Why can't I get a job?!?!
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Original post by Abdul-Karim
Experience > Grades in these types of jobs.
In regards to CV make it clear, simple to read and conciseHere
edit: Here's an example of mine
I currently have a summer job. Good luck in your job hunt.
In regards to CV make it clear, simple to read and conciseHere
edit: Here's an example of mine
Spoiler
I currently have a summer job. Good luck in your job hunt.
How did you get all that experience? Seems like you know people in the field :P
Original post by hellodave5
How did you get all that experience? Seems like you know people in the field :P
I was unfortunate enough to have no contacts in the field
. I networked absolutely from scratch.. I applied at various banks for insights, did the tests, interviews got through to ACs, started networking with employees/recruiters and worked my way up to a summer intern from there. Even befriending other candidates and networking with them to utilise their contacts help. Given I've just finished Y13 you see the strong power networking/establishing contacts has when entering related fields.If it's of any interest to you :
Spoiler
Putting yourself out there will get you places, it's a numbers game as well.
Original post by Abdul-Karim
I was unfortunate enough to have no contacts in the field . I networked absolutely from scratch.. I applied at various banks for insights, did the tests, interviews got through to ACs, started networking with employees/recruiters and worked my way up to a summer intern from there. Even befriending other candidates and networking with them to utilise their contacts help. Given I've just finished Y13 you see the strong power networking/establishing contacts has when entering related fields.
If it's of any interest to you :
Putting yourself out there will get you places, it's a numbers game as well.
. I networked absolutely from scratch.. I applied at various banks for insights, did the tests, interviews got through to ACs, started networking with employees/recruiters and worked my way up to a summer intern from there. Even befriending other candidates and networking with them to utilise their contacts help. Given I've just finished Y13 you see the strong power networking/establishing contacts has when entering related fields.If it's of any interest to you :
Spoiler
Putting yourself out there will get you places, it's a numbers game as well.
I eat my words. Nice man! Well done.
EDIT: Great LI page too. I need to do some work on mine, its terrible! In the works of making a CV at the moment for a part time job.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by hellodave5
I eat my words. Nice man! Well done.
EDIT: Great LI page too. I need to do some work on mine, its terrible! In the works of making a CV at the moment for a part time job.
EDIT: Great LI page too. I need to do some work on mine, its terrible! In the works of making a CV at the moment for a part time job.
All the best, good-luck with your applications!
Original post by gloria97
I've applied to loads of jobs recently at places like McDonalds, Pizza Hut and local cafe's and been declined by all of them. A friend pointed out to me that employers may be declining me because I'm 'overqualified' for the job. She said something like, since I'm doing well in school and stuff, employers think that if I'm offered a better job somewhere else during my employment I'll accept it and leave them, hence why they won't want to employ me in the first place. Could this be the case? I achieved A*'s and A's at GCSE and I'm predicted all A's for my AS levels, but I've always thought that this made me seem like a hard worker and therefore a suitable candidate for the job. Should I dumb down my grades on my applications to have a better chance of an interview?
For most of them it is about questionnaire thing.. I think that's why mcdonalds keeps rejecting you lol
They did that to me then I changed some of my answers and I got an interview
Not sure if this has already been mentioned but I just wanna add... it's not all about listing the job description but more about what you skills you have gained (e.g. gained confidence, customer service skills, time management, dealing with complaints effectively, etc) and what you have a achieved (e.g. in my current job I have achieved 100% mystery customer bonus which contributes to the store salary bonus!). If you have just come out of school, you could also say what societies or clubs you have been a part of and what you have achieved in them.
Original post by threeportdrift
You need help with your CV then, because most of what you've written there is wrong, which explains the very low interview count
Posted from TSR Mobile
Posted from TSR Mobile
Most of what I have got on my CV is wrong? Go on then, offer me some of your wisdom. You have not got a clue what is on my CV. Many of the jobs I've applied for haven't even needed my CV.
I have finished Uni, haven't got my results and that's going to make me instantly employable isn't it? I know no one else who even had a face to face interview since finishing and I finished Uni 6 weeks ago. I'm sure you will acknowledge the lack of jobs out there for the mount of people applying is a hindrance. Plus I am over 20 miles from Manchester (out on the Pennines), I commuted to Uni, 30 miles further to Liverpool and employers still have reservations about the commute!
I'd commute to Liverpool again, 2hrs 15-45 door to door really doesn't put me off.
As a huge self critic, I know describing one of my interests as a keen traveller could be off putting. Most of my travel is concerning watching sport all over the country/one two trips, only travelled 20,000 miles worth in under a year :s but only short weekend breaks.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by ChapelTom
My C.V is two pages long. But having finished University, you'd expect that.
No it isn't, employers don't want to see 2 pages until you have a significant professional career to demonstrate. Until you have a minimum of 5 years professional experience (ie post graduation) employers will prefer a single side of A4. It will be more effective as well, a CV is about quality not quantity.
Original post by ChapelTom
Paragraph on myself and what I want to achieve.
This in not CV material. Employers are recruiting you for a specific job, knowing what you want to do in the future is usually irrelevant, or even off-putting. If you feel it is vital you disclose your ambitions, you should do so in the covering letter
Original post by ChapelTom
Three key achievements and skills associated with them
This is more Connexions nonsense to save them effort. No employer takes notice of lists of skills/achievements etc taken out of context
Original post by ChapelTom
A Levels, GCSEs
These should take no more than 3 lines, 4 if you went to different schools for each set
20xx-xx School Name, Town
A level Subject (X), Subject (X), Subject (X), AS leve Subject(X)
10 GCSEs, including Maths and English (assuming you took neither to A level)
Original post by ChapelTom
Previous two jobs/work experience. One of them contains about 9 lines worth, maybe too detailed.
What you put in depends on what shows relevant skills. Employers don't want to know about your life, they want to know if you have evidence of relevant skills for the job they are offering. If you've done an identical job before, then 9 bullet points is about right, certainly more than 5 to show a detailed understanding of what the role requires.
Original post by ChapelTom
My key skills - got 7/8 of them
Again, employers will completely ignore this. The only skills they want to know about are THEIR key skills, ie the skills they need this new employee to have to do the job. As anyone in their right mind is going to claim they have these, and put them in a Skills List, employers don't value this format at all. What they want to see is the relevant skills presented in the context in which they got them.
Original post by ChapelTom
Hobbies and interests, which I link to skills.
Your Interests ( there's no need to say Hobbies as well - what's the difference? What does it add?) should still be in the same bullet point format, and still be giving evidence of relevant skills.
Original post by ChapelTom
I am expected a 2:1 at Uni, finished Uni 7 weeks ago and from about 50 jobs that I've applied for, 3 telephone interviews, 1 interview. Nothing else. And that's a mix of stuff from graduate schemes to warehouse work!
An effective CV to an entry level job should be returning you 10-15 interviews from 50 applications. If you aren't getting to the next stage in 1 in 6 applications then your CV probably contains something that is actively working against you, like not using bullet points, or being generic.
I have top grades and handed in my cv to some places and got a phone call the same day and got a job - so your cv or appearance/attitude when handing in the cv could have been bad or there just aren't any jobs going
Posted from TSR Mobile
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by ChapelTom
Most of what I have got on my CV is wrong? Go on then, offer me some of your wisdom. You have not got a clue what is on my CV. Many of the jobs I've applied for haven't even needed my CV.
I have finished Uni, haven't got my results and that's going to make me instantly employable isn't it? I know no one else who even had a face to face interview since finishing and I finished Uni 6 weeks ago. I'm sure you will acknowledge the lack of jobs out there for the mount of people applying is a hindrance. Plus I am over 20 miles from Manchester (out on the Pennines), I commuted to Uni, 30 miles further to Liverpool and employers still have reservations about the commute!
I'd commute to Liverpool again, 2hrs 15-45 door to door really doesn't put me off.
As a huge self critic, I know describing one of my interests as a keen traveller could be off putting. Most of my travel is concerning watching sport all over the country/one two trips, only travelled 20,000 miles worth in under a year :s but only short weekend breaks.
I have finished Uni, haven't got my results and that's going to make me instantly employable isn't it? I know no one else who even had a face to face interview since finishing and I finished Uni 6 weeks ago. I'm sure you will acknowledge the lack of jobs out there for the mount of people applying is a hindrance. Plus I am over 20 miles from Manchester (out on the Pennines), I commuted to Uni, 30 miles further to Liverpool and employers still have reservations about the commute!
I'd commute to Liverpool again, 2hrs 15-45 door to door really doesn't put me off.
As a huge self critic, I know describing one of my interests as a keen traveller could be off putting. Most of my travel is concerning watching sport all over the country/one two trips, only travelled 20,000 miles worth in under a year :s but only short weekend breaks.
The user has CV helper as their title, I think they know a thing or two about CVs.
Original post by ChapelTom
Most of what I have got on my CV is wrong? Go on then, offer me some of your wisdom. You have not got a clue what is on my CV. Many of the jobs I've applied for haven't even needed my CV.
I have finished Uni, haven't got my results and that's going to make me instantly employable isn't it? I know no one else who even had a face to face interview since finishing and I finished Uni 6 weeks ago. I'm sure you will acknowledge the lack of jobs out there for the mount of people applying is a hindrance. Plus I am over 20 miles from Manchester (out on the Pennines), I commuted to Uni, 30 miles further to Liverpool and employers still have reservations about the commute!
I'd commute to Liverpool again, 2hrs 15-45 door to door really doesn't put me off.
As a huge self critic, I know describing one of my interests as a keen traveller could be off putting. Most of my travel is concerning watching sport all over the country/one two trips, only travelled 20,000 miles worth in under a year :s but only short weekend breaks.
I have finished Uni, haven't got my results and that's going to make me instantly employable isn't it? I know no one else who even had a face to face interview since finishing and I finished Uni 6 weeks ago. I'm sure you will acknowledge the lack of jobs out there for the mount of people applying is a hindrance. Plus I am over 20 miles from Manchester (out on the Pennines), I commuted to Uni, 30 miles further to Liverpool and employers still have reservations about the commute!
I'd commute to Liverpool again, 2hrs 15-45 door to door really doesn't put me off.
As a huge self critic, I know describing one of my interests as a keen traveller could be off putting. Most of my travel is concerning watching sport all over the country/one two trips, only travelled 20,000 miles worth in under a year :s but only short weekend breaks.
I have been in work since graduating in 2010. I have never included a paragraph about me in my CV. If you absolutely must talk about yourself, then that's what a covering letter is for.
By the way: if I had been the person to have responded to you, with that diatribe in response I would have refused to give you any of that wisdom. But then again, I'm quite petty.
(edited 9 years ago)
I've noticed in a few job applications (eg. Greggs) they ask something like, "what do you hope to do in the future?" or "what are your future goals?". Stupidly whenever I'm asked this, I always say i wanna do a phd and do research in the field of physics etc. Just realised this is a bad idea since employers only care about the company and not (necessarily) about the applicant. So when I'm asked this next time, should I lie and say I want to move up and progress within the company or something? Please note, I'm an absolutly rubbish face to face liar, so I'd be completely screwed if I'm asked to talk about this in detail at an interview...
If this is a bad idea, what would be the most suitable response to a question like this?
Posted from TSR Mobile
If this is a bad idea, what would be the most suitable response to a question like this?
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by threeportdrift
No it isn't, employers don't want to see 2 pages until you have a significant professional career to demonstrate. Until you have a minimum of 5 years professional experience (ie post graduation) employers will prefer a single side of A4. It will be more effective as well, a CV is about quality not quantity.
This is the one thing I personally am not convinced by... If I had a pile of CVs on my desk, it would be quicker and easier for me to get to the information I wanted in a clear well layed out CV that took two side rather than a single page with the same information in a more compacted form. Some CV advisers do advise this - good use of whitespace (for the purposes of clarity and impact rather than being purely stylistic) can make any document more accessible and quicker to get through.
Original post by Abdul-Karim
Experience > Grades in these types of jobs.
In regards to CV make it clear, simple to read and conciseHere
edit: Here's an example of mine
I currently have a summer job. Good luck in your job hunt.
In regards to CV make it clear, simple to read and conciseHere
edit: Here's an example of mine
Spoiler
I currently have a summer job. Good luck in your job hunt.
Out of curiosity, which type of summer job did you apply for? It looks very professional considering you haven't even attended university yet (which is a good thing).
Original post by natninja
This is the one thing I personally am not convinced by... If I had a pile of CVs on my desk, it would be quicker and easier for me to get to the information I wanted in a clear well layed out CV that took two side rather than a single page with the same information in a more compacted form. Some CV advisers do advise this - good use of whitespace (for the purposes of clarity and impact rather than being purely stylistic) can make any document more accessible and quicker to get through.
Trust me, I've read through thousands of CVs - over 5,000 on TSR alone, and I recruit graduates and at other levels regularly. In that time I've seen maybe 5 or 6 people on TSR who genuinely had enough relevant evidence to warrant a second side of A4. For the overwhelming majority the second page is only 'needed' because they have listed individual modules or exam subjects, taken two lines for every section heading, used 1.5 line spacing and the default margins of 2.54 or 3cm margins.
You can get a perfectly good balance of white space and text using a single side of A4, and still produce a competitive CV.
Original post by Ndella
Out of curiosity, which type of summer job did you apply for? It looks very professional considering you haven't even attended university yet (which is a good thing).
I'm an intern at an Investment Bank.
Original post by Abdul-Karim
Experience > Grades in these types of jobs.
In regards to CV make it clear, simple to read and conciseHere
edit: Here's an example of mine
I currently have a summer job. Good luck in your job hunt.
In regards to CV make it clear, simple to read and conciseHere
edit: Here's an example of mine
Spoiler
I currently have a summer job. Good luck in your job hunt.
Well structured cv
Original post by SloaneRanger
Well structured cv
You should've seen my first ever attempt at a CV
Original post by Abdul-Karim
But many people, especially us students fail to realise that. I failed to realise that at first as well.
It's true: working your way up and gaining more and more time and experiences in your line of work leads to better jobs... BUT, for a lot of initial/first-time/primary work experiences, you need qualifications. Qualifications only have a very high importance till the age of 30, I think; unless you work in a meritocracy of course (which would be ideal, and what I believe in, if you were rewarded solely based on your actual OUTPUT within your actual job).
Original post by natninja
Last time I had an interview they complained at me for not putting my individual modules or exam subjects...
How's mine? Getting it readable and down to one side would have been impossible if I'd had a different job this summer to the last one. Naturally the 'Other' section is to be tailored as appropriate.
How's mine? Getting it readable and down to one side would have been impossible if I'd had a different job this summer to the last one. Naturally the 'Other' section is to be tailored as appropriate.
I suggest you take it out of a public forum and open a private thread in the CV forum
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