The November Rush

Its November, cold and wet and at Perfect CVs the pre Xmas rush to find a new job is as strong this year as ever. We usually see demand for CV Writing and Interview Coaching soar at this time of year but was uncertain whether the economic climate would make people think twice about moving jobs - well the answer is a definite NO. If anything the demand for professionally written CVs is higher this November than last with demand in PA / Secretarial, Logistics / Supply Chain, Retail and Construction being the strongest.

Not surprisingly we are also seeing large numbers coming to us that have never had a CV previously. These include owner / managers seeking employed roles, workers with trade skills and long standing employees, usually 15 years + in same Company, facing an uncertain future or redundancy. There are also numerous public sector workers asking for CVs appropriate to the private sector.

The CV Writing specialists at Perfect CVs are adept at handling all the above situations and more and because they understand their specific sectors or job types intimatly, they know exactly what needs to be said on a CV to get the attention of the recruiter and secure interview invitations.

Agency recruiters, in particular are becoming increasingly selective in choosing interview short lists and a CV therefore has to really stand out from the crowd to be successful. Similarly when recruiters search CVs that are posted to job boards or CV databases, they are being far more diligent in selecting the keywords appropriate to the job to which they are recruiting. Hence optimisation of CVs so they show up well in job board and CV databases is fast becoming a very critical aspect of CV construction.

A high proportion of CVs that we see (eg submitted to us for a free review)are quite good but poorly optimised for the job sought. These will never even get seen by a recruiter. Optimisation is a specialist skill and one in which are specialist CV Writers excel.

Other feedback we are receiving from job seekers relates to the interview process - first interviews are predominantly CV based, ie the recruiter is verifying data ona CV, adding client specific data and establishing if there is a "personality fit" between client and job seeker. The key to success is knowing your CV inside out, being raedy for predicatable questions and projecting an image appropriate to the role sought. Feedback about second and subsequent interviews, usually with the employer, reveals a much heavier emphasis on working / management style, approach and interpersonal skills rather than harder technical ability / skillset. Larger organisations are placing emphasis on synergy with their values and core competencies
and they tell us this is because they are wanting to recruit individuals for the long term and are looking more at their potential than the current skill set and experience; this is particularly the case in IT, Finance, Marketing and HR roles. Being prpared for discussion about these issues requires prior consideration to be successful.

Good luck to all of you looking for new jobs this Novemeber, our Customer Support team will be happy to provide free advice about Job hunting and provide detail on any of the Perfect CVs products and services.