Monthly Archives: December 2012

12 days of Christmas, Careers Advice, Job Applications, Networking, No, Seasons Greetings

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

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On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

….. 3 French Hens! Or for our theme: On the 3rd day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me Three Networks, Two Referees and a Killer CV!

Today we’ll cover the three main networks available for free to everyone; LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter – all three of these online social networking sites have plus and minus points. But when you are looking to identify and secure a new job, the plus points outweigh the negatives. You can manage your privacy on all of these networks and I actively encourage you to do so – you could even set up specific accounts for job hunting, clearly your LinkedIn account only needs to be as is and you should look to continue maintaining it and your contacts once you secure a new role as it important when using such a business networking site that you do not pester your contacts when you need a job and then drop off the radar until the next time you need assistance.

Your Twitter account can be used to join in discussions and follow job tweets and also is a good way to start making contact with specific recruiters (as the phone seems to be an impossible barrier at times). Facebook business pages seem to be growing by the day and so are the recruitment adverts, an easy way to integrate your usual Facebook activities is by having job updates in your news feed.

Relevant articles can be found here:

 

On the 1st day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me a Killer CV

On the 2nd day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me Two Referees

On the 3rd day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me Three Networks

12 days of Christmas, CV Tips, No, Project management CV, Seasons Greetings

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

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On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

 ….Two Turtle Doves! Following on our 12 days of Christmas theme with a twist, we decided to go for:

On the second day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me two referees and a killer CV!

Not all employers ask for references when offering a new role but a good deal do; therefore it is important to make sure you have the contact details of 2 referees to hand. Don’t put these details in your CV for a number of reasons:

  1. You do not want your referees being contacted until you are ready, if one or more of your referees in a current employer – then you really do not want them being contacted until you have decided to take a role (and have handed in your notice).
  2. As you send your CV into a number of agencies and direct employers you will unfortunately come across some recruiters who will use the contact details to make contact (often using your name) and try to gain a lead for recruitment. Not what you want put yourself in your referee’s shoes – being hounded by sales people using your name is not going to go down well.
  3. Save precious space on your CV – use the space on your CV more effectively, there is enough room for another bullet point in a remit or an achievement instead of someone’s contact details.
  4. Data protection – yes, that is right – we need to be more conscious of giving out other peoples details!

I have previously covered  references in CVs here.

12 days of Christmas, CV Tips, No, Project management CV, project management resume, Seasons Greetings

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

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On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

A Partridge in a Pear Tree – or so tradition would have it but this year we are going with a twist to the 12 days of Christmas and looking back at some of the articles covered over the past year. So, on the first day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me… a killer CV.

We have talked through the various elements of what makes a fantastic CV and would like to revisit some of those blog pieces here:

  • Profile – what it should say about you!
  • Achievements – how many to include and what they should say.
  • CV Length – just how long should your CV be?
  • Hobbies – why should you state hobbies in your CV (or not).

Working hard to ensure you have a CV that not only makes you proud but tips the interest of the hiring managers is essential. Can you honestly say you have a CV which meets the high expectations of HR to make a shortlist?

Friday Snippet, News, Observations, Project Management Communications, Project Management Lessons Learned

Council signs saying what we are all thinking – Friday snippet

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Whilst walking the dog recently I came across a new sign in the cemetery – now it may not sound like the best place to walk the pooch but there is a rather lovely “outer” walkway which is very popular for dog walkers and families, a must for town centres! The sign is an official council notice, but rather than signs of times past which might state; “Dogs must be kept on leads at all times” and “£xxx fine for dog fouling” etc this sign says so much more. On reading it initially I thought, wow that can’t be official but I also completely agree with it. From factual to explaining why we should comply actually struck a chord with me – perhaps a new way of reasoning with those who consistently break the rules.

I am one of few responsible dog owners that always cleans up after my dog and always has him under control. I do “tut” a lot at owners who let their dogs run a mock over graves and do swear under my breath when I step into faeces (who doesn’t right!).

I can see this approach to tapping into people’s consciences to deter bad behaviour could really work. Similar to project communications – we are often told not to do this or must do that but how often is there an explanation for the reasons behind the “rules” in place?

I have worked with a fair few colleagues and stakeholders who didn’t want to rock the boat by pushing back on decision makers and asking why!?

As much as we encourage questions and expect them – it doesn’t usually happen that way, so why not take a different approach to working and talk about reasons / affects as much as you would benefits!