Jackie Cameron - Coaching and Communication » CVs

Is your career like an antique?

jackie — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:16:10 +0000

On one of the many TV shows that involve finding/selling/valuing antiques recently a man had brought a decorative pot to get some information with a view to selling it. The expert appraised it, agreed that it was lovely and from a good maker with an interesting history. He went on to say that a few years ago it would have been very popular and would probably have made an amount in the thousands of pounds but at the moment there is less demand and in fact it might make a couple of hundred. The advice was to take it home and and hold onto it until such time as that sort of thing becomes popular again as trends in antiques often come in cycles.

Now – let’s think about how that advice might work for your career.

What you have to offer is attractive – check!

You have worked with good quality businesses that will be recognised by others – check!

Your work experience is varied and interesting – check!

BUT – how relevant is what you have done in the past to today’s market?

Sadly for many people the demand for what they have to offer has dropped off . So what can they do? Put things on hold until the market turns?

What do you think?

Imagine if the antiques expert said that there would never again be a market for that decorative bowl but mosaics made from smashed antique pottery could not be produced quickly enough to meet demand. I am sure the owner of the bowl would hold up his hands in horror and refuse to do something so dramatic.

But how about applying that to your next career step. By breaking up your past experience(s) and reforming and presenting them to a potential employer in a new, attractive way might that be the way forward for you?

Let me help you review your career so far, recognise what you have to offer and work out how to present that to potential employers. Take a look here for what I offer

It’s (not) just a summer job

jackie — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:44:49 +0000

In the summer between leaving school and going to college I worked in a Scottish goods store in Princes Street in Edinburgh. In those days it was a very posh shop selling tartan and cashmere at prices that I could only aspire to – and our customers included both locals and tourists. I worked with a lady who ran the department very rigidly under a manager who I thought was very like Captain Peacock in the old sitcom “Are you being served”. It was a great experience. Their standards of customer service were second to none and I learned loads on problem solving, understanding customer needs and wants and dealing with difficult situations.

Did I include all of this on my CV when applying for my first “real” job? I certainly mentioned that I had worked there but I am pretty sure I didn’t give any more than that because I didn’t recognise what I had learned and the importance of telling that story to potential employers.

So – if you are about to start a summer job/temporary contract/whatever - be sure you take a note of what you do, what feedback you get, what you learn and how you learn it ( training or under your own steam), how you handle difficult situations, what you are good at and what you might want to work on.

And – stay connected with people you worked with. They can form the basis of your business network ie the people who know the person who might be looking for someone just like you to fill a job in future.

It’s never to early to start a Linkedin profile www.linkedin.com

I work with clients to help them create CVs and their online profile. More information here

Remember to check the small details on your CV

jackie — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:55:57 +0000

One of my favourite feeds is Not Hired – which posts all sorts of job ad responses that explain – well just that.

This one is apparently one of the favourites and is a reminder to everyone to make sure that your personal notes are deleted before you press the send button.

I read a CV recently where the “change tracker” notes had been left on. In itself there was nothing incriminating but what a blooming mess it was. I was tempted to put it on the rejected pile because of lack of attention to detail but I realised that it was really clear that that applicant had spent ages tailoring the CV to the job. And that is commendable. I am constantly amazed by how many people still think that a “one size fits all” CV will work. It doesn’t in the boom times so it is even less likely to attract attention when times get tough.

Putting in “stuff” that you think the hirer might want to hear if it doesn’t fit with the rest of the CV won’t make it look like you’re really keen either.

Oh – and check and check again when you ”cut and paste”. A while back I took part in a corporate treasure hunt event. The clues sent us to somewhere called HQ. This was confusing as our company HQ was in London and we were in Edinburgh. There were about 20 teams from my company and each one were set to trek into the only building that fit the bill. After about 6 such visits security at that building stopped anyone else coming in. Turned out that the corporate events company that organised the treasure hunt had cut and pasted the same one that they had delivered to that company the week before and it was their HQ that we were now bombarding with visits. The damage to the relationship with both companies was significant!

If you want some more examples of what not to do you could do worse than read this list of entries!