BLOGGING FOR BEGINNERS

CV workshopCambridge Connect – 29 March 2017

Simone Castello

• Using social media• Top tips from recruitment consultants• Hands-on practice: one-page CV• Q&A

Launched in 2003, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network online. It is a great platform for finding people, recruiting staff and discussing industry topics. Some stats (2014):• Over 313 million members in over 200 countries, 23 languages• 67% of LinkedIn members are located outside the U.S.• Over 39 million students and college graduates• Over 3 million firms have Company Pages• Members are sharing insights and knowledge in over 2 million groups• In the second quarter of 2014, mobile accounted for 45% of unique visitors How to use it:•Create a profile• Share presentations and write articles to make it more interesting• Sign up to job alerts• Connect to recruitment consultants• Ask for introductions: i.e. HR personnel, managers, etc.

USING SOCIAL MEDIA

BLOG YOUR WAY IN

• A blog can be useful to build a portfolio of your work. • You can write articles, post photos or discuss any topic that is relevant to your chosen career.• Blog posts can be shared on LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media channels. If you are building a personal brand (as artist, consultant, etc) it is a recommended way in.

TIPS FROM RECRUITMENT CONSULTANTS• Customise your CV for each job – it’s hard but it pays off• Too many jobs send a negative message – only mention what is relevant• Consider a skills’ summary at the top of the CV where the keywords from the job advert are highlighted for easy selection• Cover letters are only read at the first selection stage, be brief and do not spend too much time on them. Only 9%* of line managers see them• Do not abuse the pronoun I, use you when you can. Addressing the company and showing them how they could benefit from hiring you can secure an interview for a competitive job• You have 6* seconds to impress – less is more• Read the job description and advert carefully. Use keywords from them and give examples of your skills that are relevant

*Figures collected at recent CV workshop by Career Ambitions

• Visit the company’s website to get a feel of how they communicate to customers and use that tone of voice • Visit the websites of competitors to give you an idea of their challenges• Only 35%* of jobs are advertised, research companies you like and send them an unsolicited CV.

TIPS FROM RECRUITMENT CONSULTANTS CONT.• Think of the reader (recruiter, HR, Manager, Agency…), make your CV relevant and real. To which I would add three Rs: research, rewrite, retarget (find out about jobs, rewrite your CV regularly and retarget it to fit different industries)• 60%* of readers scan read, only 40%* want to see detail – less is more• If you are writing generic statements in your CV, you won’t stand up, for instance “I process payroll records” does not tell a potential employer how good you are at it and how you would benefit the company. Give examples of your achievements and skills that matter to the company advertising• Again, if a skill is not mentioned, do not include it. Keep it relevant, this cannot be stressed often enough• Last but not least… and this is from me: the one-page CV is powerful!I like indeed.co.uk as it collects jobs from most websites and offers free job alerts

*Figures collected at recent CV workshop by Career Ambitions