09 Mar 2006

A different ball game!

Whilst a C.V. is still the most popular and most frequently used method in selecting candidates for job interviews, the market is changing.

Senior Managers and Directors have endured this for sometime, but now more line managers and supervisors are having to go through a longer, more arduous recruitment process. The recruitment process for many is now a steeper mountain to climb, as you are likely to undergo more probing and more extensive profiling than ever before.

Other than a Biographical (C.V. based) Interview, candidates now have to complete additional or alternative activities as part of the recruitment process, such as:

• Competency Based Interviews
• Literacy/Numeracy Tests
• Structured (Panel) Based Interviews
• Ability Tests
• Occupational Personality Questionnaires
• Assessment Centres

Some companies also require candidates to undergo pre-interview activities such as Telephone based interviews; some require the candidate to complete "homework" prior to their interview such as completing an actual case study; some businesses also invite references on a pre-interview basis!

The days of attending just 1 Biographical interview in the quest for a new job may well be long gone, but on the basis of the practices employed by hiring companies, it is even more important for you to get your C.V. right, 1st time.

You must take time and effort to put the right C.V. together. People still miss important details off like:
• Current Contact Details
• Home Address
• Salary/Benefits Information
• Job Titles
• Dates of employment
• Reasons for leaving

These are all aspects of a C.V. that many of us take for granted. Most recruitment agencies, and an increasing number of businesses use Bespoke/Off the shelf Recruitment Software which handles and stores your candidate information. The information that you present is of vital importance as this may affect the handling of your application, and even more significant: the end result.

All recruitment software effectively works in the same way, remember it is a database. It is dependant upon the information that is contained within it. Spelling mistakes, poor layout, etc can all affect the way in which the data contained on your C.V. is or isn't harnessed by this software. A simple spell check can often correct most of these problems, but make sure it's a U.K. version and not an International one.

Software that "reads" your C.V. does cope well with fancy images, logos, etc so leave them off. Also, it's advisable to keep chunky lines and boxes out of your C.V. as these too can confuse Recruitment Software. They also eat larch quantities of Printer Toner!

Remember to put your career history in reverse order. Start with your current/most recent role otherwise you could lose out as some recruitment packages will automatically score your C.V. by date history, so it can work out which of your skills is most current/recent, and which ones are lapsed.

Training is also a difficult area to precisely nail down on your C.V., but ask yourself the following: "Should I leave that on?"
"Is it worth mentioning that course that I did 10 years ago?"

The danger presented by this aspect of your C.V. content is using up too much space that could be used for something else, but another common mistake that people make is providing a bibliography of every course they’ve ever been on, which often shows that you have only academic rather than actual experience of a subject that you studied. This too can lead the audience astray as they struggle to comprehend your rationale for completing completely unrelated courses, which often is the case.

Some recruitment packages will score the number of times certain words or phrases are used in your C.V., so it is important for you to consider both the grammar & language that you use to describe a role or job function. Failure to do so might be a precursor for rejection prior to interview.

The rule of thumb to use when constructing your C.V. is to assume that your C.V. is being read by an audience that doesn't know anything about your sector/industry/company/job role etc., particularly as it may be non-commercial managers that might assess your information in the first instance who may not have 1st hand knowledge of your skill area.

It is important to start each job role with a brief introduction to the organisation that you worked for, e.g. "Abacus Company Ltd, a leading 3rd Party Logistics business - High bay warehouse operator employing over 1600 staff across 3 main U.K. sites." Working as part of a shift based management team of 10, I was responsible for ……………" o

Some people may know of the company that you currently/previously worked for, in which case they will have some knowledge or familiarity with the business. In other cases, particularly for people who work in a different sector, it is important for you to give them a brief introduction to the business so that the reader and understand the type and size of business, whether it be a single site niche SME company, or a multi-site privately owned 3PL.

A tenuous subject that accompanies and job application is your expected Salary & Benefits. The ideal opportunity for you to do this is with your covering letter or initial email rather than in the text of your C.V. body. There is a danger that you could be dropped from a C.V. search by over zealous recruitment software, but also, your C.V. may well be viewed by a potential sub-ordinate or fellow line manager who may well not be at the same salary level as you.

To avoid any potential conflict of interest, it is better for you to keep that information as supplementary to your C.V.. The reader still needs to know your current earnings as the current fluidity in the employment market is having a sharp impact upon market rates and client’s budgets.

It is better to state your actual salary level so that your potential audience can gauge your current earnings or value of your overall package. Many people price themselves out of the consideration for a role on the basis of an over eager salary expectation rather than a sensible representation of your current one. Whilst many people cite low pay or capped salaries as the main reason for seeking a new role, in many instances money is not the main motivator to move roles.

It is for this reason that again it is more sensible for you to cite your salary/package details and any supporting statements that would enable the reader to understand other factors which might be affecting your current benefits package (or lack of it) that is presented by your employer, such as a salary freeze, no company car or car allowance available, a shift towards individual staff member rather than family benefits.

A recent report showed that many employers are not matching inflationary increases in their contributions towards staff benefits. Many employers are in fact only making piecemeal contributions, in many instances the value of the benefits package offered to employees is less than 10% of their basic salary in value.

There was a competitive trend in the 1990's to provide more comprehensive benefits packages to staff, including flexible benefit schemes such as "pick & mix" schemes allowing employees to opt in and out of different benefits according to their individual needs.

An increasing number of Privately owned businesses particularly in the SME sector struggle to offer many benefits if any. This makes the market tougher for them when they are looking to attract people from larger businesses in particular, especially when candidates become accustomed to receiving such benefits and therefore would be at a personal loss if a potential new employer could not offer similar benefits or a cash alternative.

Our last two hints to help you with your C.V. are: 1. DON’T KEEP THE CAPS LOCK ON when typing your C.V., and 2. Don’t type everything in BOLD font. Again, the printer’s don’t like it!