CANDIDATE TOOLKIT CV Preparation

Transcription

1 CANDIDATE TOOLKIT CV Preparation The Personal Statement Avoid using the first person and too many adjectives that can be applied to any number of candidates. In this section you need to draw attention to tangible highlights rather than any subjective personal qualities, as you need to encapsulate your skills and experience rather than how organised or hard working you are. A weak personal statement is a missed opportunity to sell and or promote yourself to prospective clients. So avoid statements like Example 1 I am collaborative in working style and able to develop and build excellent working relationships across all levels of the business, bringing high energy and focus. Or Example 2 I have proven myself to be a dynamic and dedicated individual with a can do attitude who also possesses strong organizational qualities and interpersonnel skills And avoid contradictions and generalised clichés such as; Strategic but operational (give a % of each if you are wearing both hats) Works well in a team on own. But do include (objective) tangibles (highlighted in purple) A degree educated and part qualified CIPD professional, due to complete CIPD graduate exams in November 2010, via distance learning, to upgrade to full GCIPD status. My current (most recent) role, operating across a multi-site business, whilst generalist in nature, focused predominantly on employee relations, where ER issues took up to 70% of my time. Part of my remit was also to design and deliver training interventions to up skill managers on issues such as managing performance, absence and recruitment. (Tailor your personnel statement to highlight the key skills and/or experience required for the particular vacancy as much as possible) Partnering with clients candidates across Sussex parts of Surrey

2 Education and professional qualifications Complete in chronological order, commencing with the most recent qualification, detail your academic background. If you have your CIPD or any other HR relevant qualification put it first. You could be up against many other candidates.you should also include secondary, higher and further education, including dates attended and qualifications gained. Employment History Professional experience Give a context to each role Write a brief description of the company (sector/business area) including turnover, number of employees, industry sector/ business area Then for each role contextualise the logistics of your role in terms of whether it is multi-site, stand alone, a remote interface, regional, national and the headcount you have responsibility for including who you report into or whether you have any direct reports. This will provide any prospective employer with the background to your work history and take away any assumptions., helping the recruiting manager to differentiate the level of your experience in relation to another candidate who is also a HR Advisor for example in the same sector(s) Detail, in bullet point format, your main responsibilities and achievements in each position. Try to keep these relevant to any prospective position that you are looking for, as prospective employers will be looking evidence of experience and transferable skills. This may help to differentiate you from other candidates who are also seeking employment. In addition, detail any specialist knowledge that you may have acquired in Human Resources or Learning and Development, especially tackling current HR challenges and trends. Partnering with clients candidates across Sussex parts of Surrey

3 Use action verbs: Designed Devised Prepared Interviewed Obtained Created Analysed Interpreted Completed Achieved Delivered Evaluated Note the difference in impact between Carried out an employee survey Devised and prepared an employee survey Use Human Resources Buzz Words We all relate more effectively to people who speak our language. Human Resources professionals have developed their own language. The good news is that Human Resources have become more and more of a strategic partner in organisations and that s great because they can contribute in a way that means higher profitability, customer satisfaction, reduced costs and good communications on a company wide basis. They can impact positively on the bottom line. Try to use words on your CV that demonstrates how you have added value in your role as this will be interesting to your prospective employer. Partnering with clients candidates across Sussex parts of Surrey

4 So in summary ensure that you have included Where your role sits within the structure of the HR Department Type of business Number of employees Your business area (departments) Logistics of role (Is it remote/stand-alone, multi-site) Who you are supporting (line managers/business areas/hr team etc, shared service) Who do they report into? Main focus of your current most recent role over past 6 12 months linked to the business challenges/changes What is the largest % of your role or allocate or prioritise the main key areas of focus. Some additional basic CV advice Software systems List all software and systems packages that you have had exposure to including any implementation or system rollout experience. In today s market, it is important to have strong and up to date systems skills Languages In an increasingly global market, language skills are becoming more relevant. In this section of your CV. you should list your language skills and your level of competency and fluency in each language. Interests Good employers look for well-rounded individuals who not only have a good academic record but also have other pursuits. In addition, it is often an opportunity to create common ground at the interview stage. References There is no need to state specific referees on your CV. Rather state that referees and details of professional qualifications will be provided on request. Partnering with clients candidates across Sussex parts of Surrey

5 Other common pitfalls Limit to 2 / 3 pages - be concise Decide whether you are using US or UK spellings and be consistent. Avoid typos, mis -spellings, and grammatical errors. Get someone to proof read it Do not write in the first person. I is generally not used in a CV A phone number is an absolute must Give specific dates not just the year (e.g 2004). Include the month(s) to give context to the duration. If you fail to evidence the actual months/duration then the client will assume that you only did the shortest possible tenure (for example could be taken as 1-2 months as in Dec 2004 to Jan 2005) Avoid photos. Don t leave gaps explain gap year, interim assignments Keep adding to your CV even when you are not looking, you will be thankful when the time comes to already have details of last employer, responsibilities, and achievements to hand. Ensure that you review your CV every time you start your job search. Don t just plonk your latest role on your existing CV. Allocate a weighting of bulleted content to reflect the duration and your main experience over the past few years, rather than throughout your entire past career history. Your CV should evolve not grow in length. Make sue that your address is professional. Avoid addresses such as pinkfairy@ hotmail.com Don t just copy the key responsibilities of your latest job description into your CV, as this is obvious. These are just a series of statements, in the wrong tense that lack any tangibles Partnering with clients candidates across Sussex parts of Surrey