The key to selling has always been about understanding your
customer's requirements and then offering product that
directly addresses their needs. The recruitment process is
simply another form of selling with you as the product.
In order to sell your self, you have to understand the
employer's requirements and then package your self as
attractively as possible. How many candidates do you think
sell themselves?
The answer may surprise you. From my experience, it is less
than 10%! Most CVs, Resumes and covering letters fail as
they make the assumption that describing your work
activities will win the best jobs.
You must package your self as attractively as possible for
each individual employer to maximise your chances of
success. This principally means that you must speak their
language and understand why they would employ you. The more
attractive the package, the more quickly an employer must
act to ensure that they recruit you. Everyone has a "shelf
life". The higher your value to an employer, the less time
you will be on the shelf.
This particularly applies to agencies. A strong candidate
will earn a good commission in a short space of time. If
you fall into this category, they will pull out all the
stops to place you.
Your CV is effectively an advert and describes the product
on offer. If you get this right, the response you receive
will be of a different order of magnitude to the "run of
the mill" CV.
Many CVs ramble about and simply give you a "dump" of the
various activities that the candidate undertaken. In some
industries, there will also be a list of every vague skill
you have acquired along the way.
Well guess what? An employer is not looking for this! They
need someone who can address their requirements. They don't
want to spend loads of time working out whether you can do
the job.
You MUST work out the words that will get the best
response. If you put yourself in the other person's shoes,
you find that the way you write your CV will change
significantly.
For instance, if you are working in sales, you will be
measured in terms of your results. Therefore a potential
employer will be interested in measurements which indicate
your potential and your current successes.
1. Achievement of target. Did you achieve or over-achieve
your target? This is one of the easiest sales messages to
put in your CV.
2. Revenue. How much business have you bought in to your
employer? The bigger the figure, the more attractive.
3. Level of customer contact. What are the positions of
your contacts within your clients? The higher level your
contacts, the higher your worth. Even if you only
occasionally deal with a very senior level of contact, you
can still say that you have dealt with all levels of client
from purchasing through to directors.
4. Retention. How well did you keep your customers or win
back potential drifter's?
As a manager, you may be measured in a number of ways.
Typical ones include:
1. Profitability. How much money did you make? What revenue
were your responsible for?
2. Performance against budgets. If you are responsible for
managing a budget, then you need to mention the amount and
your performance.
3. Staff numbers. How many people do you manage? If you
have achieved better than average staff retention then this
is also important. It shows you are a good manager.
For engineers, a different set of figures may apply.
Typical ones include:
1. Deliverables. What activities have you undertaken. For
instance you may have been responsible for designing a new
fuel pump or engine control system. A civil engineer may
have designed new bridges and structures.
2. Role. What was your role in the projects you have been
involved with? Did you undertake a key component, manage
staff or were responsible for the delivery of the project.
3. Time & Cost. Are there any financial values you can
assign to your activities? For instance if you supervised
the development of a new engine, then quote the development
budget. If you delivered ahead of schedule, then quote the
appropriate metrics.
4. Quality. This is an increasingly important measure of
the success of a project. Did it meet its objectives and
budgets. How did your deliverables perform against the
customer's requirements?
If you are not already familiar with the metrics of your
position and industry, then do some research to find out.
Your agency will be able to help if these are not obvious.
----------------------------------------------------
Steve Butler is the CEO of GetMoreJobOffers.com, a company
dedicated to helping job seekers find and win the best job
opportunities. This site contains many proven strategies to
help position you to win a promotion or get your next job
in less time. http://www.getmorejoboffers.com
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