Secrets to job searching

Secrets to job searching

Times have changed, the labour market has changed, and the demands and requirements have changed.  For those of you who remember the good old days where you submitted your CV and a few days later got invited for an interview, well those days are long gone, today, more than 90% of CVs are ignored or rejected in the first 20 seconds.  We are not going to reinvent the wheel, we are just going to give you some tips and tricks that will get you notices, might get you a better salary, and might even get you an interview.

So, what are the secrets to the modern day labour market? 

It all starts with a good CV (Resume).  Is there a difference between a resume and a CV? No, CV is the term used for a Curriculum Vitae, mainly in Europe and other parts of the world, Resume is the word used in the United States and Canada, and some other countries, so use the correct terminology when you apply or name your CV.

What is a good CV?

This is the golden question.  Let’s start with how your CV is processed.  In most cases HR personal scan your CV, some companies even use AI software to do this, but when it comes to humans, on average your CV is first reviewed for 10 to 20 seconds, if it’s makes the cut, it will be reviewed in depth later, if not, it goes to the junk pile, you know, the one that get’s you an email saying, “thank you for applying for a job with us, you did not make the short list but we will keep your CV on record for future opening….” But then you never hear from them again. 

Your CV is your first impression, just like at an interview, you want your first impression to last and for you to be noticed, so make sure your CV stands out.  How does it stand out, you will be asking now?  There are many formulas, but all of them have the same basic rules;

• Give enough details, but don’t write a novel
• Highlight your skills
• Highlight your experience (remember volunteer work, internships and even summer jobs count as well, it’s just how this is presented).
• Highlight your education and certifications
• Don’t add useless information just to fill the page
• A good CV should be no more than 2 pages
• Add a cover letter
• Each job you apply for should have a unique CV and cover letter; generic applications are generally ignored.

* When we say highlight, we do not mean mark them will a hello colour, we mean make sure they stand out and are clearly formatted and understandable.

Once you make sure your CV get’s notices, it’s actually you who gets noticed the next steps are being invited to an interview.  This is where you need to shine even more, but we have other articles about the interview process.

Some extra information:

• Statistics have shown that people with a good CV get up to 7% higher salaries than those with average CVs?
• On average there are more than 100 applications per job opening, and in some cases up to 10,000 applications for the same job?
• Most employers use an ATS to shortlist candidates for a job, allowing them to compare application and track all communication. (Eurojobs.com has a built in ATS for all recruiters)

We have partners with TopCV to offer you a few CV review.  It’s a great opportunity to get your CV evaluated to ensure you are getting noticed.