On the Blog: CV Writing Tips & Advice
To improve your job search, CV, and LinkedIn profileWelcome to Giraffe CVs’ blog. Each week I share new tips and strategies to help you to ace your job search and elevate your career. If you prefer your tips in podcast form, head on over to iTunes and subscribe to The CV Confidence Coach podcast. If you enjoy the podcast, please leave me a review!
Confused about your next steps?
I’m guessing you’ve come to this site because you are thinking about next steps in your career and know that a CV is a tool you need to make your next move. But what if you don’t know what that next move is? What if you have questions about what might suit you...
Struggling with listing achievements on your CV? Try this.
Google’s dictionary defines a ‘task’ as ‘a piece of work to be done or undertaken’, and ‘responsibility’ as ‘a thing which one is required to do as part of a job, role, or legal obligation’. Listing tasks or responsibilities on your CV tells the person reading it...
Informational Interviews: A ‘How to’ Guide
When you are considering a career change, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the unknown quantity of what may lie ahead. You may be attracted to a particular career path or industry, but feel hesitant about committing to the journey when you are uncertain about the...
Ultimate Guide: CV Punctuation and Grammar
A recent survey from Match.com reported that while 71% of the 5,000 single respondents were judging potential dates on their teeth, 69% were fretting about their grammar. Dating or not, your punctuation and grammar can invite a positive or negative first impression,...
Should you upload your CV to LinkedIn?
Browsing LinkedIn, I’ve noticed some LinkedIn members who feature their CV as a downloadable file on their profile. Some have uploaded it as a media element under their Summary, and others under Publications. I do advocate adding rich media on LinkedIn to brighten...
How Biscuits Can Improve Your CV
Biscuits can help all sorts of situations, from tough negotiations through to revision sessions. They bring a comfort factor to the trickiest of scenarios, geeing people up and helping them through. Writing your CV is no exception. A biscuit or two (in moderation) can...
How to Proofread Your CV
When you’ve finally finished writing your CV, the desire to ship it out and be done with it can be overwhelming. I get it - you’ve spent so long looking at your screen that you can’t contemplate looking at it anymore. With glazed eyes and a tired mind, you can think...
Keep Your CV Real by Keeping Your Language Real
When you are writing your CV, there are plenty of tried-and-tested language guidelines to follow, ensuring you produce a career document that meets expectations and delivers results. These range from minimising adverbs and avoiding clichés to starting bullets with...
How to customise your LinkedIn address
Your public LinkedIn URL is the address you can share to direct others to your LinkedIn profile. It can be found underneath your profile picture in Edit Profile mode. Unless you customise the URL, LinkedIn will present a default address with your name followed by...
Your Email Signature Can Bring a Truckload of Professionalism to Your Job Search
If you are planning a job search anytime soon, your personal email account is likely to get a whole lot busier. You’ll be sending a tonne of emails to recruiters, gatekeepers, and those within your existing network to secure your next position. If you haven’t already...
Five Online Tools to Ace Your Job Search
Once upon a time, a job search was a very physical and arduous process. It often involved a visit to the library to scour the papers and a physically-demanding trek from one prospective workplace to the next, making enquiries and handing over CVs. No longer, thank...
How to list languages on your CV
In today's global work environment, language skills are a draw for employers. Detailing your proficiency in desired languages can stand you apart from other similarly-qualified candidates. When detailing languages on your CV, consider relevance to your target...
Should you write ‘Seeking new opportunities’ in your LinkedIn headline?
When you are openly job-searching, LinkedIn is a fantastic platform to set out your stall. Your network is there and recruiters too, actively searching for talent in your field. It makes sense to claim your profile and use it to your advantage. A key element of your...
How to up-level your All-Star LinkedIn profile
Reaching ‘All-Star’ status on LinkedIn does warrant a moment of reflection and satisfaction at what you have achieved. However, don’t rest on your laurels too long, you may get left behind. This week’s blog shares four tips to take your LinkedIn profile from All-Star...
A Career Change Story
This week, I interviewed someone very close to me about her career change. I’m delighted to share her answers, along with some points to take-away, and I hope these will inspire you on your career change journey. What career are you changing from and to, and why?...
Four lessons from my worst job ever
I’m sure we’ve all had them. The jobs that stick in our minds as being the ‘worst ever’ long after receiving our P45. Bad feeling can develop for any number of reasons – an intense atmosphere, a bully in the workplace, we may feel underpaid or overworked, or just...
Googled yourself recently? Like what you found?
I caught a television news interview with an anti-doping expert this week and, whilst her words and delivery were convincing, my attention strayed to the background behind her. I got the impression she was filming herself from her own computer, sat at her desk with a...
Five types of word you should never use on your CV
Although words aren’t the only ingredient you’ll use to create your CV, let’s face it, without them it is just a blank sheet of paper. Words are pretty important in this context and your choice of words plays a huge role in making your CV either weak or wow. What’s...