Cv for Interviews

Posts Tagged ‘Job Advertisement’

Looking for the perfect job sometimes means choosing something that is not
exactly what you were seeking because of your qualifications. Many people are
tempted to apply for positions for which they are not qualified because they happen
to meet their definition of the perfect job. The problem is you are setting yourself
up for disappointment and making yourself look foolish in front of the interviewer if
you even have an opportunity to reach that step. In most cases, lacking
qualifications will not allow you to reach the interview stage, so you are only
wasting your time and that of the person doing the screening for the position.
When you have found what you perceive to be your perfect job, make sure you
qualify before you go any farther. You dont want to set yourself up for
disappointment by applying for a position when you dont even meet the minimum
qualifications. Most companies have required qualifications and preferred
qualifications. If an advertisement says you must have a Bachelors degree, do not
apply if you only have an Associates degree because your resume will find its way
into the trash bin rather than in the hands of the hiring manager.

The key to getting the perfect job is spending as little time as possible interviewing,
and you accomplish that by only applying for positions that you can match to your
qualifications. That doesnt mean you should never attempt to make career
changes, but when you do choose something that matches to your qualifications
rather than attempting to break into a field in which you lack experience, education
and expertise. Nothing is more irritating to an interviewer than being approached
by someone who doesnt meet the minimum qualifications of the job.

Review every advertisement thoroughly before you submit your resume so that you
know whether you have a chance of obtaining that position. Dont think you will be
able to sweet talk the interviewer with claims of being a quick learner or being
willing to go to school to learn what is necessarythese are things you must
possess before you will be hired for the job. There are exceptions such as when the
advertisement says certain skills are preferred rather than required or says they
are willing to train the right person. When you fail to read minimum qualifications,
you make yourself look less than professional to the interviewer and may even
prevent yourself from consideration for future positions for which you may qualify.

Creating a resume or CV is central to the search for a job, but is something most of us hate doing. Unfortunately, very few people are adept at presenting themselves in the best possible light and this can mean their application is rejected at the first hurdle.

One of the biggest mistakes most people make is sending out the same resume for every application. It’s a big temptation – you’ve spent hours getting the details and layout just right, or perhaps you’ve paid a considerable amount of money to have someone write it professionally. The trouble is, each resume needs to be tailored to the job in question, and it’s vital that you do this if you want to stand out from the crowd.

What does tailoring a resume mean? It simply means writing it specifically for the post you are targeting. To do this you must recognise the keywords the employer will be looking for and relate them to your own experience. Keywords will be found in the job description and person specification, or in the job advertisement and on the company website. They describe the skills, qualifications and experience needed for the post. Keywords should stand out on your resume – don’t forget that in the first round of the selection process, resumes are usually only given a 20 second glance. So if the interviewer doesn’t see what he’s looking for, your resume is destined for the shredder.

Here’s an example of targeting: let’s say you are a secretary who speaks several languages and can take shorthand in all of them, but are applying for a job in an office where only English and audio are used. Languages and shorthand, impressive as they are, would not be the most prominent skills on your resume. Instead, you would focus on the skills required, which might be fast typing, advanced Excel or Powerpoint. Languages and shorthand would be mentioned briefly, perhaps under the heading “Additional Skills.”

Another common mistake, usually made by older applicants, is including their entire work and educational history. It’s usual (in the UK) for CVs to go back only 10 years in terms of work and if you have a degree, school qualifications can be omitted, unless specifically requested or relevant. Employers occasionally ask for a full CV, in which case you do have to include everything.

Choosing the wrong format can also condemn your resume to the bin – different styles work best in specific situations. Many people stick to the chronological resume, but this is not always the most appropriate. It works well if you have been steadily progressing up the ladder in a particular career, or if your most recent jobs are likely to impress the company you hope to work for.

A skills-based or functional resume is great if you have gaps in your work history, as you can use it to highlight the fact that you have exactly the skills the employer is looking for. It’s also useful if you are moving to a new career or area of work and your work experience isn’t completely relevant.

A targeted resume is aimed at a precise job or career, for example if you retrained as a teacher in your 30s or 40s and were applying for a teaching post, your work-related heading might be “Teaching Experience” and your main skills would all be relevant to teaching, for example using IT in the classroom and curriculum development. For soft skills, such as communication skills and team work, you would use examples from your teaching career.

You may need to have different styles of resume for different applications. If we use the previous example of the secretary, she might have had a series of language related jobs and is now applying for linguist and non linguist posts. She could choose a chronological resume for the language jobs and a functional resume for the others.

To sum up, individualist every resume for the job concerned, choose the most suitable format for the situation and remember: keywords must jump out at the reader in the first 20 seconds.