point your achievements to make them stand
out. Start with the strongest point in your favour and then work
backwards from there.
Experience
This should be in reverse chronological order starting with your most
recent job and working backwards. You only need to include the year
you started and the year you finished each job. You do not need to
include the month or day, e.g. put 1993 - 1995 rather than 1.8.1993 -
4.6.1995. If you have had a lot of jobs you may need to group some of
the earlier jobs together, e.g. '1975 - 1980 various engineering
positions'.
If your job title does not reflect what you actually did, or it sounds a bit
obscure, consider changing it. For example, if you are applying for a
position as a Sales Representative and you are currently a Sales
Representative but your job title (given to you by your company) is
Customer Home Representative, you would be well advised to change
your title to that of Sales Representative.
When you are describing your experience for each position you should
start with the strongest point in your favour and then work backwards.
If you have a lot of points to put under one specific job you may want to
break this description into two or more sections. You could break up this
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Training
Only include the most important training courses on your CV. You may
not want to bother with a section on training or you may combine it
with Education/Qualifications depending on how much space you have
on your CV.
Education/Qualifications
Only list the most important qualifications. If you are a graduate you do
not really need to list your 'O' Levels/GCSEs, just indicate the number of
'O' levels gained. You may want to put this section before the Training
Section. Unless you have just completed a degree or MBA, this section
should go after work experience. In the case of recently completed
education, if your work experience is more likely to be of interest to an
employer, you should still put work experience first. You could perhaps
mention your recent qualifications in your profile or in your cover letter.
Additional Information
Include any additional information, such as whether you have a driving
licence - if you have a clean driving licence, say so. Date of birth,
marital status and nationality can usually be left off your CV.
Interests
Keep this part fairly short, but make sure you list any current positions
of responsibility. If you do not currently have any management
responsibility and you are applying for a management position you may
want to include positions of responsibility that you have held over the
last few years, e.g. Play football for a local team - Captain, 1993 - 1996.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Functional CV example
Christine Jones
24 Mansfield Drive, Chedlee,
Manchester, M23 4DJ.
Tel: (0161) 234 1234
Chrisj@jackson-eng.com
PROFILE:
REWARD MANAGEMENT:
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Page 2 of 2
EMPLOYEE SERVICES:
EXPERIENCE:
1989 - JACKSON ENGINEERING
date
1995 -
Personnel Officer
date
1989 -
Personal Assistant to the Director
1995
1983 -
ATLAS FOODS LTD
1989
1987 -
Secretary to Manager
1989
1983 -
Typist
1987
TRAINING:
Presentation Skills, Negotiation Skills, Team Leadership,
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
QUALIFICATIONS:
IPM Certificate in Personnel Practice.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Driving Licence: Full, clean.
INTERESTS:
Keeping fit - tennis, squash, gym. Amateur dramatics - usually
take part in at least one production per year (work
permitting!).
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Training
Only include the most important training courses on your CV. You may
not want to bother with a section on training or you may combine it
with Education/Qualifications depending on how much space you have
on your CV.
Education/Qualifications
Only list the most important qualifications. If you are a graduate you do
not really need to list your 'O' Levels/GCSEs, just indicate the number of
'O' levels gained. You may want to put this section before the Training
Section. Unless you have just completed a degree or MBA, this section
should go after work experience. In the case of recently completed
education, if your work experience is more likely to be of interest to an
employer, you should still put work experience first. You could perhaps
mention your recent qualifications in your profile or in your cover letter.
Additional Information
Include any additional information, such as whether you have a driving
licence - if you have a clean driving licence, say so. Date of birth,
marital status and nationality can usually be left off your CV.
Interests
Keep this part fairly short, but make sure you list any current positions
of responsibility. If you do not currently have any management
responsibility and you are applying for a management position you may
want to include positions of responsibility that you have held over the
last few years, e.g. Play football for a local team - Captain, 1993 - 1996.
Example targeted CV
Christopher Jones
24 Mansfield Drive, Chedlee,
Manchester, M23 4DJ.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
PROFILE:
ABILITIES:
ACHIEVEMENTS:
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
EXPERIENCE:
1989 - date GEPO FOODS LIMITED
1989 - date Senior Quality Assurance Technician
QUALIFICATIONS:
BSc (Hons) 2.2 in Chemistry at the University of Warwick
(1985).
Education/Qualifications/Training
Only list the most important qualifications. If you are a graduate you do
not really need to list your 'O' Levels/GCSEs, just indicate the number of
'O' levels gained. Unless you have just completed a degree or MBA, this
section should go after work experience. In the case of recently
completed education, if your work experience is more likely to be of
interest to an employer, you should still put work experience first. You
could perhaps mention your recent qualifications in your profile or in
your cover letter.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Cover Letters
Every time that you send out your CV you will need to send out a cover
letter with it, whether you are sending your CV in response to an advert
or direct to an employer or recruiter. This cover letter needs to tell the
person you are sending it to why they should read your CV.
A cover letter needs to say a lot more than just: 'Here is my CV!', which
is all some people seem to think a cover letter should say. It needs to
tell the person why you are writing to them and outline why you are the
ideal candidate for the job. You need to pick out the highlights from
your CV that are relevant to this specific application.
To attain your goal of finding a new position you will have to constantly
motivate yourself and set yourself daily and weekly goals. It is not
sufficient just to set goals, you must also achieve them. First thing each
week you should set yourself a series of goals for the week and at the
end of the week you should check that you have achieved them. When
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
setting yourself goals try to be realistic and set goals which are
achievable, otherwise you will become de-motivated and lose interest in
your job searching campaign. Once you have set yourself goals you will
have to work hard to achieve them.
If you have been made redundant or are unemployed it can be hard to
motivate yourself. Try and stick to your normal daily working routine; if
you rise early continue to do so - do not stay moping in bed all day or
be tempted to have a lie in. You should work at least 7 hours per day
five days a week. Any less and you are just deluding yourself that you
are working hard enough. As well as working hard it is important to
relax in the evenings and weekends, otherwise you will burn out.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Check list
Once you have prepared your CV you are ready to start looking for a
new job in earnest. But how are you going to find that new job you
want? There are essentially four ways to find a job these days:
advertised vacancies, recruitment agencies/head-hunters, speculative
applications, and networking (using your own personal contacts/making
new contacts).
You should devote time to all of these various methods. How much time
you devote to each method is very much a matter of personal choice.
To start with you might spend some time contacting the various
recruitment agencies. Once you have contacted them they will normally
contact you if anything suitable comes up. Replying to advertisements
is a weekly task which definitely merits some time spent on it.
Networking should definitely pay dividends (especially if you are at a
senior level). If one method seems to work better for you in terms of
obtaining interviews then you should devote more time to it.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
papers. There are also regional and national papers devoted solely to
jobs. Consult your local newsagent to find out which papers are
available in your area. If you are planning to move to a new area you
may want to get the local/regional papers from that area as well.
Jobs are also advertised in journals/trade magazines for your
profession/industry and you should subscribe to these publications if
possible. Subscription is often free if you are already in the
profession/industry. As well as carrying job vacancies, there will also be
news on which companies are expanding and those which have won
new contracts - you may want to approach these companies (see the
section on speculative applications and networking below).
Other places where you will find job vacancies advertised include your
local job centre, teletext and radio 'job spots'. Job Centres may well not
have any advertisements for the sort of job you are looking for, but it
costs nothing to look!
Advertised vacancies, especially those in the national papers, often
attract 100s of applicants so do not spend all of your time applying for
advertised jobs, unless of course you are one of those lucky people who
land an interview every time they make an application. When you reply
to an advertisement please ensure that you meet most of the
employer's criteria, otherwise you will be wasting your time. The
employer will have decided on the factors they feel are essential for the
job before advertising the vacancy. If you do not match these factors
fairly closely your CV will end up in the bin.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Make sure you use paper which matches your CV when you write your
cover letter. A matching A4 envelope adds that finishing touch which
distinguishes you from everyone else who will use either plain white or
brown business envelopes. It is important that you always use an A4
envelope for sending your CV and cover letter, as folding these
documents will create a poor impression - you want them to arrive in
good condition and not all crumpled. A laser printed label looks much
more professional than a hand-written envelope, so, if you have access
to a PC and laser printer, invest in some laser labels.
When you reply to an advertisement you should make sure that you
include everything which has been mentioned. For example, if two
references are required, you should supply two references. Do not
include the following (unless specifically asked for): salary details,
current photo and references.
Salary information can only ever be used at this stage to reject your
application, i.e. if you earn too much (or too little!). If the advertisement
specifically asks for your salary history you should therefore note that
this may be used to weed out your application. If you do earn more
than is being offered in the advertisement you might want to leave out
your salary details or leave out your fringe benefits. However, if you do
leave out your salary, your application may be rejected on the grounds
that you failed to supply all the information required.
Always make sure you start and end your letters correctly. If you are
writing to Mrs Jane Smith then you should start the letter 'Dear Mrs
Smith' and finish it with 'Yours sincerely' - N.B. 'sincerely' does not start
with a capital 'S'.
Particular care is required when you are writing to a woman. If she has
just written her name as Jane Smith do you start the letter 'Dear Jane'
or 'Dear Ms Smith'. She might be offended if you refer to her as 'Ms' and
you might not feel comfortable writing 'Dear Jane' as it sounds too
familiar. To get round this problem all you have to do is ring the
company and ask them how she likes to be addressed. If there is not a
telephone number for the company in the advertisement just call
Directory Enquires (dial 192 in the UK). When you ring the company all
you have to say is that you are writing to Jane Smith and you would like
to know whether she is a Ms, Mrs or Miss so your letter can be correctly
addressed.
If the advertisement just says reply to J. Smith how would you address
the letter? Dear Sir? or Dear Madam? Dear Mr Smith? You would be well
advised to ring the company and find out J. Smith's full name and title
(Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss). Remember politeness costs you nothing, but it can
really pay dividends and you will probably be the only person who has
bothered to find out. This may distinguish you from everyone else who
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Example Advert
24 Mansfield Drive,
Cheadlee,
Manchester M23 4DJ.
Tel: (0161) 234 1234
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Example Letter
As you will see from my CV, I am currently working for Gepo Foods
as the Senior Quality Assurance Technician. In my present position
I am responsible for managing all quality assurance in Gepo Foods'
Manchester factory. I have worked closely with the Production
Department and have been able to identify problems before they
affected production deadlines.
Yours sincerely,
Christopher Jones
Christopher Jones.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
You should not rely solely on them finding you a job, and should also try
other approaches as well. If possible, get a recommendation from a
friend or colleague on some good agencies in your field. You should sign
up with several agencies, preferably those which specialise in your
field/industry. Do not just pick the large agencies; register with some
smaller agencies as well, which are located in your geographical area.
Employment agencies can be found using our Recruitment Agency
Finder UK. You may also want to look in the Yellow Pages and the
Thomson Local Directory. A list of employment agencies also appears in
the Executive Grapevine (which can normally be found in the reference
section of a public library). Alternatively you may find agencies
advertising the sort of vacancies you want to apply for, either in
newspapers, or in trade journals/newspapers.
You should contact the agency before sending them your CV because
unsolicited CVs may be filed in the bin! It is definitely to your advantage
to go and talk to each agency - the best agencies should invite you to
come and meet them. If they specialise in your field or industry they
should be able to give you some valuable inside information on the
state of the job market. They may also be able to suggest other
avenues for your talents that you have not thought of and will be able
to tell you what sort of positions they would consider you for and the
likely salary range (you may be worth more than you thought!). Whilst
you are there you should ask them to give you some feedback on your
CV.
They should ask for your permission before sending your CV to a
company. If another agency wants to put you forward for the same job
you should inform them that you have already been put forward - if a
company receives your CV twice they will not like the prospect of
having to pay both agencies. If you see the agency advertising a job in
the press which you are interested in - ring them up and make sure that
they send your CV off.
Speculative Applications
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
24 Mansfield Drive,
Cheadlee,
Manchester M23 4DJ.
Tel: (0161) 234 1234
As you will see from my CV, I am currently working for Gepo Foods
as the Senior Quality Assurance Technician. In my present position
I am responsible for managing all quality assurance in Gepo
Foods' Manchester factory. I have worked closely with the
Production Department and have been able to identify problems
before they affected production deadlines.
Yours sincerely,
Christopher Jones
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Christopher Jones.
To start your network you will need to list everyone you know including
business colleagues, personal friends, casual acquaintances and people
you meet in your every day life. When listing business colleagues you
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
should include everyone you have known at your present and previous
employers. You should also include people you have had dealings with
in other companies. This may include customers, suppliers,
competitors, accountants, solicitors and anyone else you have dealt
with. Do list literally everyone you know.
Record Keeping
When you are networking you will need to keep meticulous records of
both people and companies. You will also need a diary to put your
appointments in and you should keep an up to date 'to do' list. After
each telephone call/meeting you should update your records with any
information you have gleaned. You should use a sheet of A4 paper per
record, i.e. one per person and one per company. Store your records
alphabetically - otherwise you will never be able to find anything.
For each person you will need to know their full name, home address
and telephone number (if you know them very well), the name of the
company they work for, business address and telephone number (if you
do not know them very well), the name of the person who referred you
to them (if you do not know this person directly), the names of people
this contact has referred you to and the companies they work for, how
does this person know the referee (e.g. they may be a supplier, friend,
etc). You should also keep a record of each telephone
conversation/meeting with this person, including date/time of meeting,
what was discussed and any actions arising from the meeting.
For each company you are interested in (or may be potentially
interested in) you will need to know the company's full name, its
address and telephone number, the names of any contacts you have in
the company, any other information you have on the company,
including press cuttings, annual reports, company brochures and any
information you have gleaned from your contacts.
Your main aim when you make initial contact with someone is to secure
a face-to-face meeting with him or her. If you already know someone
you can just pick up the phone and ring him/her for a 'chat'. If you do
not know the person directly (i.e. someone referred you to them) you
might prefer to write to them first and then call them a few days later.
Always mention the name of the person who referred you, as people will
then take more notice of your letter/call, e.g. start your call with "Good
morning my name is Christopher Jones. I am calling you because Dave
Baker of Perry Engineering said I should contact you".
If you know the person well, you might arrange to go round to their
house in an evening or at the weekend for a coffee, or you could go out
for a drink with them. You really need to talk to the person whilst you
have them on their own. If you have not seen them for a while or you
lost contact with them, they may or may not be glad to speak to you - in
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
24 Mansfield Drive,
Cheadlee,
Manchester M23 4DJ.
Tel: (0161) 234 1234
Dear Mr Brown,
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
I am not expecting you to have a job for me, but I would welcome
your advice on my next career move. I will be contacting you in
the near future to discuss this matter further.
Yours sincerely,
Christopher Jones
Christopher Jones.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
1. If you know the person you should ask them how their job is
going. You should always show interest in the person you are
talking to - do not appear to be totally self obsessed.
2. Is their company/department doing well? (There may be a job
opening for you here!)
3. If their company is not doing well can you solve any of their
problems? (There may be a job for you with the company if you
can help.)
4. Is their market contracting, expanding or stagnant?
5. Any new emerging markets?
6. Is their company expecting to win a large order? (They may need
to take on new people to fulfil this order.)
7. How well are their competitors doing?
8. Do they know of other people within their company or in another
company who might be able to help with your job hunting?
Your main aim when you make initial contact with someone is to secure
a face-to-face meeting with him or her. If you already know someone
you can just pick up the phone and ring him/her for a 'chat'. If you do
not know the person directly (i.e. someone referred you to them) you
might prefer to write to them first and then call them a few days later.
Always mention the name of the person who referred you, as people will
then take more notice of your letter/call, e.g. start your call with "Good
morning my name is Christopher Jones. I am calling you because Dave
Baker of Perry Engineering said I should contact you".
If you know the person well, you might arrange to go round to their
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
24 Mansfield Drive,
Cheadlee,
Manchester M23 4DJ.
Tel: (0161) 234 1234
Dear Mr Brown,
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
I am not expecting you to have a job for me, but I would welcome
your advice on my next career move. I will be contacting you in
the near future to discuss this matter further.
Yours sincerely,
Christopher Jones
Christopher Jones.
People are generally freshest during the morning, so try and make your
calls at this time, but if possible avoid calling business people on a
Monday morning or a Friday afternoon. If you cannot get past the
receptionist/secretary who is 'guarding' their boss, try calling early in
the morning (before 9am) or late in the afternoon (after 5.30pm), when
the receptionist/secretary is not likely to be there.
Calling people at home can be more problematical. If you know
someone has young children, try calling him or her at about 9pm, when
they are likely to be more relaxed after having put the children to bed.
If you are going to call someone after sending them a letter you should
try and ensure the letter arrives on a Monday or Tuesday, then you will
be able to call them later in the same week - whilst they still remember
your letter.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
Once you have found yourself a job it is important not to just lose
contact with the network which you have spent so much time building.
This network can still be very useful to you in your new position, giving
you vital market intelligence. Just little things like a Christmas or
birthday card or a hello call on the telephone every six months, is
enough to keep in contact.
You should also remember how much the people in your network have
helped you. If these people come to you for help, try and use your
network to help them solve their problem. If you help someone they will
be more willing to help you in the future.
When you are looking for a job you should try and build up as much
information about possible future employers as possible. Your local
library is a good source of information on possible employers. There are
often local and national trade directories kept in the reference section
and the library usually has copies of the Yellow Pages, The Thomson
Directory and the Phone Book for your area and other areas.
All companies who have a business line automatically get a free one-
line entry in Yellow Pages. You may need to look in the classification
index at the back of the Yellow Pages as there is often a choice of
classification and the free entry will only go in one classification.
If you cannot find out an address/telephone number for a company try
calling Directory Enquiries (dial 192 in the UK). When you are sending a
letter to a company make sure it has the full and correct postal address
on it including the postcode. In the UK call the Royal Mail on (08457)
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
111222 to find out the full address and postcode (calls to 08457
numbers are charged at local rates).
You should also keep an eye on local, regional, national and trade
papers to see which companies are expanding/winning new orders in
the area(s) you are interested in working in. These papers will also have
details of who is leaving/joining a company. If someone is leaving a
company then there may well be a vacancy which you could fill. If
somebody is joining a company they may want to build their own team
and clear any dead wood from the team, replacing it with new blood -
you could be the new blood! Whether you are networking or making
speculative applications you should be approaching companies where
people are coming and going.
It is very important to keep a separate file of information on each
company. Each time a new piece of information comes to light the file
should be updated. You should keep press cuttings, PR material that the
company distributes, a copy of their annual report and an up to date list
of key company figures.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
important interview. If you do need help do not be afraid to pay for it,
as this will save you time in the long run.
Being made redundant can be very demotivating and can lead you to
blaming your former employer. Perhaps it may help to talk your feelings
over with your partner or a close friend/relative or colleague or a
counsellor (if your firm has paid for one). You must try to lose these
negative emotions as quickly as possible so that you can concentrate
on the job at hand - finding yourself a new and rewarding position.
To beat the redundancy blues you must keep active and not give in to
depression. If you enjoy sport/keeping fit then make sure you keep
active during your job searching activities. Sport is excellent for
relieving the stress of everyday life. If you are not a great fan of sport a
30-minute brisk walk will do just as well. You should also keep up your
normal social activities - do not retreat into a hole to die! The people
who succeed in life are those who do not let adversity get the better of
them. Your friends will be able to help you through what may be a
difficult time for you - so do not shut them out, as they will be able to
give you support and encouragement.
Your Finances
If you have been made redundant then you will probably be entitled to
a certain amount of redundancy pay from your former employer; this
will depend on how long you have worked for them. Your company
should sort out your redundancy pay and any other monies they owe
you in terms of your notice period, which is typically one month's pay,
but may be more in your case - so check your contract of employment.
Please remember to sign on at your local unemployment benefit office.
The address can be found in The Phone Book in the Business & Services
section under Employment Service. You are entitled to this benefit as
long as you have paid the required level of National Insurance
contributions, so do remember to register. You will also receive National
Insurance credits whilst you are unemployed if you have signed on.
Redundancy can often stretch your finances, particularly if you are the
sort of person who spends every penny they earn each month. This
may be a time when you have to budget more carefully than usual. You
may want to calculate your monthly outgoings and then work out where
you can make savings. Large bills which come through the letter box
may be offset by paying them by instalment on direct debit.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
The following ideas can be used either as part of your networking (if
you are adopting this approach) or just as part of your normal job
searching activities:
If your CV doesn't seem to have the impact you wanted and you're not
getting many interviews then you should consider the following: Are
you aiming for jobs that you aren't qualified for? Does your CV meet the
requirements of an advertisement? Are you older/younger than the
stated / implied age range on the advertisement? [Job adverts in
countries with age discrimination legislation shouldn't include age
ranges, but this doesn't mean that employers / recruiters won't
discriminate against you, even if this is illegal.] If you can see no reason
why you have been rejected then you should look again carefully at
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED
CV WRITING SKILLS
your CV as this must be the culprit. It might be a good idea at this point
to seek advice from a professional CV writer on why your CV isn't
having much impact
If your CV is getting you interviews but you're just not getting the job
offers you desire then you need to look carefully at your interview
performance. You should try and get as much feedback as possible
from the people who have interviewed you. If you have been
unsuccessful in obtaining a job ring up the interviewer and ask them
where they think you fell down and how they think you could do better.
Once you have got feedback you can modify your interview technique
and hopefully do better at the next interview.
By MOINUDDIN F. SYED