2013 saw an increased number of applications coming from graduate students and non graduates alike, and with the raised levels of competitors increased rejection levels were bound to follow. The New Year though is expressing indications of optimism with an 9% advance in the volume of graduate openings. Which is great news for the class of 2014.
For individuals already in the ‘job seeking market’, let 2014 offer restored hope. An opportunity to wipe the slate clean and concentrate on what this ‘new year’ could bring. If 2013 found your applications unanswered, 2014 is the time to attempt something else and jump start your job pursuit with renewed vigor and guile.
The first step – Adapt Your CV
Step one in your ‘kick start campaign’ must be to ultimately tailor your CV to each and every role. As a occupations advisor I’ve seen individuals use the same exact CV for roles even when the job description and person spec is significantly different. Whilst it is right that modifying CV’s requires time, if you take that time the results will be significant.
If you are scanning this contemplating “exactly how am I going to achieve that for 5-8 jobs per day?” that could tell you that you’re filling out an application for far too many positions. Let 2014 be the era of quality over quantity and decrease your applications to the roles you truly want.
Use the job spec as a check list and make sure that all the necessary conditions are properly accounted for on the first page of your CV. Evidence is very important so feature details of anything that you have chosen responsibility for, strategies that you have executed and don't forget to include any quantitative final results.
The second step – Widen Your Career Hunting
With the growth of career boards and the growth in internet employment techniques it is not surprising that the leading job hunting strategy is the internet search. The problem is that if everyone is making use of that strategy, unless you’re searching for really specialized or high-level corporate jobs, you are probably going to be facing a lot of competition. Internet job boards should be one side of your overall strategy.
As well as recruiters and online job searching techniques, don’t ignore the more traditional approaches like networking and direct methods. Lots of job opportunities do not make it as far as job boards or recruiters, and usually the only way to find out about them is by speaking straight to employers and their workers. Have a discussion with previous colleagues, attend networking functions, get in touch with managers directly and use LinkedIn to gather some new contacts as they could be necessary to identifying your new position.
The third task – Follow up after the interviews
Contacting the company after a job interview is often a fantastic way to demonstrate professionalism and may help your job interview stay fresh in the employers thoughts. Send a short message or e-mail thanking them for interviewing you and let them determine that you’re enthusiastic about hearing from them. The worst that might happen is if you didn't get the position, it could prompt them to alert you right away. The good news however might be that if you are 1 of 2 or three applicants that they're considering, it might give you an edge.
Useful resources:
How to write a CV guide - http://www.howtowriteacv.guru/how-to-write-a-cv.php
National careers service - https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/Pages/default.aspx
The Guardian careers - http://careers.theguardian.com/career-advice
Prospects careers - http://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers.htm
For individuals already in the ‘job seeking market’, let 2014 offer restored hope. An opportunity to wipe the slate clean and concentrate on what this ‘new year’ could bring. If 2013 found your applications unanswered, 2014 is the time to attempt something else and jump start your job pursuit with renewed vigor and guile.
The first step – Adapt Your CV
Step one in your ‘kick start campaign’ must be to ultimately tailor your CV to each and every role. As a occupations advisor I’ve seen individuals use the same exact CV for roles even when the job description and person spec is significantly different. Whilst it is right that modifying CV’s requires time, if you take that time the results will be significant.
If you are scanning this contemplating “exactly how am I going to achieve that for 5-8 jobs per day?” that could tell you that you’re filling out an application for far too many positions. Let 2014 be the era of quality over quantity and decrease your applications to the roles you truly want.
Use the job spec as a check list and make sure that all the necessary conditions are properly accounted for on the first page of your CV. Evidence is very important so feature details of anything that you have chosen responsibility for, strategies that you have executed and don't forget to include any quantitative final results.
The second step – Widen Your Career Hunting
With the growth of career boards and the growth in internet employment techniques it is not surprising that the leading job hunting strategy is the internet search. The problem is that if everyone is making use of that strategy, unless you’re searching for really specialized or high-level corporate jobs, you are probably going to be facing a lot of competition. Internet job boards should be one side of your overall strategy.
As well as recruiters and online job searching techniques, don’t ignore the more traditional approaches like networking and direct methods. Lots of job opportunities do not make it as far as job boards or recruiters, and usually the only way to find out about them is by speaking straight to employers and their workers. Have a discussion with previous colleagues, attend networking functions, get in touch with managers directly and use LinkedIn to gather some new contacts as they could be necessary to identifying your new position.
The third task – Follow up after the interviews
Contacting the company after a job interview is often a fantastic way to demonstrate professionalism and may help your job interview stay fresh in the employers thoughts. Send a short message or e-mail thanking them for interviewing you and let them determine that you’re enthusiastic about hearing from them. The worst that might happen is if you didn't get the position, it could prompt them to alert you right away. The good news however might be that if you are 1 of 2 or three applicants that they're considering, it might give you an edge.
Useful resources:
How to write a CV guide - http://www.howtowriteacv.guru/how-to-write-a-cv.php
National careers service - https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/Pages/default.aspx
The Guardian careers - http://careers.theguardian.com/career-advice
Prospects careers - http://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers.htm