The moment you receive a rejection letter (usually an automated email), the first question that pops into your mind is why?
It would be helpful – on an emotional and practical level – to have a list of pet hates of potential employers. You don't knowingly want to annoy them, but psychic powers aren't often included in job descriptions.
At the How to: Teenager Life Skills Jamboree last month, attendees were taught top networking tips and how to eradicate common CV errors, as well as being given advice on university applications. Spelling mistakes, letter-writing and irrelevant experience all top the list.
So if you're keen to secure an interview and find a job, these top tips will guide you through the process, beginning with cracking how to write a killer CV:
Turn curriculum vitae into concise vitae
CV writing is a life-long process – the document will change as much as you will in your career – so mastering what to include is a real skill. Rachel Spedding, managing director of Bright Network, stressed the horror of list-like achievements, spelling mistakes, and eight-page CVs.
The answer?
• Establish yourself as a brand. Who are you? What are your values, your skills and personality like?
• Keep the CV to one page. Robin Kennedy, co-founder of WEXO, said that a CV should be constructed of one page per every ten years in your career.
• Check, and double check spelling – get others to proof-read.
• Get the formatting right – keep it clear, concise, and correct.
• Pay attention to analytical detail – ensure grammar and content is accurate and constructive.
• Be accurate. Don't lie about dates of jobs/achievements – companies will check.
• Be ruthless – only use top and most relevant achievements.
• Create a virtual CV on LinkedIn.
Anti-social media versus find-a-job-social-media
With 92% of hirers using social media to recruit in 2012, using LinkedIn, Google Plus, Twitter or Facebook is a useful way to find a job. But use it wisely:
• Connect with companies you are interested in. Like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, join their group on LinkedIn. This will enable you to actively engage in conversations with the companies directly.
• Network. The etiquette of connecting on LinkedIn is far more relaxed than on Facebook. Do not be afraid to send messages to employers you feel can give you key advice.
• Ensure you have a suitable Twitter handle and Facebook name. Sometimes the choices made when you're younger don't reflect you as a young professional – get rid of CandyBabe29.
• Be pro-active. Actively seek companies and employers you are interested in, and express your interest by asking questions. The worst they can do is not reply to a tweet or a comment – nothing ventured, nothing gained.
• Creative? Start a blog or website to show your communication skills and link it to your social media accounts for more exposure.
• Keep it clean. Banish uncompromising photographs and delete any inappropriate comments. If you wouldn't say it to an employer, don't say it on social media.
• Do not bad mouth your ex-employer. Nothing is more unappealing to a potential employer than seeing previous signs of unpleasantries.
How to ace the interview
Acing interviews does not stop at the absence of bad-mouthing past employers. Communications coach, Edie Lush, reinforced the importance of body language in interviews. In an interview scenario, 10% of your impact comes from content, 30% from your voice (do you sound nervous?) and 60% from sight (do you look relaxed, anxious, uninterested?)
So how can you demonstrate the right body language at interview?
• Use your hands. Move them and keep them above rather than under the table. This shows interest, enthusiasm and energy.
• Turn the volume up. Speak with conviction and maintain volume – you don't need to be deafening, but enough to sound confident.
• Emphasise key words rather than speaking monotonously.
• Pause to give yourself time to think and get more oxygen your brain. Pause three times longer– and three times as many times – as you think you should so your audience has time to digest what you say.
• Sit up straight and put your shoulders back. This will subconsciously make you feel more confident, and keeps you looking engaged.
• Project your voice so your audience can hear you clearly.
So those are our tips. The rest is up to you.
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