Author: Camilla Patten Added: October 2, 2008
Copyright (c) 2008 Camilla Patten Have you ever found that not for lack of application; your curriculum vitae and cover letter applications go unanswered? Short of mail merging your skills to recruiters with hopes that someone will call you back, no one ever does? You have detailed all of your work experience and skills, attached certificates and reference letters to accompany your application and still not a hint of interest from a recruiter or employer alike. So what's the problem? Why, after painstakingly creating a nine page application is no one interested in at least one of your skills? Want to know the answer? It's your CV! It's just not getting you noticed. Your CV application document is the only means to promoting your unique skills to prospecting employers and should be viewed as a personal brochure about your skill and accomplishments. When a resume is too long or details work history that is irrelevant to the position you are applying to, no Recruiter will pay attention to it. Recruiters are bombarded with candidates work history for each job vacancy that they advertise. In order for Recruiters to get through the bulk of applications received, they scan through the details, noting keywords, skills and specific work experience that match the details of the job ad. If you have sent through a chronological curriculum vitae, describing every position you have ever worked in, because they lack capacity and time, Recruiters will be reluctant to wade through each of these looking to match your skills to an employer's requirements. You application will be moved to the bottom of the pile or even disgarded and other Job Seekers will be considered before your application. This is why it is recommended that in order to get yourself noticed, you need to concentrate on getting your CV to talk directly to the Recruiter and in a language they understand. By adapting this, each time you apply to a unique job vacancy, this will assist in helping you to talk to the Recruiter in a language they understand, telling them exactly what they want to hear. Follow these guidelines to assist you in customising your applications so that it gets noticed. BEGIN WITH YOUR BASE CV Start by preparing and all encompassing curriculum vitae to base each customised application from. While this is fine to advertise generically, this should not be used for all job applications but rather made available for head hunters. READ THE JOB AD CAREFULLY Take special care when looking at the advertised vacancy and ensure that you are absolutely sure that you are matching relevant ability to those skills and experience detailed as being requirements of the Recruiter. If and when possible, give the agent a call to find out further information regarding the job and the roles and responsibilities it entails. BREAK YOUR BASE DOCUMENT INTO SECTIONS OF RELEVANCY By only specifying the relevant skills set, qualifications and experience in your tailored CV, this will not only help in getting it noticed but it will also show the recruitment agent that you are particularly interested in their vacancy. If you show that you have spent time preparing your application, exerted effort and care to target and customise your job application, this will prove that you recognise and understand what the employer is looking for in a candidate and you've got what they want. RELEVANCY OF SKILLS WILL RANK YOUR RESUME A key concept of targeting your application employs emphasis to be made on the roles and responsibilities listed in your generic CV that are relevant and relate directly to the advertised post. Omit information that does not specifically correlate to listed requirements in the job ad, as this will waste limited space and make it that much more difficult for a Recruiter to identify the relevancy of your work history. IDENTIFY TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS Transferrable skills are important to detail, as these skills are unique to you personally and may be utilised equally from one job to another job. Tranferrable skills may be used in any role regardless of the job funtion or the industry, which is why it is vital to document such skills. To illustrate such skills; the ability to multitask, attention to detail, energetic, crisis management, ability to integrate into a team, motivate others and so on. USE THE JOB AD TO TAILOR YOUR CURRICULUM VITAE The Recruiter will use a specific language style and words in the job advert itself and these are the words that should appear in your customised curriculum vitae which you will send as your job application. Mirror the Recruiters' language and choice of words in your modified job application in order for specific skills to be highlighted in the language the recruiter speaks. By using too advanced synonyms or paraphrasing, may result in waffle and a "slow to read" document. RELEVANCY OF THE TITLE It is just as important to modify your unique CV title as it is to edit the skills and responsibilities listed in the body. If the title is simply your name and a date, how does this help to sell you at a glance? It doesn't! Give your tailored CV a unique and customised title relevant to the position and try to include no more than two credentials or required skills that you already have. INCLUDE YOUR CURRENT CAREER OBJECTIVE Include a brief but targeted career objective at the end of your curriculum vitae that directly relates to the position you are applying for, for example; my current career objective is to become the Online Content Manager at Company X. This will illustrate once again, how well you are suited to the role as well as the effort and care you have taken in identifying relevant information that pertains to the role you are interested in.
--- Go to http://www.jobs.co.za to find career advice and job hunting tips that really work.
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