Whether you are looking for a first graduate position, or moving up to the next step on your career ladder, making the right first impression is important when it comes to winning over potential employers. Your Curriculum Vitae is the first thing a recruiter will see, so it needs to be polished, succinct, relevant and up to date. The aim of the CV is to give the recruiter enough information to want to bring you in for an interview to find out more. The interview is then your second chance to shine and expand upon the key points in your CV to prove why you are right for the job.
We have put together some essential tips for writing a stand-out CV and having a successful interview.
With our years of experience and success in placing skilled candidates in a variety of positions, we have come to understand the many possible paths you can take with a career in IT.
We have seen and helped a variety of candidates with the direction of their career. Each new role can be a step forward, whether up the ladder or to an entirely different ladder altogether. If you are in need of advice we can assist with tailoring your CV to showcase your talents and abilities for the direction you want to move toward.
When you are thinking of progressing with your career it can be difficult to know where to go. Permanent and contract roles offer different benefits, and both can further your progression. Regardless of the timeframe, you can acquire new skills and experience, enhancing your CV while opening up new options for future career moves.
We can offer advice and guidance for moving into your perfect job role. For many people, their next role is not just a job, it’s another stepping stone on their career path. Which is why we take the time to talk through your options with you and look at all the possibilities. With the rapidly changing face of IT, it is important to keep up with the latest developments, and this may involve taking on new roles that involve different frameworks and technology.
Today most people are on some form of social or business networking site be that LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube. It’s a great place to promote your expertise on various different platforms.
Social media is fast becoming an essential recruitment tool. Recruitment agencies and employers will turn to social media before hiring. For them, they are more updated and accurate in terms of detailing a person’s credentials and expertise. Therefore it is important to ensure that the information available on the web is up-to-date, grammatically correct and the content is clean.
For more tips and hacks, check out our Blog page.
Make the decision - It is important that you have reached an absolute decision on your career move before you hand in your notice. If you still have any serious doubts, go back to your new company and ask more questions.
Terms of leaving - Look at your current contract to check your notice period and familiarise yourself with any special conditions. If you are joining a competitor, your existing employer may ask you not to attend the office during your notice period. In this case, they remain duty-bound to pay your salary and full benefits until your official termination date. If you choose to ask to be released early however and they agree, they will only pay you to the agreed leaving date.
Write a letter - Hand in a letter of resignation. Ensure it is properly dated and keep it very concise. Make sure your letter is polite and does not go into reasons why you are moving. Remember you still want a good reference and you never know - you may one day decide to go back so it is important to leave on good terms.
Be prepared for the ‘counter offer’ - Most employers find it easier to offer more to keep staff than to have to look for a new employee and it is highly likely that you will be offered more to stay. Suddenly, all sorts of doors may look open for you to stay where you are: more money, promotions and wonderful promises for the future.
Being made an attractive counter offer is instantly good for your ego, but you must take a number of things into consideration before making a decision:
- You have only received a counter offer because you resigned. It is a purely reactive tactic from your employer and should make you wonder whether you need to resign every time you want to improve your situation. If your employer thought you were truly worthy, why didn’t they improve your situation anyway?
- An increase in salary now will often restrict your next salary reviews.
- Do your reasons for wanting to leave still exist? You may have a number of reasons – salary too low, no promotion in sight, don’t like your boss. You may be offered more money to stay, which can be tempting, but if you still have other issues outstanding, you’ll probably end up leaving anyway.
- Despite what your employer is saying to you, they will probably now consider you a risk and may make contingency plans without your knowledge. You may not be seen as a true member of the team
- The counter offer could simply be an interim tactic from your employer to bridge a gap whilst they look to replace you.
Much research and many surveys have been completed over the years to measure what happens to employees who accept counter offers. Only 6 out of 100 employees are still with their company after 12 months, and 2 important points become apparent:
- Salary was hardly ever the prime motivator for resigning – more money didn’t ultimately change the true state of play
- Things didn’t take long to return to the way they were before the resignation
Before accepting a counter offer, ask yourself why your employer has made the offer. There is a strong possibility that the cons will outweigh the pros and you will realise that your decision to resign was right after all.