How to Write a CV - The Recruitment Process

Transcription

1 30 seconds to make an impression! Social Work CV S, INTERVIEWS & USING SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE JOB HUNT You re here! The Recruitment Process Employer The Application Process Employee Job and Person Specification: Qualifications; Skills; Experience; Expertise 1. Analyse the vacancy Short listing of Applications: Application Forms, CVs, Supplementary Information 2. Analyse your suitability CLEAR MATCH UNCLEAR MATCH Option A: Demonstrate a clear match between you and the role Option B: Send in a stock CV and application Interview Letter of Refusal Interview No interview CV Content Personal Details Personal details Personal Profile Education Employment Skills Interests & Achievements Referee s This is NOT a template, nor is it an exhaustive list. Important to take a flexible approach re: the structure of your CV. Name, address, Tel No, mobile, address. Provide home AND term address if necessary. address needs to be professional - t - NOT hotstuff@hotmail.com Change address when you leave college Include LinkedIn Profile? 1

2 Personal Details Sharon O Connor 742 Evergreen Terrace, Bishopstown, Cork. Tel: sharonoconnor@ .ie Personal Profile People can use different headings & approaches here: Personal Profile, Career Objective/Perspective, Key Achievements etc. Summary information on your core strengths relative to the job you are applying to. Operates like a clear and concise response to the question: Why I am an excellent candidate for this job? Sharon O Connor 742 Evergreen Terrace, Bishopstown, Cork Tel: sharonoconnor@ .ie A Personal Profile needs to grab an employers attention immediately, and it needs to be tailored to each specific application you make. Context is important. Do NOT merely list a number of key words and do NOT use clichés. A profile is only useful if it is focussed & specific. Personal Profile Education Who you are? - Youth & Comm Grad with strong interest in criminal justice system Functional Attributes - Excellent project management skills - Extensive experience of working with young offenders Desirable Personal Attributes - Genuine desire to succeed/make a contribution 2 or 3 targeted skills Provide information re: dates, course title, university, school. Outline details of subjects studied, specific modules, projects undertaken, particular skills acquired if applicable. Provide information re: results achieved in specific years/modules/projects. Subject/Module Information There are a number of different options re: listing modules: 1. Course Modules where you do not have a large number of modules (particularly first year). 2. Core Modules allows you to list most relevant modules studied from across the degree programme. More targeted nd Year Modules/Final Year Modules Self explanatory. Project Information Provide information on relevant projects undertaken: Begin with the Title and a brief Description What research did you carry out? What Methods did you use? What was the analysis that you conducted? What were your findings? What result was achieved? 2

3 Education Employment 2008 Present: Masters of Social Science (Social Policy), University College Cork. Result: Expect to Graduate with 2nd class Honours Grade 1 (2.1) Core Modules Social Policy & Social Exclusion Gender & Social Issues Research Dissertation 2 nd Year Project Social Policy Issues Applied Social Research Practice Assignment An evaluation of social service provision for the travelling community in Ireland Carried out an extensive literature review of existing social policy and social service provision pertaining to the travelling community in Ireland. Conducted face to face interviews with the key stakeholders including members of the travelling community, Pavee Point, Social Services and the HSE The project was presented in the form of a 3,000 word report which outlined the purpose, research methods, analysis and result of the study. Result: Received First Class Honours for the project. Work Experience, Professional Experience, Relevant Experience, Community Development, Youth Work, Voluntary, Placement Experience. Different headings can be used to highlight particular experiences that you have. Provide good, clear and concise information re: the duties that you had/have, and the work that you carried/carry out. Use professional and descriptive language to outline this information. The information is best presented in bullet point form. Resources: Employment Key Action Words Also provide details on what you achieved in any given job. Information should be results based where possible; not just task based. For example: Increased community centre volunteer numbers by 20% over a 6 month period Look at sample job descriptions with regard to Jobs you have held. Useful in writing your own information in a professional manner. Do NOT copy and paste! Look at the language that is used and the points that are made. Can you apply any of this information to your own experience? Make it your own. Analysed Prepared Organised Assisted Facilitated Liaised Researched Monitored Maintained Supervised Planned Ordered Initiated Improved Reviewed Responsible Involved Participated Established Assigned to Employment Skills Summer 2006: Barnardo s Ireland, 18 St Patrick s Hill, Cork Student Support Worker: Worked under the supervision of Senior Support Workers. Provided practical support as appropriate to service users in crisis. Liaised with relevant organizations & statutory bodies on behalf of service users. Maintained accurate records and compiling written reports. Accompanied Senior Support Workers to meetings, conferences etc. Summer 2005: Cork Youth Information Centre, Marlboro Street, Cork. Youth Information Officer: Advised service users in relation to available resources. Worked within a multidisciplinary team and participating in associated meetings. Contacted clients and setting up appointments. Report writing; maintained and updated client records. General research and kept up to date with changes in legislation. Skills section is useful in certain circumstances particularly where you are applying for positions where you have no experience, or in areas that are different from your degree background. Transferable Skills: Skills learned in one field of work that can be easily adapted to a different field e.g. Communication, Teamwork, Decision Making etc. Job Related Skills: Skills of qualifications that are directly relevant to a specific job e.g. proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite etc. Providing some context is also important. Anyone can say they have good Teamwork skills so you need to provide some context that is evidence based 3

4 Skills Interests & Achievements Teamwork: Good Teamwork & Communication skills acquired through continuous work within academic, sports, and work related teams over the past 3 years. Developed strong interpersonal skills and enjoy working with other people. Data collection and interpretation: Numerous projects conducted involving qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (statistics) data collection and interpretation. Have developed an excellent ability to collate and present large amounts of information in a clear and concise manner. Presentation: Experience in formal presentations,, conducted before fellow class members, academics and project sponsors. Sponsors included members of the Economic and Social Research Institute and heads of an international Project management group. Computers: Have completed European Computer Drivers Licence (ECDL). Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Internet and . Also have a good knowledge of SPSS and have strong typing skills i.e. 50 wpm. This section of the CV is frequently overlooked by applicants. It is NOT overlooked by employers! Given that you are a student, you are unlikely to have a vast amount of work experience. Employers can therefore tend to look more closely l at your extra-curricular activities. Highlight your interests & achievements be they sporting, academic, work related etc. Interests & Achievements You will need to provide good information on current interests and involvements. Involvement in clubs & societies is increasingly important. Use subheadings if necessary. This can be useful from the point of view of presentation and clarity in this area. Soccer GAA Music Cinema Interests & Achievements Travel: Have travelled extensively throughout Europe & South East Asia. Lived and worked in America during the summer of University: Active member of UCC Philosophical Society attending debates & workshops. Served as committee member with philosophical Society for 2009 academic year. Sport: Member of Lee Valley Rowing Club & participate in numerous competitions. Member of UCC Rowing Club & compete at Senior Intervarsity level. Computers: Completed European Computer Driving License (ECDL) Volunteer Work: Regular volunteer for both Cork Simon and AWARE Full clean driver s licence. Referee s Referee s In general 2 references are required. Usually at this point, students will use 1 work reference and 1 academic reference. You will need to ask permission first before including their details on your CV. Keep the referee s informed about positions you are applying for. It is also a good idea to give a copy of your CV to the referee s. When applying abroad, include the country code in the phone numbers i.e Referee s: Patricia Mahon - Course Coordinator, Department of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork. Tel: , name@ucc.ie Jennifer Purcell Principle Social Worker, Barnardo s Ireland, 18 St Patrick s Hill, Cork. Tel: , name@barnardos.ie Referee s: Available on request 4

5 Targeting your CV Targeting your CV A successful CV is targeted to the specific job criteria set out by the employer. These criteria will be found in the job description and the person specification. Job specifications are frequently divided into Essential and Desirable requirements. The desirable requirements can be used to narrow down the candidates when there are a large number of high quality applicants. In short you need to find out what the job involves and then think about how you meet the requirements. A targeted CV will highlight the evidence an employer is looking for. A generic CV will hide it. Employer Needs: - excellent academic record - IT skills - communication skills - written, verbal and presentation skills -initiative - problem solving skills - good command of English - commercial awareness - enthusiasm and motivation - leadership potential You will then need to provide concrete evidence of the above in your CV Proof Read! Exercise Worked in a busty office 1999: Career Break to renovate my horse Received a plague for Salesperson of the Year Skills: Strong Work Ethic, Attention to Detail, Team Player, Self Motivated, Attention to Detail. Revolved customer problems and inquiries. Two CV s Job Description Which of the CV s is best and why? 5 mins Interviews Made Easy CAREERS SERVICE One-size-fits-all solutions don t work. 5

6 Types of Interviews Interview Types Telephone interviews Video Conferencing 1 st and 2 nd round interviews One-to-one interviewsi Panel interviews Assessment Centres Competency Based Case Study/Scenario Combination Traditional Interviews Behavioural/ Competency Interviews Structured, formal interview Sample Questions Tell me about yourself What are your strengths & weaknesses? How would you approach? Past behaviour predicts future behaviour Sample Questions Do you think it is important to challenge children? How do you manage that? Can you give me an example of when you had multiple tasks to do in a short period of time? How did you stay organised? Some Perspective on Competency Interviews Stages of Interviews Recruiter s Perspective Past is an indicator of the future Person specification identify essential and desirable competencies Prepare questions to test competencies Candidate s Perspective Past is an opportunity to provide evidence of your potential Skills audit identity opportunities where competencies were developed Prepare verbal summaries of your evidence - stories Settling in Business formal questioning Over to You your chance to ask questions Closure Interview Preparation Know yourself: Review your strengths, skills and experience that make you the ideal candidate for the job. Know your CV/Application form Know the Company Know the industry Know the Job: What are the key responsibilities and challenges? Match your evidence to fit the criteria for the job vacancy Ask yourself: Prepare: Know Yourself Why do I want this job? Why should this organisation select me? What are my ambitions? What are my strengths and weaknesses? What have I gained from my degree? What skills have I gained from my workrelated and extracurricular activities? 6

7 Prepare - Know the Organisation Read company brochures, website, annual report, press release etc. Talk to current and past employees. Then ask yourself: What do I know about this organisation? What attracts me to this organisation? Prepare - Know the Industry/Sector What is going on in this industry/sector at the moment? (Read relevant journals, newspapers). Any recent changes or developments? How might these impact on the organisation? (Perfect material for forming your questions!) Prepare - Know the Job Could You Be More Prepared? Do you know What the job involves? What qualifications, skills and experience you will need to perform the job well? What the job is really like? Have you spoken to people already doing this kind of work? Also, what evidence do you have to demonstrate that you have the skills sought by the employer? Of course! Don t forget the obvious but essential Format and duration of interview? Date, time, location? Distance and mode of transport? Who are you meeting? What will you need to bring? What are you wearing? Types of Questions The Elevator Speech (career commercial) Open e.g. How you feel about? Closed e.g. Do you enjoy.? Probing e.g. What did you learn from? Problem e.g. What was difficult about? Challenging e.g. I see you re not very analytical Scenario e.g. What would you do if...? 7

8 Opening Question Career Commercial Open Question Tell us about yourself? Talk us through your CV/Application In other Words - Bring us up to date with your career highlighting the successes that you consider to be most relevant to this position? seconds, highly selective, 3D overview Career Commercial Qualifications Key strengths Previous relevant employment Highlights of your work experience A recent (relevant) achievement and A summary of what you will contribute to the position Align your answer to the core competencies o Exercise Career Commercials in groups of 3 Employers Wish List (Competencies) The funnelling technique Teamwork Problem Solving Communication/interpersonal skills Delivering a quality service Task/Project Management Time Management Business focus Drive and initiative Manage change/flexibility Motivation Sign post competency Level 1: ask the question Level 2: ask for evidence Level 3; personalise Level 4: generalise Level 5: challenge Level 6: ask for more Funnelling: example To Get Through This Funnel, You Need Teamwork Have you worked in teams before? Which team has worked most effectively? What did you personally contribute to this team? EXAMPLES You need to mine your past for compelling, appropriate examples. U th Di i f lif Use the 3 Dimensions of your life: Academic, Work, Leisure What characterises an effective team? Is that always the case? Tell me about another team that you are part of? 8

9 The STAR Format Example: Teamwork The Star Format is useful for putting a logical structure on examples or stories you have to tell: Situation: Describe the situation or problem. Task: Describe the tasks that the situation required. Action: Describe the actions you took to complete the task successfully and any obstacles overcame. Result: Highlight outcomes achieved. Situation: I wanted to raise 2,000 for charity and to fund a trip to Scottish Highlands organised for the fundraisers. Task: To enlist the support of my colleagues and friends in supporting my efforts to raise money. Action: I organised a table-top top quiz, mini-marathonmarathon team and six bag-packing days at supermarkets. Results: Two colleagues set themselves same target. Together, 6,000 was raised in total. Competency Based Questions Exercise Teamwork: Describe a team project you worked on. What problems arose? How did you deal with them? Communication Skills: Describe a situation when you had to persuade others to support your view. Give an example of any reports you ve written which illustrate your writing skills Interpersonal Skills: What kinds of people do you find it difficult to work with? How do you handle these situations. Organisation Skills: Describe a situation where you generated a plan leading to a specific goal. Problem-solving: Tell us about an error you made and what you learned. Pick a competency Use the STAR format to structure your response Groups of 3 10 mins Remember...its what you did, not what was done What is Social Networking Basically making friends and connections virtually versus in person Through networks you get things done but in real life connections are hidden Online you can generally see everybody s connections (depends on network) Adding friends or business connections online expands your network helping you find a job Keep it professional

10 Employers and Social Networking Job Seekers possible Social Networking sites More and More employers using social networking to link in with potential employees Example: Students who follow KPMG on Twitter are exposed to news and information about KPMG that will help them understand our workplace culture professional - Used by many recruiters to find job candidates for ads, you can add your personality, pictures, personalise it tweet for jobs, find postings. Add value to your network so you can look like the professional you are Its not what others can do for you, but what you can do for others always. LinkedIn LinkedIn is becoming the most well known unlike Facebook, it is focused on career development Used mainly by people with a few years work experience it still has use for university students If you want to find out more about a particular job you can join a professional group and post questions Alumni groups can be a route to finding ex-students who have studied your course or who are working in a career that you are interested in. Keep your Linkedln profile concise but fully completed especially if you have niche skills such as unusual programming language. Facebook Content is very important: - Good photo - Status updates: Jennifer is looking for a job as a Youth Worker. Any advice? - Blog - Groups, causes, and fan pages Clean up your profile Manage your privacy settings Create friend lists personal and professional 10

11 Other points of note.. Twitter is more worthwhile in certain sectors such as marketing, communications and charities. When you sign up to a social networking site, whether Twitter, Facebook or any other, you will create a profile of yourself. This is what prospective employers will see first, so treat it like a CV: include all your relevant experience and keep it up to date. Joining careers related groups on Facebook is an easy way of keeping in the loop for up to date news, events, and opportunities. UCC careers Service has pages listing employer and career specific events. Protect your Reputation Keep it Private Do you want employers, lecturers, colleagues to see it. Check social networking privacy settings Why Because.. Social Networking Nationale Suisse employee sacked after surfing Facebook while off sick Reuters, April 2009 We won t hold drunken picture against you, it helps build up a picture Director of Digital Strategies, Racepoint Group UK Take Advantage Build a positive presence online Expand Your Network 11

12 Where are the Jobs? There is no simple formula for managing your career in challenging times. Hard work counts! Websites: Newspapers: Irish Examiner Friday Independent Thursday Keep in touch... Visit our website at