Our aim is to assist you however possible to find your ideal job and apply for the vacancy advertised in the most appropriate manner possible. Your first impression is through your CV, which is your passport to meeting the employer for an interview. So these chapters have been written to make sure that first impression is as indelible as possible so you will be offered that interview and therein be offered the job. Do not forget this does not cover all scenarios and is meant to be used as a guide as to what we would term as standard recruitment practice.

We hope you find it useful and best of luck in searching for your ideal job.

Job Hunting

Job Applications

Application letters

Cover Letter Sample

CV Writing

Structure of the CV

Personal details

Education and Qualifications

Career History

Other information

CV Sample

Following up the CV

Job Hunting
Job vacancies have traditionally been advertised in newspapers and local or specialist journals/magazines but nowadays the greatest source of vacancies is the web. And one of the greatest sites for doing this is of course Careerint.com (or you would not be reading this!). There are of course many other excellent employment and recruitment agency sites on the web which advertise vacancies nationally and internationally, nearly all of which will allow you to submit your CV on line.

When searching for your ideal job on the web it is very important to understand that you must include the most important noun or phrases that would be included in the job specification. Sometimes you will have to repeat a search a number of times to receive the perfect result. For example if you were looking for a job as an Accountant the employer might give the position the title of Financial Controller or Head of Accounts, so you should include these titles in your searches. However, you must not be over specific in your search for a geographical area as some employers are not very specific in their vacancy description.

Some sites such as this one will invite you to post your CV which might prove a useful speculative approach to hidden vacancies including temporary work which might prove useful whilst searching for your ideal permanent job. It is always worthwhile contemplating accepting temporary positions, if you are not working at present. They can often lead to a permanent job offer, as it gives the future employer the chance to see whether you would be suitable for the job. Also do not forget it will also give you the chance to truly assess whether you would like working with the employer!

Job Applications
Employment and recruitment agency web sites frequently include advice and assistance in producing a professionally written CV, see CV Writing. If you have not yet produced a CV or would like to check your own, it is worth referring to these articles for assistance in producing a CV that employers like to read. Do not forget the perfect CV does not exist and all these articles offer different advice. So it is worth reading a few of them and choosing the points that are most applicable to your own situation.

When you have registered your details on an employment site, the potential number of employers and in some instances recruitment agents is enormous. Do not however rely on being contacted. You must continue returning to the site to check for any new vacancies that may have been posted.
The format of your CV must also match the requirements of the database on which it sits, so the search engine which matches vacancies with CVs is more likely to match your CV with something suitable, in a shorter time. Many sites have an e-mail facility that will let you know about appropriate jobs. This is a useful feature, but not a substitute for your continuing to visit the site and search through the jobs available at least twice a week. But beware this facility can also be a hinderance, as some sites have been known to bombard job hunters with hundreds of irrelevent vacancies.

Application Letter
Your application letter introduces you and your CV to the potential employer which should contain three distinct parts:

1. Introduction and statement of source
2. Statement of relevance to the role advertised
3. Conclusion

Introduction and Statement of Source
The first section should clearly state the source of the advertisement, ie the newspaper name, internet or other source, the date that it was advertised, the title of the vacancy and reference number, if provided.

Examples of the first paragraph in a letter of application are: "I am writing to express my interest in applying for the role of Sales Manager, advertised on Careerint.com, reference number MX/67845."

Or

"Following our recent conversation, I am writing to express my interest in the position of Architect that was advertised on Careerint.com." The purpose of this first paragraph is to clearly put you in the running for the job you have applied for. Busy recruiters recruit a number of positions with similar titles at the same time. The first paragraph should give you a fighting chance for the job by at least getting your application in front of the right recruiter.

Statement of Relevance to Advertised Role
The second section of your letter of application should clarify why you are an appropriate candidate for this particular job. In preparing to write the second section, you should read the vacancy and about the company clearly and identify the selection criteria articulated in the vacancy. How you express this section is up to you. For example, you might be more comfortable with the succinct: "I believe I am ideally suited to this role because I have over 8 years sales experience, have a business related degree and managed accounts in excess of £100,000 etc, etc" or you may prefer bullet-point form, for example: "I believe I am ideally suited to this role because have:
•  8 years sales experience
•  business related degree
•  managed accounts well in excess of £100,000"

Concluding Section
In concluding your letter, express your interest in the job and provide any particular contact details that may be unique, for example: "I look forward to discussing this application with you in the near future. I can be contacted on XXX or alternatively, XXX during work hours." Another example might be: "I look forward to discussing this application with you in greater detail in the near future and will be available for interview at a mutually convenient time."

CV Writing
This section provides guidance on designing a CV to give you best possible chance in reaching the next stage of the process, the interview. Do not forget well-designed CV is essential to the job search process and should mirror the job for which you are applying as closely as possible and should be designed with your personality and industry in mind.

Structure of the CV
Decide what type of job you will be applying for and include this in the first line of the profile section of your CV to give the reader an idea of your area of expertise.
The covering letter or email is the best place to personalize your objective for each vacancy. There is nothing wrong with using an objective statement on a CV, however, don’t let it limit your job choices. As an alternative, you can alter individual CVs with personalized statements that reflect each job title.

Personal Details
Since your CV is an advertisement for you and your skills, you should think about the design of it from the readers standpoint. Your name should be the first thing a reader sees and remembers. To accomplish that, there is really only one rule to remember: Your name should be easy to read and it should stand out above the rest of the text. People must be able to locate you, but your address and phone number are some of the least important marketing details on your CV. Some managers spend only a few seconds reading a CV and might get through only the first third of it, if you are lucky. The reader's eyes should be drawn immediately to the things that will motivate him or her to read on.

You should make the address section part of the overall design, much as you did with your name, but keep it in an easy-to-find location. This can be done by placing the contact details at the top of the page, under your name. You should always include your e-mail address and mobile phone number. The same goes for your website address if you have a CV online.

It is a good idea to also add your marital status. Your age is no longer legally required but if you choose to add it, put your age, preferable to date of birth, as the reader has not got to work it out.

Education and Qualifications
Under the profile, list any education or training that might be relevant. If you are a recent school/college leaver or graduate and have little relevant experience, then your education section should be placed under your personal details. As you gain more experience, you could gain more qualifications and your formative education can usually be omitted.
If you participated in college activities or received honours or completed any notable projects that relate directly to your target vacancy, list them.
Showing school education and activities on a CV is only appropriate when you are under 22 and have no education or training beyond school/university. Once you have completed either university/college courses or specialized technical training, drop this information altogether.
Continuing education shows that you care about life-long learning and self-development, so think about any relevant training since your formal education was completed. Always look at your CV from the perspective of a potential employer. Don't waste space by listing training that is not directly or indirectly related to your target job.

Career History
Starting with your present position, list the title of every job you have held on a separate sheet of paper, along with the name of the company, and the city or coutry if abroad, and the years you worked there.
You can list years only (1998 to present) or months and years (May 1998 to present). People who are detail oriented are usually more comfortable with a full accounting of their time. Listing years alone covers some gaps if you have worked in a position for less than a full year while the time period spans more than one calendar year. For instance, if you worked from September 1996 through May 1997, saying 1996-1997 certainly looks better.
From the perspective of recruiters and hiring managers, most don't care whether you list the months and years or list the years only. However, regardless of which method you choose, be consistent throughout your CV, especially within sections. For instance, don't use months some of the time and years alone within the same section. Consistency of style is important on a CV, since it is that consistency that makes your CV neat, clean, and easy to read.
The description of each job should paint a picture, first of the work environment, ie. what the company does, if not obvious from it’s name, the size of the department in which you worked and who you were responsible for and to whom. Secondly you should state the principle responsibilities and duties of the role. These responsibilities should match the vacancy as closely as possible in the order of their importance. Lastly it is often important, if possible, to mention personal achievements within the role ie. If a salesman, always over achieved sales targets, mentioning percentages and amounts of money. If an accountant the amount of money that has been saved due to your efforts etc. If there are a number of these achievements to be included, these can be listed to give them greater impact and reduce the possibility of rambling.

Other Information
There are very few times when personal information is appropriate on a CV. Usually such facts only take up valuable white space, especially details such as age, sex, race, health, or marital status, and other information that potential employers are not allowed to ask anyway. There are exceptions to every rule in the CV business, however! Here are some of them:

• International CVs often require age/date of birth, place of birth, citizenship, and a photograph.
• Students, or those who have recently left college or graduated, often have difficulty time coming up with enough paid experience to demonstrate their qualifications. But, if they have held leadership positions in campus organizations or have supervised groups of people and organized activities on a volunteer basis, then an "Interests and/or Achievements" section could strengthen those qualifications.
• A list of sporting achievements gives a sense of leadership and success or a list of sporting interests would be helpful for a person looking for a sports marketing position!
• If you are looking for a job in sales where you would need to travel a great deal, mention you have a driving licence, or if overseas where relocating an entire family becomes expensive, showing that you are unmarried and willing to travel could be helpful.

Following up the CV
Advertisements give you a clear indication of whether you should be making personal contact or whether the recruiter would prefer an email or hard copy of the application first off. If at all possible take the opportunity to discuss the vacancy with the recruiter on the phone. As you prepare for this conversation make sure you clearly understand the ad, and make bullet points about why you are appropriate for that job.

You should also phrase a number of other questions, which would be appropriate to ask at the time, for example: "Can you tell me more about the role. Why has the job become vacant?" It is however never advisable to mention money at this stage. The aim is to have a meaningful conversation with the recruiter and arrange to meet for an interview.