My girlfriend recently got a job. I'm really excited for her. It's a fantastic opportunity and I'm pleased she got one so soon after graduating university. It's a 6 month placement to cover some maternity leave. The most important part of the position is that it is a true graduate position with the potential to relocate within the company after the 6 month placement has been completed.
It's great that she has a job and it's already boosting her confidence and self-esteem. Even if there is no possibility to relocate, the experience that she's gaining on the job is a sure fire help in further applications to other jobs.
It's one thing to get a job. It's another to use it to your advantage and get everything you can out of it which isn't money. An important thing to consider when in a job is the ease with which you can try your hand at all parts of the job. If you can get involved in all parts of your job and gain experience and knowledge of many areas, it instantly increases your appeal when applying for other jobs. Showing you can adapt and learn many things by demonstrating that you've done it in the past is a great sign to encourage employers to hire you because that's what they're looking for. Obviously, different positions need different specific skills but there are transferrable skills which are common to many jobs.
Bearing this in mind, good luck with seeking employment and getting the job that's right for you.
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Update your CV, Update your life
In today's labour market, it's increasingly difficult to get a job. There are many different people and blogs out there who will tell you that it's all about what you did on your gap year and how your handshake is perceived but this isn't the case. The big thing that will make you stand out from your rivals in the tussle for your dream job is your CV.
Looks are everything, on your CV anyways
Boring as it may sound, your CV is the document that all employers want to see and the interesting ones which make the cut will land the job. Employers see your CV before you so make your CV look as good as you do and this will go a long way with prospective employers. To ensure that yours stands out, you need to cover the following topics to ensure you've got it all.
Content
First and foremost, you need content. That means being thorough and yet concise because a 3-page CV will not get a look in, despite what you've written about this award or the amount of trophies you've won for your golfing talents. Aim for about 2 pages maximum. Giving a one page CV may be dangerous as there's a risk you don't communicate all you need to to show you're the right person for the job. To ensure that you're that right person, you need to show your relevance to the position and why you'd fit right in. You need to relate specific bits of what you've done in your education and experience to what they want in a prospective employee. You need to relate skills to requisites. Remember "skills for kills", get the skills covered and you'll knock 'em dead in the preliminary stages. Keep it relevant too; employers will want to hear about your recreational activities but don't go into too much depth. The main thing your CV needs to show is your enthusiasm and drive for what you do in all areas of your life.
Layout
A good layout is key to producing a great CV. A general note is to put the more professional components of what makes the worker you up the top of the sheet and the more informal stuff like what you enjoy doing at the bottom. There are many ways to layout the various parts of your CV and a more modern trend is to tie some of them together into a short, cogent personal statement-esque piece of writing at the top of your resume. This gives the reader a bit of context and a more holistic view when thinking about you as a potential candidate for the job. This could be useful in establishing a good image in the employer's mind and could give you the edge.
Another good pointer is to put your motivations or career objectives at the top to show the employer why you want the job in respect of the big picture you have in your mind. It lets the interviewer know where you're coming from and where you want to go and shows how you fit into the job.
Font
A simple but salient point. Comic sans won't cut it; it never has and it never will. Try something more professional like Verdana or Arial. This allows you to show your professional side and matches the font and your CV fodder with with the position you're fighting for.
With all that said and done, try these tips and see what works for you. It's also worth giving Google a go and looking for some professional templates but take them with a pinch of salt. Anything too stylised will be bad for business and you'll struggle with credibility.
Looks are everything, on your CV anyways
Boring as it may sound, your CV is the document that all employers want to see and the interesting ones which make the cut will land the job. Employers see your CV before you so make your CV look as good as you do and this will go a long way with prospective employers. To ensure that yours stands out, you need to cover the following topics to ensure you've got it all.
Content
First and foremost, you need content. That means being thorough and yet concise because a 3-page CV will not get a look in, despite what you've written about this award or the amount of trophies you've won for your golfing talents. Aim for about 2 pages maximum. Giving a one page CV may be dangerous as there's a risk you don't communicate all you need to to show you're the right person for the job. To ensure that you're that right person, you need to show your relevance to the position and why you'd fit right in. You need to relate specific bits of what you've done in your education and experience to what they want in a prospective employee. You need to relate skills to requisites. Remember "skills for kills", get the skills covered and you'll knock 'em dead in the preliminary stages. Keep it relevant too; employers will want to hear about your recreational activities but don't go into too much depth. The main thing your CV needs to show is your enthusiasm and drive for what you do in all areas of your life.
Layout
A good layout is key to producing a great CV. A general note is to put the more professional components of what makes the worker you up the top of the sheet and the more informal stuff like what you enjoy doing at the bottom. There are many ways to layout the various parts of your CV and a more modern trend is to tie some of them together into a short, cogent personal statement-esque piece of writing at the top of your resume. This gives the reader a bit of context and a more holistic view when thinking about you as a potential candidate for the job. This could be useful in establishing a good image in the employer's mind and could give you the edge.
Another good pointer is to put your motivations or career objectives at the top to show the employer why you want the job in respect of the big picture you have in your mind. It lets the interviewer know where you're coming from and where you want to go and shows how you fit into the job.
Font
A simple but salient point. Comic sans won't cut it; it never has and it never will. Try something more professional like Verdana or Arial. This allows you to show your professional side and matches the font and your CV fodder with with the position you're fighting for.
With all that said and done, try these tips and see what works for you. It's also worth giving Google a go and looking for some professional templates but take them with a pinch of salt. Anything too stylised will be bad for business and you'll struggle with credibility.
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Old Friends
I met up with some of my friends from school / college and went for lunch. It was a really fun time and we reminisced about all sorts of different things that happened during our time at school. We also talked about what we were up to in our social lives and what kinds of things we were doing in our spare time. The conversation was rich and flowed well without pause but we kept coming back to one specific topic - education.
Education
As we had all been through the education machine ( school / college and university) we each had a degree and we kept talking about how we got on at university as we had all recently graduated. This was an interesting conversation in itself as we all went to different universities and read different courses. I contributed all that I had done at university at York and how I really enjoyed my time but moreover, how I had grown as a person and developed from quite a shy and retiring person to a vibrant guy with varied interests and hobbies. This conversation continued for a while fine before I sensed an undercurrent to the conversation. As time went on, we began talking about what we were up to post-graduation and then I hit upon the sensation I felt earlier as tension regarding the jobs market and further education.
Employment
As I've already stated in my profile here, I read chemistry at York and have been accepted into UCL to start an engineering masters in the September. I've already sorted my next path out but I talked to my friend and she said that she was freaking out. She was really nervous about what she wanted to do now as she had no idea and the current jobs market (as of July 2011) is pretty pants. She had told me previously that she wanted to work as an archivist as she had a real affinity for books and written records. She has now lost her passion for that idea but remains really interested in books and the written word. The problem for her is that she read English literature and she is now looking for some general admin work to tide her over. My other friend read a business degree with a gap year. These degree choices aren't the problem; the job choice is. As they have general english skills degrees, they have to compete with all the other people who want a general admin job and have general english skills like graduates in history, history of art, sociology, media. This list can go on and on. There are so few jobs in this sector and they are very heavily oversubscribed. I recently read the figure of 83 graduates going for every job out there.
Engineering
There is a massive need for engineers in the UK as there is plenty of new infrastructure to help install, especially in the IT sector where new servers and electronics engineering are essential to keep pace with modern living and the demand for fast, on-demand services. This sector requires specialist skills in maths, physics and depending on the flavour of engineering, further knowledge in a natural science (physics / biology / chemistry / medicine). This immediately cuts out a lot of the 'normal' competition from general skilled graduates and easily separates the workers from the blaggers as it's hard to 'wing it' in a situation requiring logical engineering principle minded employees.
Neglect
In recent years, there have been many news articles written concerning the type of course being read at university and that there have been great numbers of people reading and studying arts degrees and that the maths and sciences have been grossly neglected. This is true and the consequences of this are now coming to fruition as there are a relatively low number of engineering graduates out there but a great new need for them. This is excellent news if you're into your engineering in a big way. The situation is changing though and the news of neglected science has been overtaken in recent years by the story that the numbers of students opting for maths and sciences have been growing year on year. This could be a reaction to the new government fees for university of £9000 a year. The students could be looking for more value for money and better value in the way of a nearly 9 - 5 teaching day as opposed to 9 or 5 teaching hours a week. There are lots of trends that can be picked out of recent graduate unemployment numbers and new student discipline preferences but one thing's for sure: the neglect of science in favour of arts is being reversed as students look for a strong set of skills with which to start their careers.
Education
As we had all been through the education machine ( school / college and university) we each had a degree and we kept talking about how we got on at university as we had all recently graduated. This was an interesting conversation in itself as we all went to different universities and read different courses. I contributed all that I had done at university at York and how I really enjoyed my time but moreover, how I had grown as a person and developed from quite a shy and retiring person to a vibrant guy with varied interests and hobbies. This conversation continued for a while fine before I sensed an undercurrent to the conversation. As time went on, we began talking about what we were up to post-graduation and then I hit upon the sensation I felt earlier as tension regarding the jobs market and further education.
Employment
As I've already stated in my profile here, I read chemistry at York and have been accepted into UCL to start an engineering masters in the September. I've already sorted my next path out but I talked to my friend and she said that she was freaking out. She was really nervous about what she wanted to do now as she had no idea and the current jobs market (as of July 2011) is pretty pants. She had told me previously that she wanted to work as an archivist as she had a real affinity for books and written records. She has now lost her passion for that idea but remains really interested in books and the written word. The problem for her is that she read English literature and she is now looking for some general admin work to tide her over. My other friend read a business degree with a gap year. These degree choices aren't the problem; the job choice is. As they have general english skills degrees, they have to compete with all the other people who want a general admin job and have general english skills like graduates in history, history of art, sociology, media. This list can go on and on. There are so few jobs in this sector and they are very heavily oversubscribed. I recently read the figure of 83 graduates going for every job out there.
Engineering
There is a massive need for engineers in the UK as there is plenty of new infrastructure to help install, especially in the IT sector where new servers and electronics engineering are essential to keep pace with modern living and the demand for fast, on-demand services. This sector requires specialist skills in maths, physics and depending on the flavour of engineering, further knowledge in a natural science (physics / biology / chemistry / medicine). This immediately cuts out a lot of the 'normal' competition from general skilled graduates and easily separates the workers from the blaggers as it's hard to 'wing it' in a situation requiring logical engineering principle minded employees.
Neglect
In recent years, there have been many news articles written concerning the type of course being read at university and that there have been great numbers of people reading and studying arts degrees and that the maths and sciences have been grossly neglected. This is true and the consequences of this are now coming to fruition as there are a relatively low number of engineering graduates out there but a great new need for them. This is excellent news if you're into your engineering in a big way. The situation is changing though and the news of neglected science has been overtaken in recent years by the story that the numbers of students opting for maths and sciences have been growing year on year. This could be a reaction to the new government fees for university of £9000 a year. The students could be looking for more value for money and better value in the way of a nearly 9 - 5 teaching day as opposed to 9 or 5 teaching hours a week. There are lots of trends that can be picked out of recent graduate unemployment numbers and new student discipline preferences but one thing's for sure: the neglect of science in favour of arts is being reversed as students look for a strong set of skills with which to start their careers.
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