Look at me. LOOK AT ME!!

So I advertise a job in Liverpool this week & I’m inundated (and I mean inundated) & I’m up against other recruiters & I need to make decisions on CV’s that come over. Fast & accurately! So….how do I do it?

So I thought about putting this blog out there. Hoping it might be useful for candidates to know what we, employers, recruiters, decision makers look for, in the hope that it might help you tweak CV’s, add details & grab those hard to come by chances.

Read on as you might spot something really obvious that you currently don’t do or you do & shouldn’t…..

Firstly. Do a small cover email (I’m assuming all CV’s are emailed for the purpose of this blog) & reference the exact job you’re applying for. I get lots of applications with completely the wrong job on the subject of the email. I won’t reject on that basis, but I’m already underwhelmed.

SPELL CURRICULUM VITAE correctly. Nothing more to say. If its wrong….you’re likely to be rejected.

Please drop the photos. It shouldn’t get you rejected but its not needed & you just never know….you might be inadvertently judged & you don’t want that. Go traditional – no pics.

Also drop date of birth & ethnic origin. No place at all for that. Can encourage discrimination. Take off CV.

Put dates on your CV. This drives me mad! Accurate dates month & year. Don’t say you finished your last job in 2012. Was it January 2012 or December 2012? State the month. And do put start & end dates on jobs & update your CV if you’ve left your most recent role. Lots of CV’s I assume (as the CV tells me so) you’re still there & it’s just sloppy to find out you left 7 months ago. You can also miss opportunities as if it’s for a Temp role, we assume (that word again) that you won’t be eligible & will overlook you.

Keep it to 2 pages. Too many CV’s that are too long & forgive us…but we might skim…….

Try & send it in a basic word doc. PDF’s / kooky formats are fine if you’ve going for a job in design or marketing / creative industry. Otherwise – keep it traditional in a traditional format. Try & avoid doing your CV in excel. It’s a bit amateur looking & if you’re going for a Secretarial role….think about it, that might not impress.

Finally back to the cover letter. Make sure that cover letter says all it needs to say. There is no point applying for a job if, for example it needs a driver if you don’t have that skill. And if I take that one step further…it does you no good to apply for a job that you have no & I mean no – experience in. I’m after a Legal administrator, right here & now. And I’m getting CV’s from Labourers. It’s no good. You must have ballpark skills or simply – reject!

And if you’re rejected that does you no good at all – so make that application relevant as it’s only you that’ll take the big fat rejection to heart. Why put yourself through it?

I’m Roseanne Stockton. Chester SME Business Woman of 2013 & I successfully run Nu-Recruit.

I place permanent & temporary candidates of the very best quality into great local employers & jobs in Liverpool, Chester, Wirral & Manchester. In a no-fuss, no nonsense way.

And I love what I do. And I’m good at it!

Call me if you think my experience will help you get the best candidate for your job! And please feel free comment on my Blog…..