Tag: CV

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How To Create An Impressive Video Resume?

Create An Impressive Video Resume?

In today’s highly competitive job market, candidates are creating video resume for rapid employment. Anyone could easily record a video and upload it to the Internet to capture the attention of prospective employers.

The video resume provides detailed information about candidate’s skills and professional life experiences.

In this post, we are going to share tactics to create a video resume that will entice the reviewer. Here is how you can create a video resume:

 Make Sure It’s Appropriate

As a job seeker, you don’t just need to create instead you need to create one that will accomplish its relevant goals. If you’re applying for a position in the online media, then an appropriate video resume can play a key role to land you on the vacant position. Make sure to create a decent video resume that has the potential to make you qualify for an interview round.

Additionally, you should never send a video resume to a company who prefers the “old methods” of hiring because it might reduce your chances of getting the job.

Jot Down a Script

Don’t just make a video instead do some preparation to use this recruitment tool in the best way possible. For this, you will need to create a script that will allow you to answer all questions that doodles in the mind of recruiters.

By creating a boring or dull video, you are likely to create a negative impact in from of the reviewer. Therefore, create an interesting video that will cover all major points that will help you in the recruitment process.

Keep It Short

When it comes to creating a video resume, a one-minute time duration is ideal. According to a report of recruitment magazine, video resume should be short, relevant and not more than two minutes.

Remember that recruiters watch your video for recruitment purpose only, therefore don’t add elements that will make it diverting. A short video will easily show off your personality and avoid elements that can reduce your chances of recruitment.

Be Professional

Don’t include your personal life stuff in your video resume as it’s a professional component. Dress appropriately as you do for an interview and maintain a professional environment as well. It’s really important to have a sophisticated background of shots and make sure it has enough lighting.

A professionally-developed video can boost your chances for employment. Therefore, use an HD camcorder to shoot your video so that you could express your qualities in a clear manner.

 Add Creative Elements

Undeniably, a video resume is the great opportunity to showcase one’s creative skills to a potential employer. Be creative, and come up with unique concepts to make a video that has the capacity to inspire any reviewer.

For example, you can wear professional attire in the video to inspire the recruiter. Don’t add too much creative stuff in your 2-minute video that will confuse the employer. Instead, add elements that will easily capture the attention of employers in a professional manner.

Share It in Your Circle

Once you prepared an innovative video resume then share it with your network. This is will allow you to get feedback so that you can make your video more powerful tool of recruitment. In addition, ask your friends to review your video, and suggest you ways to make it better.

Don’t share your video directly over the internet as it will go viral quickly and you will no longer have control to amend mistakes in it. Thus, take feedback from friends and family first then share the edited version in your professional network.

In the end, it could be stated now that the above information is appropriate for job seekers who want to please their reviewers with video resumes. Share it in your network as well to help out others.

Author Bio

Anna Marsh is the writer of this post. She is a Career Counselor, Veteran Writer, and a Blogging Expert at Assignment Help Deal firm. The majority of her articles discuss the different areas of educational affairs, and career management. She is conscious about her fitness and practices yoga as part of his daily life. You can reach her via Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

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Can You Use White Lies on a CV?

First a WARNING, white lies are fine, but be careful as employers have a legal right to dismiss employees who lie on their applications/resumes. But we all make white lies, and a tweak here and there on your resume can be the difference between you receiving that all important interview offer or not.

 FREE CV

The Job Title Killer? 

Companies are very creative with their job titles; the problem here is that one business may use a term (or job title) that another doesn’t.

When applying for a new position, you may record the job title used in your current job that might be misunderstood by the new employer.

Remember many employers will initial skim through your resume, checking if you have the relevant experience, if they wrongly believe that your creative job title is a different job to the one you are applying for, you may be quickly dismiss from the interview list. Examples of this are “Planner” or “Landscape Architect” “janitor” or “Sanitation Engineer”

Close the Gap. 

Delete the months and only leave the years in your employment history section as this deletes any short periods of unemployment. Employers will just presume you haven’t been unemployed.

Words Have Power. 

The words you hear have different representations, even though the word itself has the same meaning. In the Resume you need to use power words, as power words will create the overall stronger impression, from the employer perspective.

Which sentence sounds the best? “A good team player” or “an excellent team player” both sentences have the same meaning, but the second sentence sounds stronger by replacing one word. Go through your resume and edit the words, until you create the best overall impression.

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The 2 main reasons why doing something between jobs is so important

When between jobs it is easy to fall into a negative routine off staying up late watching a late-night movie, waking up past dinner time, which leads to a late breakfast and by the time you have finished watching the afternoon talk show the time for job searching is over.

To combat this negative routine job hunters need to fill their time between job searching and a second activity IE training, volunteering, etc.

There two main reasons to fill your time:

Reason One: from the employers point of view, when reading your CV a gap in your employment can look negative, with some employers generalising that gap means your lazy or you have served a short term prison sentence.

As with all generalisations this conclusion has no evidence, but once an employer has a negative thought about you it is hard to  have a change of mind. So the first reason is, by volunteering or training you will have a gap-free CV

Reason Two: a job is more then just an income it is an identify, when being between jobs you can easily become down beat or depressed falling into that negative routine we discussed before.

By undertaking a training course or by volunteering, you will create a purpose, a positive routines and a new identity, in short you will feel good about yourself keeping you motivated during your new job applications and interviews.

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One Line to Secure a Job Interview

With so many people being made redundant and an increase in small company closers, you can see why the demand for every job vacancy has arisen.

To beat the competition, you only need One Opening Line! If you knew which one sentence would secure you a job interview, would you add it to your application?

As we all know, employers quickly skim through your CV and Covering Letter, what they do all read is your opening line, it makes sense for this opening line to be the best sentence on your CV or Covering Letter.

Before writing your opening line, you first need to know what essential skills, qualities and experiences the employer requires, all you have to do is show you have these in your opening line.

Ask yourself, what is the one thing the employer would want me to achieve? This could save outgoing cost, increase productivity, make a profit, moving people forward with their life, it doesn’t matter what the employer requires of you, it’s about how you can prove you will achieve this in just one line.

Now you know what the employer requires, the type of person they are looking for, to add value to your opening line you need to evidence that you can achieve what you say you can achieve, you can do this by relating it to your own experiences.

This simple technique is how our CV Writing Service achieves maximum success with our customer CV’s

Example Opening Lines:                                                                                                 

  • “Successfully tripled company profits within a 12 month period by….”
  • “My leadership skills and innovation quickly turned around a company producing a high loss into a profitable company by….”
  • “Saved X company over 1 million pounds, by creating a new system to take raw materials to production to the sale of goods bypassing expensive third parties”
  • “Increased productivity and reduced sickness which lead to an increase in profits by 35% year on year”
  • “Experienced in successfully managing multimillion pound projects…”
  • “With over 10 years experience as a keynote speaker, delivering inspiring talks to groups of over 500 delegates…”
  • “My ability to problem solve along with my keen eye for detail, allows me to quickly find areas of high cost; in every company I have worked for this skill has helped me to decrease overhead payments leading to higher profits”
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How to Write a Powerful CV – Don’t Tell Anyone Else!

Google “how to write a CV” or “what is a targeted CV” and you will find thousands of links, information and advice to help you write your own CV.  It’s not about how many articles you can find, but which articles offer you the best information; today you will learn how to write a powerful CV, how to word your CV to emotionally excite the employer and how certain CV words make a big difference.

The Internet is a great tool for finding advice on CV writing and CV writing services which means all your job hunting competitors have access to the same resources, it doesn’t matter what resources people find but what you do with this information, what action will you take today to improve your CV?

Why does your CV not gain you interviews? It’s too standard; we have already read articles on targeting a CV now you will learn how to “word” your CV and words make a big difference.  First start by using some excellent CV Templates, your CV has to sound positive and needs to be good visually.

Positive Word’s                                                                 

Let’s look at these examples, which examples impresses you the most?

“I am a good team player” or “I am an excellent team Player”

You can see how a little word makes you feel different; these two statements say the same thing, but one sound’s much better then the other.

“I try my best” or “I put a 100% into everything I do”

“I can meet targets” or “Increasedcompany profits” Now these two sentences sound completely different, but mean the same thing (achieving targets increases profits) all you have to do is re-frame the first line into a new frame, making your CV even more powerful

“I can come up with good ideas” or “highly creative and innovative”

After reading these few examples above you will notice how to quickly improve your CV, in a minute a will share an even bigger secret that will double your chances of gaining an interview offer from your CV application.

First, we have a little exercise for you, in the table below you will see a list of common CV words, all you need to do is re-write the word in a more positive way.

Common Word or Phrase

Positive Replacement

  • I work well with others
  
  • I am reliable
  
  • Enthusiastic
  
  • I have experience of
  
  • Knowledgeable with IT
  

As you are sat down, reading this article on improving your CV you can start to think about all the ways this article can help you improve your CV. For some you will feel so excited about writing your CV you will want to start right away, before you start to write your improved CV, I will share one last secret:

Increase your Interview Offers

Everyone knows that a CV is designed to gain you job interviews, as the employer reads your CV they will create an image of you in their mind if they like this image you will receive an offer for an interview. In a forth coming article I will explain in more detail how this happens, for now just think about when you read about a new character in a book, after a brief description you have a visual image of the person in your mind –it happens the same way when an employer reads your CV, they make an image of you in their mind.

To double your chances of gaining a job interview use examples instead of words; an example or real life experience will evidence that you have the skills and qualities needed for the job role.

Let’s get you started with an example “I am an excellent communicator” A well used statement in a CV; you can easily add a little meat to the bone and increase your positive image in the employers mind:

“As a mentor in a local high school, I am able to change my language when working with teachers or pupils to gain instant rapport, I build on this rapport my listening and showing empathy while at the same time giving my professional opinion, leading to positive outcomes” 

This small statement highlights your communication skills and much more without mentioning the word “communication” by reading this statement the employers is given a fuller picture of your experience, skills and qualities creating a fuller positive picture in their mind.

General CV’s have already stopped people getting interview offers, you now need to target your CV and add detailed information about your skills and qualities – you need to keep the employer interested! “Leading to positive outcomes” the employer will ask themselves “how many outcomes, what type of outcomes, outcomes with the pupil or teachers?” to find out they need to invite you for an interview.

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Do i Need A Web CV?

Web CV

Technology has changed the way we search and apply for vacancies, in the past we would type a CV and post it out to employers, the mail would take several days to arrive and in some instances would be lost on route!

These days using the world wide web, job searching has speeded up. We can find a vacancy and contact the employer instantly via e-mail (or in some cases using a social network site)

CV

Currently, we e-mail employers with our CV attached as a PDF document and record the cover letter text in the body of the e-mail. Job searchers are using the Internet to evolve the way we job search and Web CVs are becoming more popular, especially in ITC, Media, Performing Arts and Catering Industries.

A Web CV is your CV online. By creating a one or two-page website you can design a creative-looking CV to catch the employer’s eye.

Unlike standard CVs you can also scan in your qualifications/certificates and upload these to your Web CV. For Creative and Performing Arts careers, you can add videos, photos and reviews, proving you have the skills, qualities and experience the CV states you have.

Web CV

A Web CV, like any other CV, needs to be brief, to the point and MUST be targeted to the industries that interest you. A Web CV is easy to update and can be used as a working web document. Don’t add your contact details to your Web CV, for security reasons, as anyone can have access to your online CV.

When applying for jobs, on your phone or in an Internet cafe, you can quickly e-mail the employer with a link to your Web CV. To make your website safer you can use a password-protected website, remember to add the password when you send your Web CV link to an employer.

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10 Tips for a Perfect CV

10 CV Tips for creating a perfect CV

1. Use a CV writing service.

View your CV as an investment, if you can afford it you should consult with a professional CV writing service.

A professional service should be able to target your CV to a specific industry and job role, a targeted CV worded to catch the employer’s attention will significantly reduce the time it takes to find employment.

If you can’t afford a full CV writing service, templates for targeted CVs are included in the Secrets of Employment E-book.

2. Have your CV appraised for free.

A CV appraisal is normally a free service and can be a good opportunity to test out different companies’ services.

When sending your CV for a review ensure that you explain what job role your CV is being used to apply for. Once you receive the appraisal, don’t be afraid to ask any additional questions about their comments or suggestions.

3. CVs should be a maximum of two pages.

A little bit of information that is often told but not always adhered to! Most employers only spend 30 seconds skimming through your CV looking for certain criteria, having a CV that is 4 pages long makes this job more difficult.

Keep your CV brief and to the point, remember the CV is designed to gain you an interview. It is during the interview that you can recount the nitty-gritty details of your vast employment history.

4. Break up the CV text.

Employers can receive up to 300 applications for every advertised job – an arduous task for the most committed recruiter! Using Headings, Shadings, Bold, Bullet Points to break up the CV text, making it easier for the employer to read or “skim” through.

5. Use Font size 11 or 12.

A simple but often overlooked detail – The text has to be easy to read, employers can spend all day reading CV’s – let’s make it easy for them! If you’re struggling to fit the text on one or two pages, use font size 11 but no less. Avoid the use of unusual fonts – Arial is simple and easy to read.

6. Target your CV.

You need to have a targeted CV; a targeted CV is a CV written for a particular industry, job position and company. You may like to save a generic CV which can then be edited for specific roles using job specifications and company information.

7. Always send a Covering Letter.

Candidates may spend hours on their CV only to undo all their good work by neglecting to enclose with it a Covering Letter. Research undertaken by Employment King indicates that many companies will not even read CVs that are received without a Covering Letter. Some CV writing services offer free Covering Letter letter templates with every CV.

8. CV text should be concise and to the point.

An easy mistake to be made with CVs is the temptation to include masses of information, CVs are more difficult to reduce than they are to increase.

Everything you have undertaken in your working life is a selling point, on the CV you need to intrigue the employer, leave them wanting to know more. Include around 3 bullet points for each job and start by recording the duties you did that are needed for this new role.

9. Match your skills.

Once you have applied to a job advert, most employers will send you a job specification. Read the job specification and highlight the “Essential Criteria” these are the main skills the employers is seeking.

These criteria must be visible in your CV or you shall not secure an interview. It goes without saying, a record that you have these skills on your CV, this way you have nearly guaranteed yourself an interview.

10. Feedback.

Remember – there is no failure, only feedback.

If your CV does not secure you interviews, you need to change it either yourself or through a CV review service such as that provided by Employment King.

You should not be afraid to ask employers for feedback, this is considered to be a standard part of the application process and can stand you in good stead for future applications and how you can make yourself even more employable.

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10 tips when posting your CV online against fraud

CV stole by criminals

I am often asked, “Can I be a victim of fraud by posting my CV on the web?” The answer is “Yes!”

On average, criminals committing identity fraud only need 3 out of 15 pieces of information, don’t let your online CV give criminals a chance to commit identity fraud.

As job hunters are keen to gain employment, many do not think twice about giving companies the information they request. How do you know if the company you are applying to actually exist?

Criminals can easily advertise for a bogus job just to gain your private information, I even saw one job advert asking for a fee for the company to accept your CV.

Protect yourself from CV ID Fraud

1. Google the company name, gain contact details and check if the company exist

2. Be wary with e-mail addresses not containing the company name (some criminals will advertise a fake vacancy for a real company)

3. Ensure your details have not been saved on a computer desktop or in document files when using public computers and internet cafes

4. Don’t leave your paper CV lying about in public places, shred any CVs before throwing them away

5. While job searching on the internet is a great way to find employment, especially when you can upload your CV onto employment websites, you first need to ensure you do not give to many personal details away.

6. Good CV hosting websites will not show employers your personal information without your consent.

7. Your CV should show your skills and qualities, once an employer is interested they can request a full CV and references. This is because your CV is “live” on the internet for everyone and anyone to see, unlike a paper CV which will only be read by the employer.

8. With the age discrimination act, you no longer need to record your date of birth on your CV-stopping criminals from knowing your age.

9. Only give your forename and surname on your CV

10. Do not include your place of birth

11. Never record your marital status, no employer needs to know this and employers should never discriminate against people being married or single

12. You can use a telephone masking service, stopping you from publishing your private phone number

13. Never give any bank details to an employer until you have a job offer in writing. Employers only need your bank details if they employ you and want to pay your wage into your bank account. Never ever put bank details on a CV.

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How to get rid of gap’s in your CV

Do you have a CV with gaps in your employment history? Don’t worry, so do many other job hunters. Some gaps can be easily explained, while other normally longer gaps may not be so easy to explain.

The secret to writing a CV is to keep the CV positive, especially when explaining employment gaps. If you can not avoid the gap in employment, you should record an explanation rather than just leaving a long gap.

If you leave a gap, an employer reading your CV, will notice your employment gaps and may come to their own conclusions why you have the employment gaps.

How to get rid of gaps in employment.

1. On your employment history only record the years of employment rather than the day, month and year as this will quickly delete any small gaps of unemployment between jobs.

2. Record if you have had time off for becoming a parent or taking a gap year to travel-you can even record what skills and qualities you have gained from this experience that you can use in your new job.

3. If you have had a custodial sentence and completed any qualifications while in custody, you can record the qualifications and governing body. This will look like you have attended a training establishment. You don’t need to record criminal convictions on your CV, when completing an application form you have to answer honestly the question “do you have a criminal record” Remember with many industries you don not need to declare “spent Convictions” for more information visit the Nacro website.

4. Many people at one time throughout their career have a long term illness, leaving them with an employment gap. Explain that you have had an accident or illness and you are now completely recovered and ready for continuing with your career. I recently worked with a client who had recovered from cancer, while having treatment the client became a mentor for other cancer patients, from this he gain a wide range of skills that he could add to his CV.

5. Have you been unemployed for several years? Many job hunters find a large unemployment gap hard to explain. To overcome this type of employment gap you need to highlight any positive activities you undertaken, this could be voluntary work, attending a short course or a hobby that has given you transferable skills that will be useful to your next employer.

Need help? Use a professional CV writing service.

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How to write a good CV

What is a good CV?     

Only a CV that gains you an interview is worth having.

Your CV may look great; have a fantastic image and all the relevant sections. The CV may also tell an employer how amazing and wonderful you are, but if your CV does not gain you interviews then something needs changing.

Sell yourself through your CV

With many people who are applying for work, they will either have a CV that does not sell their skills and Qualities or a CV that records the skills and qualities they have, which are not relevant to the job role they are applying for.

Targeted CV

You need to target your CV to the industry you are applying for. To do this think about the skills, qualities and duties for the job role you are applying for. Read the job specification for the job role and ensure all the essential requirements are recorded on your CV. Take out any information that is not relevant to the job you are applying for. On average employers often “skim” through the pile of applicants’ CVs, spending around 30 seconds reading each CV; this is often due to the large volume of CVs applicants send for every advertised job. Once an employer has created a narrowed-down pile of the job applicants CVs, they will then spend longer dissecting each CV to ensure they interview the candidates with the most relevant skills, qualifications and experiences.

Writing a Personal Profile

A personal profile is on average 4-5 lines describing all your skills and qualities that are relevant to the job role you are applying for. This should be a “Selling” paragraph that shows you at your best. Often the employer will read the personal profile first, if they like the sound of you they will continue to read your CV.

Use a powerful opening line; the opening line needs to catch the employer’s attention. What have you done that will impress an employer? What do you have that an employer will want? “With over 10 years of experience in retail management working with the UK’s leading retail companies, I have been responsible for increasing profits year on year for the past 6 years.” As you can see the opening line above highlights 3 key points to impress an employer:

10 years experience

Working with the UKs leading retail companies

Increasing the companies profits

How to create ideas for your Personal Profile

A great way to get your creative juices working is to mind-map; get an A4 piece of paper and draw a little picture of yourself in the middle (this can be a Stick-Person) draw on some hair, eyes, glasses, etc to represent you, like you would do when you were 10 yrs old (this is to get into the mind of your inner-child and will help you to be more creative) Think and write down everything you like about yourself, everything you are good at.

Most people find this hard to do at first, but once you get going you want to be able to stop. Don’t be shy; no one is going to see this, write down every little thing, not just worked related but anything you are good at. You may have recorded a verity of work, hobbies and family related task, now think what skills and qualities that make you good at this task? And record all of these.

Keeping going until you have exhausted your brain. As an example – Cooking – good timing, multi-tasking, planning ahead, following a list/recipe, work under pressure, experienced, good pallet, etc

Once you have done this, your mind-map will be full (and hopefully overcrowded) with task, skills and qualities. Now think about the industry you are applying to, think about the job duties, skills and qualities needed.

Circle (in a bright coloured pen) all the tasks, skills and qualities you have on your mind map that are related to your job goal. You will find that often a certain skill or quality will have been mentioned several times throughout your mind-map, write these down as these can often be your strongest transferable skill and quality (your selling point)

You now have a list of your strongest skills and qualities that are needed for the job you are applying for, this is the basis for your personal profile. Turn your list into a paragraph, adding a strong opening line. Re-read and then edit your personal profile 3 times/or until you are completely happy with your personal profile.