Most of my days were spent on the sun drenched snowy slopes with a general feeling of being able to get by on my skis.  Oakley goggles, Solomon helmet, Animal ski  jacket and salopettes, and lashings of thermal underwear, I was pretty much the embodiment of the saying “all the gear and not a lot of idea” on my winter holiday!  As time went by my confidence increased, my expertise developed, the slopes became more familiar day by day.  Most days the sun shone and the conditions were good.  My snow plough manoeuvres progressed to parallel turns and blue slopes turned into reds and then came the dreaded black runs.

Familiarity breeds contempt as they say, and as the week went on I became more acclimatised to the alpine ski slopes and then I noticed a subtle change.  On several occasions aided by my growing confidence, ambition definitely started to get the edge and cunningly outstripped my ability.  Suddenly, I would be half way down a slope when I would become painfully aware that I was in fact hurtling downhill, almost completely out of control and even more worryingly with ever increasing speed.  It’s at this point, as G forces started to take hold, that I quickly realised that I had two very stark choices.  I was faced with a dilemma, and one that needed addressing in less time than it takes to shout “where’s the brakes?”  All I needed was a nanosecond of clarity.

Here lies the conundrum:

Should I

a) Keep gathering speed either in a straight line down the hill or in a traverse across the slope, which would ultimately and certainly lead to a considerable and undoubtedly painful drop over the edge.  Or …

b) Put in a turn?

Putting in a turn would be the more obvious, sensible and from a spectator standpoint, apparently simple answer.  But the novice and lower intermediate skiers amongst you will recognise that there are occasions when this simple sounding manoeuvre is much more easily said than done.  Despite the lack of logic on the face of it, continuing on my existing course regardless of outcome sometimes seemed preferable to an unfamiliar and potentially tricky turn.  There is no need for answers on a postcard as more observant readers will notice that I am in fact here back in the office, and so must have managed the critical turns, despite the difficulty encountered, and mercifully with all my limbs intact! (or at least the two fingers required for typing.)

The analogy of course and the point of my article is that once on a course of employment, it can appear easier on the face of it, to continue in a role where in your heart you know that ultimately the course you are on is not the right one. You are familiar with your surroundings, your days are predictable, you may be relatively comfortable right now, but you are faced with unavoidable and all too familiar downsides to your job that hang heavy like a grey cloud.  Perhaps redundancy is looming or you know that your job is just plain wrong for you, but staying with the devil you know until your hand is forced, can often seem preferable to the deep blue sea alternative of willingly and deliberately initiating the action of changing course.  Changing your job seems possible in theory, but you might not be equipped with the practical skills and knowledge to make the leap of faith it will take to change your career direction.  You know getting a new job is possible, but just like carving a turn on the ski slope, making it happen is an entirely different matter.  It’s more the fear of the unknown and unfamiliar that is holding you back and the perceived effort of changing your job than anything else.

Now, here is the good bit.  I have some good news at this point for anyone who recognises this dilemma.  Unlike ski school which will cost you an arm and a leg (hopefully not literally), there is an abundance of completely free tuition available on the internet to help you make the transition.  Research will pay dividends and practice will make perfect in your preparation for job hunting.  Perfecting your CV, honing your interview technique, networking effectively with possible employers and recruiters, there is more careers advice on the internet than you can shake a stick or even a ski pole at.  Just like learning to ski I cannot guarantee you will get it right first time, and you might fall flat on your posterior a couple of times along your journey, but hopefully it will be a learning curve, and ultimately you will head off on a new direction to pastures or slopes new.  There are videos, articles, blogs, websites all completely free and written by those in the know, so if you really want to do it, fill your ski boots, take courage and put in the turn.

For those who would rather après ski than trawl the net, here are a few starting points.

Video 4 in a series of 4 on how to write a CV

Video 3 in a series of 4 on how to write a CV

How to answer competency based interview questions

http://blog.giraffejobs.co.uk for many more useful articles

I was recently posed this question, which brought to mind all sorts of obvious connotations, which I’ll try to avoid in my response.  I pondered the ethical and potentially sordid implications of such a question for a nanosecond and then I got a grip of my rambling thought processes.

Now, I could be wrong, and perhaps the questioner was simply asking if they should enlist the services of an escort agency, however as this question had been posted in a forum for CV Writing, I will assume that the subtext of this question is more closely related to questioning whether investing money in your job search, will enhance your attractiveness to prospective employers.  Happily, it’s in the area of careers and job hunting that I feel more qualified to provide advice, rather than the more tricky territory of the birds and the bees.

Writing a resume can be crudely described as “selling yourself on paper”. This is a skill which may come easier to some more than others.  However, all is not lost to those who don’t even know where to start. Before you get your wallet out, I suggest you make use of the vast amount of quality free information related to writing a CV or resume readily available on the internet. A quick google around, and before you can say Yahoo! or perhaps more recently Google Chrome, you will find loads of free articles offering sound advice from professionals who know what they are talking about when it comes to showing your best side on paper.  At this point I am tempted to make a shameless plug of my own blog where you can find ample free CV advice to get you started, but I’ll make you wait a bit longer for this little nugget.

Which takes me nicely to time, and time is money so they say.  So I advise serious job seekers to invest as much time and effort into getting a new job as they would into actually working.  So if you’re serious it’s got to be a 9 to 5 job, or if you’re already working, you’ll have to take this second job in the evenings, or at the weekends to achieve your goal, and start by writing a winning CV.   I’ll allow you the odd duvet day, or perhaps a post lunch nap, but you get my drift, generally the amount of effort put into your job search will correlate to the success of your search.  And just like being at work, just turning up is not good enough, you’ve got to be proactive.

For those of you who are lacking the motivation or confidence to make a start, I’m sure there are many excellent careers coaches and resume / CV writers out there who for a fee will do a good job in promoting you.   However, I’m an advocate of DIY, or at least looking in your tool box and giving it a try yourself as a first stage attack.   So log on, Link In and look around for the abundant free advice that’s out there for the taking.

Finally, and here comes the shameless plug to my blog, which has been written just for you, as a free resource to help you in your job search, and where if you take the time to have a good poke around you’ll find plenty of articles to stimulate your resume writing senses, along with 4 short videos in which I talk you through writing a winning CV.  And all free of charge!

http://blog.giraffejobs.co.uk

Take heed, keep your cash in your pocket or spend it on roses, and feel the prospective employer love!

Enjoy!
Rowena

When asked the question “What is the ideal length of a CV (number of pages) in your opinion and experience?”, the overwhelming response was 2 – 3 pages. I have seen articles saying a CV should be no more than 1 page long, which I consider too short. So I asked the question “What is your reaction to a CV of only one page?” Again the response was overwhelming in saying that this would be too short. Employers considered a CV of only one page to be vague, lacking in information, crammed, not enough experience to make a judgement on, and even graduate CVs were expected to contain more than one page demonstrating why they would make the ideal potential employee. I thought I would go the other way, as many people ask me if their CV is too many pages. I asked “What is your reaction to a CV of 5 or more pages?” Again the response was almost unanimous in the perception that a CV longer than 4 pages was waffling, contained too much information, irrelevant detail, was too long and that they would lose interest and perhaps even stop reading it before then end.

This led me to thinking what about the more experienced candidate who has been working for say 30 years, how should they detail their work experience and do justice to the vast knowledge they have amassed while not exceeding the 2 – 3 page rule? I asked the question “If you are reading a CV of someone with 10 years plus experience, how important is the detail about experience which is more than 10 – 15 years ago in your assessment of the candidate?” Most employers responded to this by saying that over 10 to 15 years you should only put dates, employer name and job title, they thought that you should omit the detail of the role. The information on jobs more than 10 – 15 years ago gives them insight into how your career has progressed but the detail was not at all important. This advice should help those with more work experience to shorten their CV without feeling that they are compromising their experience. Employers are most interested in what you have been doing recently, remember that as an applicant you are probably being assessed against a large number of other skilled and qualified candidates, so it will be those who most closely recently match the job requirements who will be shortlisted. This may be depressing news for some who feel that they have substantial and relevant experience albeit from 15 years ago, but I’m sharing inside information here about how it will be perceived. Incidentally for those looking for a change of career, perhaps back to something they did several years ago, you may be interested in another article I have written on this subject. Click here for career change advice.

The quality of CVs that come across my desk daily varies enormously, so as an afterthought I asked “How important is spelling and grammar to you when assessing a CV?”   Again the overwhelming response of the people who will typically be reading your CV or resume, and making a judgement on your suitability, responded that poor spelling and grammar reflected an applicant who couldn’t be bothered, lacked effort.  They replied that poor spelling and grammar on a CV generally gave the impression of someone who hadn’t put any real care or time into making their application.   I realise that spelling and grammar is not a strong point for many people, but you probably have spell check on your computer, you can buy a dictionary and you can ask someone else to proof read your CV for you…. I expect this last point will prompt a flood of eagle eyed Giraffe blog readers to respond with numerous errors on this very blog! I really must get round to reading Eat Shoots and Leaves one day!

For more advice on writing a winning CV you might like to watch the 4 short videos I have prepared offering further advice based on inside information on reactions from hiring managers and my own experience of spending the majority of my working day reading applicant’s CVs. http://blog.giraffejobs.co.uk/inside-advice-on-how-to-write-a-great-cv-resume/

In this article I will try to provide some ground rules and guidance for you if you are thinking of changing your job and specifically having a complete change of direction.

If you are trying to change your direction and move into a new career, my general advice at this point in time is Don’t do it! However I would like to add a couple of clarifying points to this. If you are in a secure position where you are, consider the state of the world economy and the daily news of redundancies. There are at present large numbers of people losing their jobs due to the recession, many of these will be highly skilled and experienced in their area and will be joining the long list of job seekers looking for their next job. If you are trying to change your direction in your career you will be competing with an increasing number of experienced applicants for the same role. I’m not trying to dissuade anyone from looking for a new job, on the contrary there are lots of really exciting opportunities out there, even in this time of economic suppression, but right now it’s probably more realistic to look at career opportunities within your existing area of skill and expertise. This advice applies equally to you if you have been made redundant and are looking for a new role. If there was ever a time to play your joker and use your areas of greatest strength it is now.

A good example to illustrate my point was a recent applicant who was a Chemist in a pharmaceutical company, he approached me for advice about getting a job in the offshore industry. He wanted to know if I thought he would get an interview for an offshore Chemist job. My advice was that I thought it highly unlikely that he would progress to interview stage in the face of competition from applicants with offshore Chemist experience. He said that he would be happy to pay for his own offshore survival and medical. Again I had to advise that simply possessing these certificates may not increase his chances, as the key factor in short listing would be evidence of relevant experience in the sector. My advice was that he should look at moving into a petrochemical / oil and gas related chemist role onshore initially so that he gained experience in the right sector, and that once he had done this he might even find that a company may sponsor his offshore survival and medical. So keep your expectations realistic, set your goal and work out a set of steps that you need to take to reach your goal. It may be that you need to take a number of small steps rather than a giant leap of faith.

Have you thought of finding a new role using your existing skills and experience but in a new way or with a new company? I spoke to a candidate only yesterday who was completely unaware until very recently that his skills were very much in demand. He is a Mechanical Engineer with particular experience in Maintenance and Reliability engineering and he has good petrochemical experience. At present there are a number of companies looking for these skills and this person was delighted to find out that he could command a good salary or daily rate in a new and challenging role with a new employer. He had been feeling that his role had become stale, it had lost its challenge and he felt stuck in a rut. What better time to look for a fresh new start where he can use his 30 years of experience in a new and interesting job, and in this persons case one that will pay generously for his knowledge. I’m currently waiting for news of an interview, and he was under the misapprehension that no one else would be interested in him! Nothing could be further from the truth for this person.

So if you are feeling like you’d like a change of job, analyse whether it is your duties, your employer, your career aspirations or your colleagues that you want to change, and decide which of these factors is the most important to you? Do you really need to change your direction completely, perhaps you just need more of a slight deviation than a complete U-Turn. Tempering your desire for complete change may prove more lucrative too. Now look for your next role, contact your recruitment agent and take advice. Spend time polishing and honing your CV, it’s your key to change, and is a critical factor in your success. Advice on writing a CV is addressed elsewhere on this blog, and finally, keep your expectations realistic. (However being a glass half full kind of girl I always struggle with this last one myself!)

If you have found the information on this blog useful I welcome your feedback and would be pleased if you would pass my link on to others who it might benefit.

Thanks

Rowena

I have been asked the question many times “Which order should I put qualifications and work experience on a CV.   My advice is always to use reverse date order, or reverse chronological order as it is sometimes known,  there are good reasons why this will make your CV better reading which I will explain in this article.

Imagine that 15 or even 25 years ago you started your career with a job as a trainee draughtsman in an engineering drawing office, you were using basic AutoCAD, and perhaps even an ink pen, eraser and razor blade as I did around 30 years ago. Since that time hypothetically you have risen to the dizzy heights of Principal Piping Design Engineer for a world leading multidisciplinary engineering consultancy.  In between times you have risen through the ranks of junior engineer, engineer, senior engineer and lead before achieving you current role heading up the Piping department as Principal.   In the course of your work you use complex software packages such as PDMS, and have achieved a degree in Engineering and chartered status.

Now imagine that you are the head of HR looking for a Principal Piping Design Engineer, offering a fantastic salary, great benefits, a super pension and expect a good response when you advertise the position.  Think about how much time you will have when faced with 100 CVs to short list, before passing the shortlist of 10 to the hiring manager, and how you might have to fit this in around many other pressing tasks you have.

CVs are often read at speed and yours will probably be amongst many others competing for the same position.   It is really important to create a great impression in the first half page of your CV which will make the reader believe at first glance that you are a serious contender for the position and that they should read on further.  The person reading your CV at this first stage will have certain criteria that short listed CVs have to pass, for instance a HNC in Engineering, experience at Lead level and use of PDMS.  If the first qualification the reader comes to is a City and Guilds level 3 in Soft Furnishing, followed by an O Level in Photography only surpassed by your day release ONC in Engineering, they may have given up the will to live before reaching the crucial information that you are a degree qualified Engineer with Chartered status.

The same applies to your work experience. The reader of your curriculum vitae is not interested in your arduous and highly responsible work as a paper boy which taught you organization and prioritizing skills (I did actually see this on a CV for an graduate engineering job).  Your trainee draughtsman job is interesting in terms of seeing where you have come from, but what the hiring manager or recruitment consultant is really looking for is what you have been doing most recently. Your most recent work experience is the best indication of your suitability for the role you are applying for. Employers are looking for recent relevant work experience, and always future employees who are going to be value for money.

In summary then, make sure that you always use reverse chronological order, or reverse date order on your CV. Dress your CV to Impress, put your best foot forward and your most recent work experience and qualifications first and work backwards from there.

Good Luck!

Here are my 10 top tips for using Linked In to get a job

1. Basic Information –  Make sure you include your name, don’t be shy!  If a recruiter is trying to find you and isn’t in your network they will just get an anonymous profile.  Use your name and you stand a much better chance of being contacted from Linked In.  Include your post code or zip code, so if I’m searching for you by location you will come up high on my list of people to contact

2. Professional Headline – Use a job title that will get you noticed and by that I mean one that most people will recognize immediately what you do.  So if your job is taking dogs for a walk, don’t put “canine exerciser” or “4 legged friend promenader”, even if that’s how your current employer describes your role.  Use a globally recognized term, so when I’m searching for a “dog walker”, I’ll easily find you.  The same applies to the section where you include description of your current position

3. Photo – Include a photo of yourself, don’t be shy about posting a photo on Linked In, everyone looks at you all day long so posting a photo is no great shakes.  It will give you greater identity and individuality.  A face and a name together always works better and you appear more approachable.

4. Summary and Specialities – This is your chance to sell yourself.  You need to think about how internet searches work here.  Put yourself in the shoes of the recruiter or hiring manager who you hope might be looking for you, now think what words they might use to find someone with your unique and boundless talents.  Let us suppose the person searching for you has your dream job, which happens to be as a highly paid belly dancing plumber.  You know you have the skills to fill that job, you wobble in all the right places and can fix a leaking tap, however if you wax lyrical in this section about having a sense of humour and being a team leader, not to mention your rhythm and skill with a blow torch, I will never be able to find you.  Think of the key words I am going to use to find you – “belly dancing” and “plumber”  would be a good place for me to start, so if those words don’t appear in this section of your profile you won’t appear in my search results.  Try the search facility on Linked In yourself and see how easy it is to find people.

5. Experience – Again in this section think keywords, be specific, name the sectors you have worked in.  Tell me what the company does that you work for, don’t leave me to guess here.  If you are a salesman selling gizmos and widgets, tell me how many widgets you sold in a year and how far above the target that was.  If you are a gizmo engineer tell me what sectors you engineered your gizmos to and what software you used, so if I’m looking for AutoCAD gizmo or Primavera Pgizmo, or even PDMSwidget again I will be able to find you.   If 15 years ago you worked as a Team Leader in a drive through restaurant, and you’re now aiming at a job as a Technical Authority onboard a North Sea offshore rig, it’s doubtful that this old career information is of any value, unless you plan to be a Technical Authority on fast food rather than Mechanical or Electrical Engineering.

6. Interests – It’s good to show your human side as long as your hobbies aren’t contentious or just plain weird, so add a few here to show you are a rounded sociable person with normal interests, but skip the detail about your baked bean and custard fetish.  Remember employers are looking for someone who will fit seamlessly into their organization, and even Heinz might take a dim view of your potential as Lead Electrical Engineer bearing in mind your propensity for misuse of their food product.

7. Recommendations – Get recommended, only ask people who know you well and can honestly comment on your qualities, and avoid returning the favour immediately, as when the Linked In recommendation updates go out to all your connections, 2 people mutually and generously commending each other always looks a bit suspect.  Hard cash works just as well and looks less obvious!  (only joking!)

8. Groups – Join Groups, the more the merrier, you can join up to 50 groups and leave them at any time. You will expand your network immediately by joining these groups and many of them are populated by recruiters and HR Managers looking for people with your skills.  Join the groups that relate to your area of employment by using the “search groups” facility and apply to join.  Once you are a member contribute to the group and get noticed, post discussions and news, answer other members queries.  You could start by joining my 2 groups – Oil & Gas UK and Nuclear UK, everyone is welcome.

9. Polls and Questions and Answers – Get proactive and be noticed, answer polls and questions, even create your own poll and pose your questions, keep them relative to your area so that the people who will notice you are the ones you most want to know you exist.

10. Contact Details – Most importantly, if you want to be contacted by the widest possible number of recruiters and hiring managers for your dream job include your phone number and email address on your profile and make your profile visible to everyone.  I often see great potential candidates for a job who have not visible contact details and as they are outside my network I can’t contact them without resorting to super sleuth tactics.

So there you go, homework for tonight, bring your Linked In profile up to date and let me know if it makes a difference.   If you have found this article useful please let me know and pass it on to others.

Good Luck!

Rowena