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!
15 top tips to optimise your internship
An internship is a much-coveted, experience-gathering, employability-boosting, and CV-enhancing work placement which can hold equal appeal for participants and recruiters alike. They come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from a few weeks to a year or more, with some...
Is it time to CTRL ALT DEL your career?
When you CTRL ALT DEL your computer, it’s usually because something just isn’t working and you need to shut down the offending task so that you can get back to business as usual. Do you ever wish you could CTRL ALT DEL your career? You’re not alone. Sometimes we hit a...
Building a successful job seeking campaign
This week, I'm pleased to introduce a guest blog by Ashleigh Harman at Portfolio Payroll, a recruitment agency who specialise in recruiting qualified professionals into the payroll industry. Portfolio Payroll have put together some tips on how to build a successful...
Zhoosh up your CV with these seven simple formatting hacks
In a blog about unusual CVs earlier this year, we looked at some of the more ‘off the wall’ formats people have used to bring attention to their CV and stand out from their fellow jobseekers. Generally speaking though, a highly designed, stylistic CV could be a big...
Hammer House of Horrible LinkedIn Profile Pictures
With Halloween fast approaching, I got to thinking about things that scare me in relation to the job search. Although there are, in fact, quite a few areas that inspire an Edvard Munch style scream, I quickly settled on LinkedIn profile pictures. Choosing an image of...
Read all about it! Newspapers and their role in your job search
Back in July, house renovators and sometimes archaeologists, Moltus Investments, unearthed a copy of The Daily Telegraph dated Wednesday 10th August 1960 from a property in which they were working. When they posted the pictures on Facebook, it was the job...
Five reasons NOT to include your LinkedIn URL on your CV
For those of you who have an up-to-date CV and powerful LinkedIn profile, it makes absolute sense to leverage the combined power of both career assets. By referencing your LinkedIn URL on your CV, you acknowledge that the recruiter is likely to check you out on this,...
How to quantify achievements on your CV (even when you think your input isn’t measurable)
Have you ever wondered how to quantify achievements on your CV? This morning, I received an email from one of my lovely customers. I had sent her an initial draft of her new CV, along with some notes for discussion, and mentioned that it would be useful for us to work...
How I spectacularly overslept for my job interview (but still got the job)
Those of you who know me will know that this blog title is by no means a brag. I am the world’s worst worrier, and actually a bit of an old school square. It is not in my makeup to leave things to chance. I am Mrs On-It-and-All-Over-It, Mrs...
CV update or CV overhaul – which do you need?
A common question raised by my customers is 'When can I patch up my CV and when do I really need to go back to the drawing board?' Sometimes a quick CV update will suffice, but more often that not a comprehensive rewrite is a better approach to ensure their CV really...
My very own prezumé
It’s my birthday this week, and how better to celebrate it than by sharing my very own prezumé! A while ago on the blog, Giraffe CVs examined unusual CVs coming soon to a job hunt near you, discussing some creative methods that jobseekers are using to ensure their...
Why you ABSOLUTELY need to track your job search
Imagine the scenario. A few weeks into your job search, your mobile rings when you are not expecting a call. At this point you are likely to feel very excited that your application has actually been seen and enticed a real person to call you up. However, you’ve...
Are you using the right keywords to get your CV seen?
If someone mentioned keywords to you, would you know what they are? Do you have a vague inkling that they’re related to websites and search engine optimisation or are you aware that they’re essential to the job hunting process? It’s safe to say that keywords are no...
Seven Deadly Sins of Job Hunting
A job search can be a stressful scenario and, as with many stressful scenarios, it has the power to bring out the worst in each and every one of us. As a job seeker under pressure, you are faced with decisions that could make or break your future. If you take one...
The 5 Ws of LinkedIn Recommendations
LinkedIn is a powerful tool which enables you to engage, solidify and maintain relationships with a broad range of people who make up the fabric of your professional life. LinkedIn recommendations act as a kind of case study of a particular relationship, outlining...
Infographic: Are you guilty of these 10 CV Crimes?
Are you guilty of these 10 CV crimes? Some of the mistakes we see on CVs are just heinous. They come up so frequently that we have been inspired to publish this infographic outlining the most atrocious CV offences. A jury of recruiters will inevitably judge your...
Does your CV pass the ‘So what, says who’ test?
Scrutinising your CV before the recruiter does is a great way to court a positive result and improve your chances of securing that much-coveted interview. By analysing and judging your CV’s content with a critical eye, you should be inspired to identify and pursue...
You didn’t get the job. What next?
The interview went like a dream. So well, in fact, that you wait with excited anticipation, planning your acceptance speech and mentally spending the salary that comes with the role. Although you wouldn’t necessarily want to admit it out loud, you are pretty certain...