And yet one third of businesses are apparently bemoaning the lack of high quality graduate applications. According to a representative from an accountancy firm, “the panic for jobs meant graduates were rushing applications and making sloppy mistakes”.

So you’ve completed your degree, or perhaps you’re in your final year. You are keen to take your first career steps, beginning with your CV. Putting your best foot forward on paper can be incredibly difficult, especially if you are starting a career with little or no professional experiences to speak of.  How do you know which aspects of your degree to elaborate on? Which of your extracurricular activities best represent you?

An impartial third party can bring a fresh outlook to your CV. Our professional CV writers will consult with you in detail on the industry and roles you are looking for, and expertly draw out skills and areas of expertise from your academic achievements to complement your desired career.

The last thing you want is for your graduate CV to be either too vague or too in-depth: it is important to remember that before it makes its way to the Graduate Recruitment Team, your CV will have crossed the desks of many people who won’t share your specialist know-how. Our skilled writers ensure that your CV is easily read, while still retaining all crucial information. A graduate CV writer also benefits from years of experience and an intimate knowledge of the recruitment process. They can tailor your CV to a specific sector, or even target it for one particular role, ensuring that it includes the core skills and keywords that recruiters keep an eye out for.

The graduate application process can be an on-going and exhausting one. Last month, an anonymous intern at a bulge bracket bank described her experiences of the selection process to The Guardian as part of its Voices of Finance series:

“Applying for graduate internships is so tiring and bruising. It’s like dating, you sit by the phone waiting for a call. Back in my days at university I would get up at 5.30am or 6am. First I’d go jogging, then send out an application for an internship every morning. It’s so painful to hear ‘no’ all the time.”

She also commented on the increasingly rare career opportunities for graduates: “These days it’s really hard to find internships, or jobs for that matter. The market has changed. Last year I could intern anywhere, now I am really struggling.” She then cited the lay-offs implemented by multiple investment banks at the end of last year.

It can seem like a pretty hopeless situation for even the most talented and ambitious of graduates; how can you be sure you’re putting your best foot forward and standing out from the crowd? A professionally written graduate CV ensures you achieve just that, through intensive consults with candidates and an in-depth knowledge of your target industry.

The team at City CV comprises of highly skilled CV writers and consultants who specialise in the investment banking and finance sectors, and veteran interview coaches who can take you through every step of the selection process. City CV Director Victoria McLean is a qualified CV Writer, Career Coach and Interview Trainer with over fifteen years of experience in recruitment and human resources. This includes working on site at Goldman Sachs and at Merrill Lynch Bank of America, where she held the post of Recruitment Manager for Investment Banking, Equities and Global Private Equity, making her an expert when it comes to the qualities that banking recruiters and managers want to see on a CV.

It is becoming clear in these modern times that an individual’s online identity can be as much of a deciding factor in the selection process as qualifications and experience.  After all, your Facebook profile could be interpreted as the ultimate CV: personal, honest, and 100% you.  Which is why employers are increasingly looking at the online presence of their candidates before making a decision.

Former recruiter Nick Bryan confirms this is a common practice, in the technology sector at least: “As someone who has reviewed CVs for IT jobs: yes, we look at your Facebook. And Twitter. And blog.”  While it is hardly an exact science, evidence exists to suggest that certain traits (such as intellectual curiosity, conscientiousness and agreeability) can be determined through the nature of the content that people upload to Facebook.  A wide range of personal interests and photographs of travel are generally well received, and even snaps of nights out can demonstrate an extroverted, sociable personality.

However, a recent study conducted by YouGov found that 42% of university students are concerned that their Facebook photographs, status updates and comments may end up causing them some embarrassment when they go on to seek work.  To further complicate matters, it has been found that in some cases, deleted Facebook content can be viewed up to three years after removal.  The constant changing of the settings regarding security and privacy on Facebook also means that a user may believe their profile to be only viewable by approved members, but it is in fact visible to a much wider audience.

To candidates looking for new opportunities while still in their present jobs, Nick Bryan advises discretion: “Saying you’re a ‘motivated team player’ on your CV only goes so far if you also abuse your current employer regularly in full public view.”   In 2010, an RBS employee bragged about her £6000 redundancy package on her Facebook page before a colleague reported her.  She was then dismissed for misconduct, having broken a secrecy agreement.  The disgruntled employee went to the press, arguing that her status updates amounted to little more than “a chat with mates”, but today’s Internet-savvy employers would be inclined to disagree: when it comes to a platform like Facebook, it is wise to remember that the whole world can hear you.

In much the same way as you might research a potential employer following a job interview in case their digital reputation throws up any undesirable information, recruiters are now turning the tables. Increasingly recruitment decision makers are checking out a candidates suitability based on their online reputation through ‘cyber vetting’ and ‘digging digital dirt’.

With so many of us involved in online social networking sites such as MySpace, YouTube etc and with the current media fascination with Facebook, your NetRep is just as important, if not more so, than your employment references. Your virtual ‘references’ are just a few scary clicks away.

Managing your NetRep can be a concern, as highlighted by professional social networking site Viadeo in their promotional video that you can find posted on YouTube. Although a light hearted account of the potential damage your online reputation can have on your future, the message is clear and the statistics speak for themselves:

•  1 in 5 recruiters have searched for and found personal information about a candidate on the web and 59% say that it has influenced their recruitment decisions

• ¼ of HR decision makers have rejected applicants based on information found online

Included in the top ten turn-offs for employers are references to drug abuse, memberships to bizarre groups and forums, postings referring to wild nights out and video clips displaying nudity.

Recruiters do however need to be careful about using this virtual selection process, especially if an applicant can prove discrimination on the grounds of race or sexual orientation.

Make sure you take note of your privacy settings in Facebook.  It’s very easy to hide from view your personal information and photographs.  Also make sure that when your friends tag you in their photos that these aren’t viewable either.  Its very easy to safeguard you on line profile, but your personal online reputation is out there, whether you like it or not, so look after it.

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865)

To get noticed and obtain an interview

It is a harsh reality that many recruiters will literally spend 15-30 seconds ‘reading’ your CV. The reason is that when faced with multiple applicants for only one position, there is simply not enough time or resource available in a standard working day to sift through applicants that do not demonstrate the necessary attributes, ambitions and talents for the position they have applied for.

In a recent study conducted by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, 47% of recruiters said that out of all the CVs they received, over half (50%) contained grammatical errors. The online survey took place in December 2006 and overall, was answered by 266 recruitment professionals. Basic errors – misspelling ‘Curriculum Vitae’ is one of the most common mistakes.

Taking ownership of your CV and recognising its value is the first step in the production of a great document. Your CV is your sales tool and potentially, the only opportunity you have to sell yourself to a prospective employer.

You cannot write a powerful and compelling CV without some serious thought and analysis of your career and personal ability. Be positive, do not include any weaknesses and most of importantly do not include anything that you cannot substantiate at an interview.

If you are only ever going to take one piece of advice on this subject then it should be this:

Lead with your achievements

In the first few seconds an employer will want to know who you are, whether or not you can do the job and what benefits you can bring to their company. If you do not eloquently yet assertively portray this information then your chances of attracting the necessary attention are greatly reduced. Use ‘key’ or ‘power’ words at the start of each sentence and bullet point. Be direct, don’t waffle and don’t use terminology that a recruiter can not immediately identify.

Written well, a great CV will gain you access to numerous opportunities and should deliver exactly what it is designed for – opening the door to the interview room.

Five simple steps to promotion

Ask for More Responsibilities

It may seem like you have enough on your plate right now, but if you do feel you are able to handle a slightly heavier workload and want to demonstrate your ability to multi-task and be seen as cross-functional, the ask for extra responsibility. This will ensure that your boss starts to recognise your diverse skills base.  Volunteer to help out in other departments to be seen as a team player. This increases your value within the company and shows your interest and desire to help your company to succeed.

Act Professionally

Present yourself as your own personal ‘brand’ at all times;
Dress professionally even on casual days
Show your initiative and make yourself stand out by suggesting new solutions to existing problems
Keep a positive outlook and encourage your colleagues to do the same in tough situations
Volunteer to attend conferences and give presentations or train new employees where appropriate
Start to make a name for yourself by writing articles or suggesting initiatives to the marketing department
Don’t be a clock watcher and don’t procrastinate, make sure that you arrive for work a few minutes early and don’t leave until your work for the day has been fully completed

Build a Network
The more people who know you, know your strengths and abilities, know your value to the organisation, and know (at least some of) your ambitions, the more likely your name will be discussed when opportunities arise. Liaise with all the departments in your company if possible and make sure you build solid relationships with your colleagues and superiors

Create Your Own Opportunities
After studying the needs of your Company, if you see an area that has been neglected and you feel you have key skills in that area, then take the initiative and write a proposal for a new position. Even if the company does not recognise the need for vacancy in this area, you have again shown your initiative, creativity, and value to the business by identifying the opportunity.

Demonstrate your persistence

It may seem obvious, but many of us tend to overlook the power of persistence as a crucial point to our current and future success. Do you have what it takes to remain consistent and persistent? Do you have the staying power when things get tough? If at first you don’t succeed you need to re-saddle the horse and keep trying, over and over again until you get what you want. Master it, enjoy it and then move on again when you need or want to. If an opportunity crops up before you are ready, don’t dismiss it out but think creatively about how you can take advantage of it.

Content

The content of your CV should contain

• Your name
• Contact details
• Profile
• Career
• Education / Vocational qualifications
• Hobbies & Interests (optional)

Name

Do not include a title or cover page to your CV, it is unnecessary and takes up valuable space. Instead, start simply with your name in a bold typeface at the top and in the centre of your first page. Only your first name and surname are necessary. If you have qualifications that enable you to use letters after your name then make sure that you do use them! This will automatically let the employer know that you are qualified by just glancing at your name.

Contact Details

It is important that you include all of your contact details so that an employer can contact you, in particular your address, landline telephone number, mobile telephone number and email address. Ensure that your email address is professional and does not leave a poor impression of you. For CV and employment application purposes your email address should only include your actual name or initials, for example john.smith@ or jsmith@.

Profile

There are some professional CV writers that will always include a profile on a clients CV and there are others that strongly disagree that this is appropriate. You have less than 15 seconds to impress your audience and the sole aim of a profile is to get across the information that will make an employer want to read the rest of your CV.

Your profile needs to be punchy and without waffle. When writing your profile, think carefully about your key skills. Are you a good negotiator? Do you have a natural sales ability? Are you a motivational leader? Your profile needs to depict your individual strengths therefore it is important to steer clear of generic sentences such as ‘works well as an individual or as part of a team’, ‘self motivated and able to work to tight deadlines’. These statements are seen all too often and will not make any impression with your audience.

Profile example

A highly experienced Sales Executive with an outstanding ability to manage an extensive client portfolio within extremely demanding and pressurised environments. A strong communicator with firm negotiating skills and the ability to close new business to increase bottom line profitability. A confident man-manager currently seeking a challenging opportunity within an organisation that offers the chance for career progression.

Career or Education?

In which order these two sections should appear on your CV has often been the subject of debate. Generally the rule of thumb is if you are a recent graduate, have limited career history (less than 3 years) or you have recently completed industry training that will allow you to contemplate a career change, then your education should be placed before your career. If not, then your career should be placed before your education.

Career

Your career history should always be listed in chronological order with your most recent position first, working backwards. Think carefully about your key achievements in each position and do not be tempted to just list your responsibilities. Think about the following situation;

There are two CV’s on the desk of a recruiter making the decision to call a candidate in for an interview, one of which is yours. The other CV belongs to another candidate with exactly the same skill and experience as you. The recruiter is only allowed one choice. Which one should they choose?

The recruiter will choose yours every time if your CV can demonstrate your true potential. Think about each aspect of your role and what you truly contributed to the company. For instance, a sentence such as;

‘Responsible for credit control and bad debtors list’, with some careful thought about your achievements, may easily become;

‘Reduced debtor list by £5000 in two months through the implementation of effective credit control methods’

Each position you have held for the last 10 years should have at least 3 key bullet points stating your achievements to go with it.

Education

If you are a recent graduate or you have had less than 3 years employment history, your education should be stated on your CV as your primary achievement, again in chronological order starting with your most recent education and working backwards. If you have a degree then always make sure you state your grade and where you studied. Include your dissertation title and any other academic achievement that you feel may be relevant to the position you applied for.

If you are experienced but are considering a career change and have recently completed further education or a vocational qualification that will allow you to change industry sectors then this should also be at the forefront of your CV. This will enable the recruiter to see why you applying for the vacancy and will aid your application.

Hobbies & Interests

Many people do not see the value of adding this section to a CV. However, it does show that you have a life outside of work and it has been known for some recruiters to pick up on your extra curricular activities, especially if you play a sport that they may be interested in or have an unusual hobby that warrants further discussion. Think carefully about what you include here, you do not want to give an unprofessional impression of yourself. Steer clear of generic interests such as ‘socialising’ or ‘playing computer games’, even if they are true, they do not add value.

Most importantly, apply the ‘no waffle’ rule and make it interesting! Apply your achievements here too, for instance, if you have recently raised a significant amount of money for charity, then say so.

Other Information

It is unwise to include any other information about yourself such as the name of your spouse or children, your religion, your home owner status etc as it bears no relevance to your application. However, if you are applying to a company that has a strict non smoking policy then a brief statement, such as ‘excellent health, non smoker’ is acceptable.

Do not include the names and contact details of references at the end of your CV. This will only provide the recruiter with a potentially unwelcome temptation to ‘check you out’ before inviting you for interview. A simply line to state ‘references available upon request’ is all that is needed. If a recruiter would like to see references then you can provide details of these at a later date.

Font & Style

The look and feel of your CV can be equally as important as your content. If a CV looks clumsy, unformatted, too long and very wordy then it is highly unlikely to even get read, especially if you are competing against 100’s of other applicants for only one position.

Font

Choose a modern font that is easy to read and atheistically pleasing. Steer clear of unfashionable or difficult to read condensed, script or courier fonts.

Your font size should also not be too large or too small; size 11 or 12 is usually a manageable size for most readers.

Format

Always type your CV using a PC and in Microsoft Word as this is the office software used by the majority of recruiters. If you send your CV electronically in another format and the recruiter cannot open your attachment, it is unlikely that your application will be read.

Your CV should be well formatted with a clear layout and free from bold colours, pictures and flashing lights. Try to refrain from using a standard MS Word template. If you cannot format your CV with your own style then there are plenty of templates available on the internet that are likely to be of help.

Length

Many professional CV writers have different opinions on the length of a CV but again, the general rule of thumb is not more than 2 or 3 full pages (at a maximum) of standard A4 paper.  If you can, do try to format your CV so that it is covers a full page. This makes the CV look complete and well laid out.

With many employers, the decision to interview or reject a candidate is purely made on the strength of the CV. Did you know that on average your CV has less than 15 seconds to make an impact? Often you will be pitching your application in competition with many other job seekers and it is common for most positions to attract multiple candidates.

A professional, interview winning CV IS a necessity. Your CV is your tool of achievement. It is your sales pitch and potentially your only opportunity to sell yourself to an employer.

According to a nationwide survey of recruitment professionals carried out by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), 47% said that out of all the CVs they received, over half (50%) contained spelling and grammatical errors. The online survey took place in December 2006 and overall, was answered by 266 recruitment professionals. Basic errors – misspelling ‘Curriculum Vitae’ is one of the most common mistakes.

Taking ownership of your CV and recognising its value is the first step in the production of a great document. Whilst the content and structure of your CV is what will ultimately sell you, it is also important to pay attention to its physical appearance, format and layout. This will initially attract the employer to your CV amongst the multitude of others.

The basic content of your CV should include; your name, address, contact details, profile, career history, education, and relevant supporting information. In what order these should appear will depend on several factors.

In the first few seconds an employer will want to know who you are, whether or not you can do the job and what benefits you can bring to their company. You can usually contain this information in a short, concise profile at the very start of your CV. Do not make this too long winded and don’t waffle, the sole aim of a profile is get across the information that will make an employer want to read the rest of your CV.

When writing a profile, steer clear of the common mistakes of the generic summary. Statements such as ‘works well as an individual and as part of a team’ or ‘self motivated and able to work to tight deadlines’ are seen all to often and will not make any impression with your audience. Even if these statements are true, with some thought and attention they can be demonstrated in the main body of your CV.

The one thing that most jobseekers have in common when it comes to writing their own CV is the difficulty in selling themselves. There is no room for modesty. Don’t forget, on reading your CV the employer has not yet met you and therefore this could be your only opportunity for a sales pitch.

Your career history should always be listed in chronological order with your most recent position first, working backwards. Think carefully about your key achievements in each position and do not be tempted to just list your responsibilities.

Each position you have held for the last 10 years should have at least 3 key bullet points stating your achievements to go with it.  Use power words in your key descriptions such as ‘implemented’, ‘visionary’, ‘succeeded’, ‘significant’, ‘directed’, ‘demonstrated’, ‘established’ and ‘devised’. Include your specific transferable skills and those that are likely to capture attention.

If you have a degree then always make sure you state your grade and where you studied, even if your degree was obtained several years ago. If you gained your degree more recently, include your dissertation title and any other academic achievement that you feel may be relevant to the position you applied for.

Couple this with the words ‘credit crunch’, ‘economic crisis’ and ‘competitive job market’ and it’s not surprising that the UK as a whole is suffering a wave of depression. With unemployment in the UK soaring to the highest rate in over a decade and US jobless figures topping a 25-year high, the global recession is pushing thousands of job seekers on a weekly basis into an over saturated market.

But fear not! There is a shining light at the end of long dark tunnel; you are not on the scrap heap just yet! Redundancy can be used as an opportunity and as long as you remain positive, your next job is firmly within your reach.

Don’t take it personally

The most important thing to remember about any redundancy situation is that it’s not your fault. It is your job that has been made redundant, not you. Redundancy is all about cost saving. It’s about streamlining business processes to ensure that the company remains profitably operational and more often than not, it’s about looking at areas of a business that can be amalgamated or removed in an effort to save money.

Unfortunately, a workforce is often the highest cost centre of any business, no matter what the size. In the circumstance of total closure, or when alternative employment within the company is not available, then redundancy is of course inevitable. When a business ceases to exist then it goes without saying that there is no requirement or resource to support employment. Redundancy is a business decision, not a personal one.

Ask for help

Many employers are equally as devastated about the necessity of redundancies as the employee. Most want to help; they want to ensure that you are able to recover quickly and will put steps in place or will offer guidance to ensure this happens. An employer has many legal responsibilities when starting the redundancy consultation process including granting reasonable time off to attend interviews, as long as your length of service means that you are entitled to statutory redundancy pay.

Your employer may also help you with costs towards having your CV professionally written, recommending other local employment opportunities and sourcing relevant professionals that supply training. If you need help, then don’t be afraid to ask for it!

Analyze yourself

Self analysis is one of the hardest things to do, but it is also the most vital component of your job search. Following redundancy, it can be difficult to clearly focus on your core skills, achievements and competencies and yet it is this process that will ensure your personal success.

Self analysis should consist of building a skills and competency matrix. Write down your key educational, general and transferable skills and then repeat this process by listing your primary achievements and contributions during the last 5 years of your career. Be sure to concentrate on those skills that have become second nature throughout your career in the forces and can be transferred to a commercial environment. Upon further investigation you will begin to build a picture of yourself that can then be eloquently portrayed within your CV.

The next stage of analysis is to consider your future career options. Upon building your matrix, think about whether you want to re-evaluate your options – are you seeking a total career change? Do you want to set up your own business? In which industries can you fully utilize your transferable skill set? Take the time to discover and evaluate your opportunities without jumping with desperation into the first position that presents itself.

Network, network, network

Many of us truly undervalue the power of our internal networks. Recent statistics show that the majority of vacancies are unadvertised and therefore it is vital that we fully investigate potential avenues of job search amongst people that we know. Family, friends, colleagues, clubs, professional memberships, online social networking etc present a wealth of opportunity to demonstrate your skills and enquire about vacancies that may be available. Don’t be afraid to ask the question or market yourself in this way, you’ll be surprised at the results that this may achieve.

Building up a length of service with specific capabilities is an important attribute that many prospective employers will find appealing. In the first instance ask yourself what you can you transfer from the public sector to other types of industries.

It may be that you have a unique understanding of particular areas, political climates, processes or how different policies are implemented. If you have worked in project teams, with external contractors or have implemented programmes that have resulted in change, make sure that you showcase these abilities in your CV and at interview.

Drill down to your base skills such as analysis, working with stakeholders, managing others and working on large projects. Emphasise competencies such as an ability to problem-solve and deal with issues from different perspectives.

Prospective employers want to know that you can apply a way of thinking and analysis to a new position. Whatever the role that you have previously been employed in, it is crucial that you outline how you can add value to a new company based on your previous experience.

The expertise of a third party like an interview coach or CV writer will add value to your job search. Contact City CV for a free CV check-up and interview assessment on 020 797 7718 or email enquiries@citycv.co.uk