f you’re read our why your CV isn’t getting viewed post, you’ll know that your CV’s partner in crime, and penultimate BFF is a covering letter. They work together to reach out to a recruiter and show them what you’re made of. By dictionary definition, a cover letter is a document sent with, and explaining the contents of, another document or a parcel of goods. In our case, a job cover letter is paired with your CV and acts as an introductory to it.
It’s important to note that a cover letter is a supplement to your CV, not a replacement. Meaning, you don’t just repeat whatever has been mentioned. It can be overwhelming to format the letter if you’re not a natural writer (we learnt this the hard way!) but we think we’ve now nailed the recipe… Without further ado, our tried and tested format to craft the perfect cover letter: 1. Header - Input contact information 2. Greeting the recruiter/hiring manager 3. Opening paragraph - Grab the reader’s attention with 2-3 of your top achievements 4. Second paragraph - Explain why you’re the perfect candidate for the job 5. Third paragraph - Explain why you’re a good match for the company 6. Formal closing It’s as simple as that! And, of course, make sure the document is easily read, in the format of a letter and paired with a simple colour scheme, and you’re good to go!
0 Comments
Why your CV isn’t getting you an interview, from a professional recruiter.
If you’ve ever applied for a job in your lifetime, you will most likely have a CV, a standard A4 document listing your work history and essentially selling yourself to a recruiter. And although the creation of a CV sounds simple, yours COULD be putting off recruiters with it’s literacy, formatting, over-exaggerating and lack of updating. But don’t worry, you’ve landed in the right place. Here is 5 reasons your CV isn’t bringing in the interviews, from a professional recruiter.. You have spelling mistakes Your CV may not be converting due to something extremely obvious, like pesky, little spelling mistakes. In a world of spell-check, there really isn’t an excuse for having typos, especially in a professional document such as a CV. The last thing a recruiter wants to spot is a document filled with blatant, lazy mishaps in literacy. That’s why having someone to give a good old-fashioned proof read shall never be a bad idea! You haven’t written a covering note Your recruiter may have a huge pile of CV’s, much like yours, waiting to be seen. In order to stand out and get your CV read, a certain foundation must be laid before hand. Writing a covering letter act as a nice introductory to your recruiter, which will incise to want to know more, and essentially read your CV. A lot of candidates forget this step, and this could be a factor into why recruiters or recruitment agencies aren’t picking up! Irrelevant job history So you’ve written a decent introductory cover note, and the recruiter has picked up your CV. Great! Unless of course it is filled with irrelevant job history and achievements, then they’ve switched off at the first skim… A common misconception of CV format is that you should create a large list of every single inch of employment history, but this just isn’t true. For example, if you’re applying to a HR firm to be a diligence consultant, the employer simply does not need to know about your babysitting gig between GSCES at 16, or your part-time barista experience at 17. Of course, if this is the entirety of your job history, not much else can be listed. However, if you’re 35 and have had 2 HR jobs prior, perhaps miss out the previous teenage career choices! You’re formatting is.. well.. ‘off’ From experience, candidates go either one of three ways with regards to formatting their CV, 2 of which ‘aren’t ideal’ and one that is preferred. They will either pull up a word document, type free-style and leave nothing inline or formatted to be easily read (a huge put off for recruiters!) Or go completely crazy with photos, colours and maximalist design (another big no-go!). Both of these extreme formatting styles shall limited the conversion of your CV, therefore if you fit either description, it may be time for a switch up of formatting. Meet somewhere in the middle and create a simple, clear, inline text document and avoid photos and luminous colours. You’re exaggerating, and it’s obvious! Recruiters have been trained to specifically sniff out any ‘slight exaggerations’ from your resume, believe me! So your little white lies could be the reason your CV isn’t sailing into the interview stage. Whether you’re slightly over-selling your responsibilities or completely plucking a job title from thin air, remember that honesty is always the best policy! As pride month comes to a close, we want to touch upon the recruitment process, and it’s links to being a member of the LGBT+ community.
When you’re applying for a new job, no matter your background, there is a fear of being scrutinised for not being the ‘ideal candidate’. But when asked about sexuality, is being truthful always the answer? Checking LGBT+ on your application form and simply being open shall eliminate any potential awkward encounters of having to ‘come out’ in a real life scenario. As well, you can get rid of a toxic employer off the cuff with any disapproving responses. And, of course, we’re told to never lie/exaggerate on a job application. But, in the grand scheme, does it actually matter? The advice of some of National Student Pride’s co-chair, Max Taylor: “Top employers are well aware that starting a new job requires a process of fitting in. “Hiding something authentic about yourself in an application will only limit yourself as you travel along the process feeling like you’ve got a secret to tell” Who you love shouldn’t have a single effect on your ability to do the job, nor should it act as a personality trait or define you as a person. And often, you may feel as though a certain opinion from an employer may shoot your chances down, despite if they’re ethical or far from it. It’s easy to be dropped into certain boxes or stereotyped, even before an initial interview. Essentially, choosing whether to select your sexuality is a completely personal choice. However, for peace of mind, you may choose to do direct research into a company regarding inclusion policies. Our advice would be to look beyond rainbow logos this pride month and select a company who you’d be comfortable working for. Our name has been purposely constructed to embed our company values and messages, in the form of an acronym! Our work process is centred around empowerment, our people and extreme quality.
E - Empowerment of our team and candidates, ensuring they’re in the best hands. We combine the likes of training tools, encouragement and specialist resources to create the recipe to succeeding career greatness. We take immense pride in readying a candidate for a job process, laying a foundation and providing insightful interviewing strategies. Not only do we create personalised resources, we take the time to understand our client and bring them only the most suitable job titles for application! In short, we are the ultimate hype men and women that will ensure you’re comfortable and ready to achieve! P- Person-centered. Much like empowerment, we put our people in the forefront of everything we do. Recruitment is nothing without those who are willing, and we strive to ensure that everyone is satisfied with the process outcome. We work with establishments equipped and ready to employ candidates, take the time to understand their ideal contender, and work tirelessly to find perfect matches! Q- Quality. EPQ was founded simply by building a foundation of trust. We work completely transparently with our stakeholders and deliver nothing but honest and integral work! Our consumers are constantly pleased with our managing of expectations and always feel satisfied with the amount of quality filtered into our work. In short, we have been in the shoes of our clients, and know the feeling of their situations, therefore are able to create relatable strategies and become the framework we needed once before! We’re nothing if not delivering personalised quality! And there we have it, a deep dive into our acronym name, which was in no way subsequently picked from thin air! We believe our name is perfectly suited to our company, and to work with us, you’d immediately agree. |
AuthorHi, we're the EPQ Recruitment team and we'll be keeping you up to date with all the latest news! Archives
April 2023
Categories |