No Wonder There’s So Much Unemployment

Employers.  What gets their goat? A recent report from www.recruitmentrevolution.com tells all.

Salutary tales aplenty, but if your time is tight and your will is weak, eyes down for a brief synopsis.

CVs: top of the hate-list by several lengths – spelling errors.  (I told you so.  Now will you believe me?)   Other faux pas: poor formatting, no contact details, informal photograph, a long “about me” section, unprofessional email address (babemagnet@cheapmail.co.uk will just not cut it.  It may not pull in the babes either).

A clear winner in the font stakes – Mistral.  Comic Sans came second.  Times New Roman was an also ran.

They say: why not engage the services of a professional CV writing company?  We say: there’s one right on your doorstep at WG 3, Queen’s Building

Interests: Oh dear, oh lor. Clubbing and watching reality TV were top of the flops, “socialising” not far behind.  Whatever it involves, keep your nightlife under wraps.

Correspondence with recruiters: Txt spk qckst way 2 lose jobz . + b sure 2 show no emoticons.  LOL

Interviews: watch your (body) language.  No eye contact, handshake as limp as a wilted lettuce, aggressive posture, slouching –  they’re all in there.

What not to wear to interviews: Over casual threads, loud or comic ties, vertiginous (look it up) heels.  In contrast, it was well-nigh impossible to dress too smartly.

Networking nous : about 75% of employers  check you out on Facebook or Linked In.  So keep your  profile up to the minute and take down the posts (and the incriminating photos) of last year’s holiday activity on Ibiza.

There’s more, there’s more: largely about what (not) to do on your first days at work.  But maybe that’s a blog for another day.

Gill Sharp
Senior Careers Consultant
QM Careers Centre

Work experience on CVs – how to sell it and make it relevant to the employer

I see a whole range of experience on CVs. Sometimes people have already done exactly the sort of job they are applying for, which is an enviable – and very unusual – position at this stage of life. Other times people are searching for something to say about a McDonald’s job they had three years ago. If you are in the second group, there are a couple of ways to go about solving this problem.

The other day I read a CV and didn’t even notice at first that the applicant had had no formal employment and this was because the CV covered all the skills necessary for the job, with clear achievements and evidence. Through his work with a relevant university society he had showed motivation, leadership, and communication skills. From relevant project work on his course he had developed project management abilities as well as demonstrating problem-solving skills and both written and oral communication. At school he had held positions of responsibility that had involved him organising an event and attending meetings with school managers. And in his spare time he was reading relevant magazines and attending networking events. These activities were listed under ‘Experience’, ‘Positions of responsibility’ and ‘Interests’.

So, as you can see, work experience doesn’t have to be formal, paid employment. You can gain and demonstrate valuable skills as part of your course, through getting involved in university activities and societies, and through getting involved in your community. You can then use your CV to highlight these skills and convince employers that you have experience of communicating, organising, persuading, and problem solving – and much more.

Of course, formal jobs can also provide you with these skills – even a part-time job at McDonald’s can be effective on a CV if you highlight relevant skills that it gave you. For example, if the job you are applying for suggests that they need someone who can deal with clients, you can write about how at McDonald’s you communicated with customers in a polite and friendly manner. If the job requires sales skills or persuasion, perhaps you were successful in up-selling (persuading customers to buy additional items). You might also have team-working skills to offer, and have experience working under pressure – both of which would be useful to any high-paced office working environment.

If you still feel that your CV is looking a bit thin and you want to add to your experience of formal jobs, you might want to think about applying for jobs on campus, or internships. QM runs both a temps service (QM Temps) and QM Projects – a scheme that gives QM students the opportunity to lead a project in a local charity. For further information on both these schemes, and to see other opportunities for work experience see: www.careers.qmul.ac.uk/workexperience/index.html

Ultimately, employers will want to see evidence of work experience and skills on your CV. So gaining a combination of skills through extra-curricular activities or volunteering, and some experience of a commercial workplace or responsibility within an organisation will really help you present yourself to future employers.

Would you lie on your CV?

Have you ever told a lie on your CV? Maybe a little one like making it sound like you had a bit more responsibility in a past job that you actually had or a big one like saying you had a degree that you in fact didn’t have?

This may be more common than you think. HR magazine published an article stating that graduate CV fraud looks set to increase as tuition fees rise and the job market remains competitive. According to HR Magazine the top 4 applicant qualification lies include:

1. Giving a higher class degree than they actually have.
2. Saying they’ve completed a course when they’ve only partly finished.
3. Changing the subject of their degree to suit a job’s requirements.
4. Saying they have a degree when they in fact do not.

So, is it okay to bend the truth?

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that the Careers team and any recruiter would highly advise against any CV fraud as the cost of getting caught can be severe. When you’re thinking of adding that little (or big) fib to a CV, keep in mind that:

• Recruiters are often trained to catch on to lies. Recruiting the candidate with the right skills and experience is what they do and they are often trained to pick up on mistruths.
• You are likely to be asked for more detail about your degree and experiences listed on your CV at interview. If your answers even appear ever-so-slightly untruthful they won’t give you the job. Just think how important it is to for a company to hire someone that they trust from the very start.
• Employers are increasingly checking degrees. The Higher Education Degree Datacheck (HEDD) is a service that allows employers to check the validity of an applicant’s degree. More employers are using this system.
• You could lose your job. If you do land the job and your employer finds out that you told a significant lie during the application or interview process, it would be seen as a breakdown of trust and you could be fired. This would leave a gap or ‘reason for departure’ on your CV that would be very difficult to explain to future employers.

 To read the full HR Magazine article click here. To get advice on your CV or application, please contact QM Careers.

Lindsey Shirah
QM Projects Coordinator
QM Careers

Job hunting in the creative services industry: know your audience!

There’s no strict formula for job applications – even more so in the creative sector. With industries that are pushing the boundaries of how businesses communicate, it’s often important to prove that you are as forward thinking and tapped into what’s going on as they are. Candidates are finding many different ways to communicate their value to creative employers; from videos to animated CVs. It can be a particularly useful way of getting noticed when applying speculatively, rather than responding to a particular vacancy, which is a common way of getting experience in this industry. Here’s one we found that caught our attention: http://player.vimeo.com/video/21228618

But before you get your camcorder out, it’s worth knowing that these types of applications need to not only be backed up by lots of research into the company, but also well executed. This industry is all about standing out – don’t let it be for all the wrong reasons.

Having a unique selling point is important when it comes to these sorts of jobs – your employer is going to be selling your services to their clients, and you need to be part of the killer sales package – it might be that you’re a pro with the latest design software, or you might even be an expert in building relationships with clients. A useful thing to do is to research the company – find out what makes them special within the market and gear your application to show how you fit in with that ethos. If the design company you’re applying for is the best in the field for 2D animation, tailor your CV to show that you have similar strengths. Similarly, if the company doesn’t deal with Facebook, spending heaps of time discussing your use of it might not be a beneficial use of words.

The Guardian has put together a list of 7 deadly sins that graduates often commit when applying for jobs in the creative services sector. Use this as a heads up to avoid making similar mistakes when you come to apply for these types of roles. And remember, if you’re unsure about your application form, CV or interview technique, our Careers Consultants are on hand to give you advice and feedback.

http://careers.guardian.co.uk/seven-deadly-sins-creative-application?CMP=

Josh Lee
Employer Engagement Administrator
QM Careers Centre

Is your CV ready for summer?

The weather may be cold and grey, but spring term has officially started and summer will be here before you know it. Is your CV ready to compete for the onslaught of summer internships, work experience placements and (dare I say it) graduate jobs that will pop up after exams? If your CV isn’t quite up to scratch, why not use these few months of spring term to your advantage?

How QM Projects can help.

QM Projects is a work experience scheme that places QM students into CV-enhancing projects in local charities. Each project is designed to help you add quality work experience to your CV that will hopefully stand out to future employers. Projects  only take up 3-7 hours a week of your time and last approximately 3 months.  Although unpaid, travel expenses are covered. Additionally, the advice and feedback you get during the application and interview process of QM Projects will ideally give you the confidence and skills to succeed in future applications.

What current projects are available?

To sign up to receive alerts when a new project comes available email your name, course and graduation year to Lindsey Shirah at l.shirah@qmul.ac.uk. Have a look at all of our current projects below. For full details about the project and how to apply, please click on the project title. Application deadlines are soon so you’ll need to act fast!

1. Tutoring Project Leader, Bethnal Green Academy: Tutor students in either maths, English, science, geography, history, French or Spanish. Will include some one-on-one, small group work and classroom support. Excellent opportunity for anyone interested in a career in teaching or youth work. Deadline Tuesday 15 January at 10am.
2. Data Analysis Project Leader, StudentVoice : Assist with breaking down and analysing data from the charity’s consultations. Compile reports exhibiting data and identify appropriate ways to present the results of data analysis to others. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in a career in data analysis or one that involves working with numbers. Deadline Friday 18 January at 10am.
3. Communications Project Leader,  StudentVoice: Assist with the development and maintenance of the charity’s social media and communications strategies. This will include contributing the development of the StudentVoice blog, e-newsletter and social networking sites. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in a career in communications, marketing, PR, media or roles that require excellent written and communication skills. Deadline Friday 18 January at 10am.
4. Fundriasing Project Leader, StudentVoice:  Support the charity’s Director in researching and writing fundraising applications as well as developing a fundraising strategy. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in a career in fundraising, law, business or the cultural or third sectors. Deadline Friday 18 January at 10am.
5. Training Support Project Leader, StudentVoice: Assist in the administration and delivery of a range of interactive workshops to secondary school students. Training workshops include some role play and applied drama. Some travel may be involved, but travel costs will be covered by the charity. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in gaining experience facilitating training and interactive workshops or utilising applied drama skills. Deadline Friday 18 January at 10am.

First impressions count – is your CV convincing?

Often your CV will be the first impression a potential employer gets of you and the one thing that stands between you and an interview, therefore it’s important to get it right.

Five top tips for a great CV:

1. Show that you will go the extra mile- try to think of times when you have gone beyond what was expected of you. Emphasise this to your employer to show that you have the ability to think independently and be a leader.
2. Show your personality and be individual, focus on your qualities and make your application stand out from the crowd.
3. Be concise. It can be helpful to use bullet points to enable your potential employer to find out about you quickly and easily. Remember that they may have a large number of applications to consider, therefore the ease at which they can read your application could be the difference between securing and interview or not.
4. Use real-life examples of skills and experience that is relevant to the role, but avoid jargon and long-winded anecdotes.
5. Pay attention to presentation and technical details. Make sure the font you use is clear and that the document is set out in a way that is easy to read. ALWAYS spell-check your application before you submit it, and perhaps get someone else to give it a read through too.

Book an appointment  at QM Careers Centre to get feedback on your CV, cover letter, personal statement or application form.

Jenny Carter
QM Careers Centre Vacancy Researcher

Great website for graduate job hunting

The website www.gradsintocareers.co.uk run by The Careers Group is a fantastic resource for graduates looking for work. It features everything you need to begin your job search, from current vacancies, to tips and advice on fine-tuning your CV.

Key features include:

• Jobonline search facility – current vacancies advertised through The Careers Group, searchable by part-time/ full-time, sector or keywords.
• Events – upcoming events for graduates to meet employers and find out more about their companies.
• ‘Careers Tagged’ (found under ‘Advice and Resources’ in the main menu)- websites, info sheets, relevant books, etc. relating to all aspects of job hunting.

These are just a few of the website’s highlights, but there are many others, so if you’re struggling to give your job search direction it’s definitely a site worth checking out.

As a final note, if you are a recent graduate of QM, you are entitled to free membership to GradClub. Membership allows alumni to continue using their college’s careers service for up to 2 years after they graduate, giving access to some facilities for free, and others at a discounted rate. To find out more about this, visit http://www.careers.qmul.ac.uk/students/alumni/index.html.

Writing an application, personal statement or CV? Phrases to avoid…

Here are some overused phrases that we see again and again on applications, personal statements and CVs that actually don’t add value to the writing. Your word count in these documents is precious! Make the most of every word you use to show you in the best light.

“I’m an out of the box thinker”.  A cliché as worn thin as a dollar bill in Cuba. Especially not to be used when trying to demonstrate what an original and creative thinker you are.

“I would relish the opportunity”.  Always be wary of using language that you wouldn’t normally use.  Someone opportunity relishing has a craven ‘eager-to-please’ quality that grates.

“From an early age.”  People use this because they want to demonstrate they have a vocation – an undoubtedly good thing.  This phrase though makes employers  worried that  you fastened on your career when you were six years old and haven’t really investigated anything else.  Consider instead what you want to have achieved by the end of a career and that will tell you what is motivating you.

“Honed these skills” – is this something to do with carpentry or metalwork? Whatever, it’s limping in only just ahead of the ‘out the box’ thinking. ‘Developed’ is better than honed. Now don’t all start using ‘developed’  because that will become a cliché as well.

“Hardworking, enthusiastic and a fast-learner” – err..you mean you don’t have enough skills or experience but you can make up for it by bouncing around the office, probably with relish?  These qualities are almost a given in today’s job applicant. Instead you need to tell employers what skills and experience you have and provide the evidence to convince them.

Consider instead how you might write simply about these qualities.  For example instead of ‘from an early age’ I sometimes encourage applicants to imagine they are at their retirement party and overhearing what their colleagues, clients and family are saying about them.  Thinking about what you want to have achieved by the end of a career will tell you what is motivating you now. Or, instead of falling back on your hardworking enthusiasm talk about your track record of what you have actually achieved and can deliver.

When I point out clichés to students they are rarely surprised. At some level they know the prose is tired and lifeless.  Don’t wait till someone points it out. Listen to that little voice in your head that is giving you a warning.

Jeff Riley
Careers Consultant
QM Careers

Your CV (for part time jobs, internships OR graduate schemes) – one size does NOT fit all

It is that time of year again when most of our queries at the Careers Centre are all about CVs – whether it is for part-time jobs, internships or graduate schemes.

This article in the Guardian gives a number of helpful tips on how to successfully navigate the application process. One example is the importance of tailoring your CV to each role that you apply to. Even though you may have spent ages constructing a beautiful CV, which includes a short description of every job you’ve ever had, this doesn’t make it suitable for every position you apply for. One size definitely does not fit all.

Don’t forget that your CV will be one of many that a recruiter will be quickly skimming through, looking for specific skills and experience, to determine whether they should invite you for an interview. If you want to grab their attention, then make it easy for them to see that you fulfil their criteria (remember it’s all in the job specification) by explaining only the relevant experience and skills you’ve developed. Give examples of situations when you have employed the skills they’re asking for rather than just state that you have them. If you’ve previously undertaken tasks that this new role would entail, let them know. If you’re unsure of how to go about tailoring your CV, contact QM careers to book a CV clinic or an appointment with a careers consultant.

How to write a CV for banking

If you’re considering a career in banking, then this article in the Guardian is certainly worth a look. Although not published all that recently, it offers some helpful tips on how to construct a successful CV and some insight into what potential employers are looking for.

The main message of the article, perhaps not all that surprisingly, is that competition is tough. Employers want to see what differentiates you from the many other applicants, so get thinking about what skills and attributes employers are looking for and how you could demonstrate that you posses them, whether through your studies, previous work experience or involvement in societies or clubs. Remember that you can also make an appointment to see one of our careers consultants, who would be happy to offer advice on how you might look for the kind of work experience that would boost your CV as well as feedback on the CV itself.