Our latest research tells us that recruitment agencies do not get a look in compared to job boards and direct applications to specific jobs and organisations.
After a month of asking jobseekers what they do once they are happy with their CV / Resume, we found that 45% choose to upload it to a job board and make online applications via their systems. 39% apply directly to company opportunities and lagging way behind is the option to use a Recruitment Agency with only 12% taking that route.
There will always be a market and desire to use Recruitment Agencies especially within certain specialist industry sectors so it really does come down to what kind of jobs are being applied for. Many jobs can be found on job boards so it is quick and easy to make job applications online in this way where the CV/Resume can be saved within a users account. On the flip side of this though, some companies will never publish their vacancies on job boards or even enrol an agent, so direct applications to companies would be the chosen avenue.
Where have you found the most success when applying for a job? Tell us here.....
Writing a CV that will sell you to a potential employer can seem like an overwhelming task – summarising your entire life on two pages, whilst blowing your own trumpet but not sounding arrogant can be a challenge. But fear not! CV Knowhow have put together their ten top tips to bear in mind when writing a CV. You’ll soon have an enviable CV that will support your job search, give you confidence and enable you to take the next step in your career.
1. Start with your contact details
It’s amazing how many people omit this basic information! You could have the best CV in the world, but if a recruiter can’t get in touch to call you for an interview there was no point in writing it at all. Include your town and postcode, telephone numbers (landline and mobile) and email address. You should also consider adding a link to your LinkedIn profile, so that the recruiter can look at your online presence to find out more about you (and hopefully notice all the endorsements and recommendations you no doubt have!).
2. Write in reverse-chronological order
To make a great first impression, your most relevant skills, responsibilities and achievements need to be the first thing a recruiter reads. Structure your career history so that your most recent job is at the top and goes further back in time as you progress down the CV. The same rule applies to your education section. There’s no point starting your CV with qualifications you gained 20 years ago, if you can wow the recruiter with recent success in your chosen career.
3. Target the CV to a specific role or industry
A powerful CV is always focused on a specific job. If you try to cover all bases, you’ll end up looking like a Jack of all trades and master of none. If you’re targeting a few different roles, then unfortunately that means tailoring your CV to each one. If you have a person specification for the job, cross-reference your CV with the specification to ensure you’ve demonstrated how you meet their requirements exactly.
4. Write in the third person
A CV written in the first person (I, me, etc.) comes across as quite basic. It’s also quite repetitive to use “I” on every other line. To look more professional, try to write in the third person. Not only is this best practice when writing a CV, it keeps the CV impersonal and enables the recruiter to focus on what you’d bring to the business.
To read the full article, please CLICK HERE >>>>>
If you are currently putting together your CV but struggling to know where to start, we have a great article to read over in our Career Centre, titled "How to write a good CV".
A well-presented CV is vital in your search for a new job. It will not get you the job, but a good CV makes the difference between getting an interview and your application being thrown in the bin. With your CV being one of many, recruiters will only read it for a short space of time, so it is extremely important that it is structured clearly, with your best selling points presented in a logical manner and the most relevant information readily identifiable.
Everybody writes and presents their CV as they like, there is no right or wrong way. However, with these words of advice we will help you produce a clear and concise CV that will increase your chances of being invited for an interview.
The first part of the article addresses the Content of the CV. To begin, prepare a list of your key competencies and skills that your employer will be looking for. Be analytical about yourself and identify your main selling points that differentiate yourself from competitors. Head over to the article here, to see the list of content areas.
Then it goes onto the Structure & Presentation of the CV.
We hope it is a useful article for you and at least helps you get started on putting it together.
Do let us know if you would like to see any specific career-related articles from us.
We are delighted to inform all of our users that the size of the CV / Resumes being uploaded onto the site has increased from 750Kb to 1Mg.
This means people who have been trying to upload their CV / Resumes in error as they are too large can try again without having to omit anything.
Click here to login and upload your latest CV / Resume today. Do not forget, it is a great idea to upload a new CV / Resume regularly to make sure you are at the forefront of the recruiters minds who are using the CV / Resume database to search for suitable candidates.
If you have any questions or still getting trouble uploading the files, please do let us know.
Our latest study found that just over a third of jobseekers believe they can write their CV/Resume themselves and do not need the assistance of a professional.
On the other hand however, 39% of respondents have used a professional CV/Resume writer. 28% of these individuals were also really impressed with the outcome, saying they were brilliant and would use the service again as well as recommend them. The other 11% were not so impressed but did use the services to help them in their job searching process.
A large proportion, 27%, said that they have not used one in the past, but would definitely consider it in the future.
The professional CV/Resume writing services around are a massive support for those who do not know where to start with updating and reviving their most invaluable tool when searching for a new job. Although it seems that many find this updating process easy and are self-able, many are not and therefore these professional services come in very handy to a large percentage of the population.
Here at TipTopJob, we value these services highly and have partnered with some professional CV/Resume writing companies. If you are based in the UK or in Countries that use a CV, you can link through to GetInterviewsUK or if you are based in the USA, there is GetInterviewsUSA where they focus on updating your resume. Get Interviews offer a FREE CV/Resume review to start with so why not give that whirl now? Do not forget to let us know how you get on and make sure you remember to upload your brand new CV/Resume onto your account on TipTopJob!!!!
Results of the survey are illustrated below....
Most people try to include achievements in their work experience section. The only trouble is that this is easier said than done and a lot of people do not write achievements as proactively as they could. Indeed, most people write achievements, which are not only nowhere near as proactive as they could be, but also achievements which are not pertinent enough and which are badly phrased in long and cluttered paragraphs rather than sharp, precise and powerful sentences.
Employers can pretty much pick and choose these days and most employers prefer achievers to people who can just do a typical job. If you want the best results therefore you need to come across as an achiever on your CV. And one of the best places on your CV to give the impression that you are an achiever is in your work experience section. It sounds simple, but you would be very surprised to see just how many people do not do this anyway near as powerfully as they could.
You are probably reading this right now thinking that this does not apply to you. However, it almost certainly does apply to you too. I have worked with CVs day in, day out for years, and, believe me, practically everyone undersells themselves on their CV, especially in the work experience section.
You can find this article on our website here.
Hooray!!! We are now accepting PDF CV’s into Jobseeker
accounts. It may have been a long time coming but it is here and we are very
pleased to announce this functionality.
You will still have the option to upload it in a word document (.doc) if that if your preference but the .pdf option is now available.
Upload your PDF CV today J
