You have made it through uni, you have a decent degree, plenty of work experience and lots of extracurricular activities under your belt — and some idea of a career.
Now all you need to do is put yourself out there, compile a CV, scatter copies to grateful employers and sit back and wait for the outpouring of gratitude and when-can-you-start replies. Piece of cake. If only.
Let’s back up a moment. Take the CV. It should be no more than two pages, set out with plenty of white space for easy reading. When compiling a CV for a job application, focus on the skills the job description describes. Give examples from either your academic or non-academic experience. They are equally valid.
Your CV should start by grabbing the reader’s attention with a brief profile that sums up who you are and why you would be an asset. Bring in roles in your student life, responsibilities and achievements, with examples of where you have made a difference. This says far more about you than “2.1 Geopolitical Sciences” ever could.
Submission of a CV is usually followed by screening processes such as phone interviews, automated online interviews, psychometric profiling, numeracy and verbal reasoning tests.
At the interview stage, there are five areas to consider — preparation, first impressions, ability to demonstrate the skills the employer needs, enthusiasm and interest for the role and organisation and your ability to fit in. Preparation should encompass logistics — timing, travel, who is interviewing, dress code etc — but also your own research, to enable you to answer and ask questions.
Make sure you have a real understanding and enthusiasm for the role and organisation and prepare responses to demonstrate you have the skills required for the job. Your research should encompass more than reading the company website. Look at its social media accounts and blog posts for a better understanding of the company and its values.
Resource, the Jewish community’s employment service, can help you in every stage of the process with workshops, seminars, computer training, one-to-one advice, mock interviews and much more. All for no charge.
On September 13, there will be a student and graduate workshop at ORT House, Camden, north west London, from 6pm to 8.45pm. It will be run by Resource, in conjunction with UJS and ORT and it will take participants through every aspect of graduate employment.
Victoria Sterman is chief executive of Resource.
Workshop bookings: make_it_happen.eventbrite.co.uk
More information on Resource: resource-centre.org, 020 8346 4000
