Grads looking to find jobs after uni can now attend a new finishing school so that they can learn how to present themselves at work.
The Fastlaners scheme backed by the Gov aims to give graduates from working class background a two week crash course in ‘life skills’. Based at Canary Wharf, it will cover voice training, interviews and work etiquette.
Find out more here : Fastlaners
Yet more figures have been produced proving that the number of graduate opportunities in the market have fallen. Many graduates had their careers put on hold last year as the recession hit full swing on the promise that they would get roles in 2010. This does not now seem to be the case. Many firms are maintaining a reduced number of graduate intake. It means that graduates will have to think outside the box to start to get their careers on track. Temporary employment is the perfect way to try different career paths. Temporary jobs are often seen as a lesser option. In fact, in the state of the current economy, a temp job offers the perfect solution - valuable exposure without specific commitment!
Great news: 90% of job-seekers still use generic CVs. So, if you’re in the 10% minority you stand a great chance of success. Truth be told it’s hard work creating a tailored CV. Take the test below to see what camp you’re in.
Most job seekers have a CV documenting a series of responsibilities (“managed a team of 5”, “responsible for delivering a sales target of £1m pa” or “reconciled accounts on a monthly basis”). Some go on to offer a profile highlighting the key skills and perhaps weave in a few examples to back this up. Very few compose their CVs according to the specific requirements of a company.
The test
How many points do you make in your CV specific to the:
1) General job role (sales, marketing, IT, HR, research, consultant)?
2) Function (management, new business, account management, online or offline marketing, technical specialist, project manager)?
3) Industry (travel, FMCG, media, consulting, engineering)?
4) Type of company (small, medium, large, multinational, disparate, high growth, mature, fledgling, conglomerate)?
5) Core skills needed (influence & communication, leadership & team-working, commercial awareness, creativity, analysis & decision making, customer focus)?
6) Specific job description (evidence to support your case matched against the job specifications)?
7) Specific employer (exactly what can you bring to company x, are you a good cultural fit, what challenge does company x face you can help with)
If you have 7 points embedded within your CV you can count yourself in the 10%. If not, then reconsider your content – it’s not necessary to cover every point above, just be sure enough material exists to demonstrate to a specific employer why you offer more than the next applicant.
Remember; success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.
For more tips on CV writing visit our CV writing page powered by Abintegro.
Most major firms and organisations are now in agreement that for graduates to compete in the job market they need to have picked up some practical work experience in temporary or permanent work to show that they can apply themselves in the employment market.
Recruitment company Tate recently commissioned a survey that showed that over 40% of people have lied or exaggerated on their CV.
It is thought that the competitiveness of the UK job market and the difficulty in finding work has led to job applicants embellishing CVs in an effort to pip their peers to the few jobs that are available.
It is worth noting that employers are now well aware of this and in order to uncover these embellishments they are increasing the use of competency based interviews to ensure people are forced to be genuine in their responses.
