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© Jim Bright 2015
Brilliant CVsDr Jim Bright
Bright & Associates Visiting Professor University of Derby
Australian Catholic UniversityCDI Workshop, Cardiff
© Jim Bright 2013© Jim Bright 2015
Acknowledgements
Dr Joanne Earl School of Business Flinders Univesity
David Winter Head, The Careers Group
University of London
© Jim Bright 2015
© Jim Bright 2013© Jim Bright 2015
Experience vs Evidence? or
Experience informed by Evidence
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The selection process
RESUMES
TESTING
Interviews
Assessment Centres
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3 steps of selling
1.Understand the customers needs
2.Understand your product
3.Match needs and features
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3 Steps of CV writing
1.Understand the job requirements
2.Know your self
3.Match your self to job requirements
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1.If it increases fit include it
2.If it decreases fit exclude it
3.If it is neutral - only include if room
Golden Rules of Job Hunting
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The Eight Key skills Earl (1998), Bright & Earl(2000)
1. Atentione to deatile
2. Communication skills
3. Dynamism / Energy
4. Great Leader
5. Motivation
6. Team player
7. Initiative
8. Ability to handle pressure
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The seven job advertisement interrogation questions
1.What don’t you understand about the job ad?
2.What type of industry/company is it? What’s happening in the company or industry? Is it restructuring or expanding? Does it operate with low overheads and high profit margins?
3.What is the main purpose of the role being offered?
4.Why is this role important to the company? How will this role affect the company’s bottom line?
5.What types of skills do they want? What other skills might be needed given the job’s purpose?
6.What types of personal qualities do they want? What other personal qualities might be needed, given the job’s purpose?
7. What types of knowledge/training do they want? What other knowledge or training might be needed, given the job’s purpose?
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Ok, so I know all about the job but what do I know about me?
• You should take time to assess your (non technical) strengths and weaknesses
• Do you like to work in groups?
• Are you sociable?
• Could you sell a service or product?
• Think about getting a vocational assessment
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Know yourself
•What interests you?–Golf? Strangling animals?
•What motivates you?–Money? Status? Challenge? Variety? Responsibility? Autonomy?
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Where the jobs hang out• Fact
–Around 80% of jobs are not landed via advertised positions
– (Source ABS).
• Fact (source: DBM Asia Pacific Region).
• 64% of retrenched employees find work through networking
• 29% of retrenched employees find work through advertising
• Fact
–Recruitment firms place nearly all their ads on job boards on the internet
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How should I set out my resume?
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The Modesty Barrier
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Do I include a photograph?• Marlowe et al
(1996)
• Compared identical résumés with different candidate photos
• Women judged on looks more than men
ATTRACTIVE UNATTRACTIVE
MALE
FEMALE
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Beauty biases and status unnatractive male
attractive maleunnatractive femaleattractive female
Suitability
5= very suitable
1 = very unsuitable
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Does resume format influence recruiters?
• YES!
• No silly fonts
• Use Times New Roman, Arial or Courier (or very similar)
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Does the format of the résumé influence recruiters?
Traditionalwhacky
More information
Less
Information
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Replicated by Arnulf, Tegner, Larssen (2010) Jnl European Work & Organizational Psychology
Creative ColourfulFormal
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What are competency statements?
• Succinct statements that promote your fit to the job by highlighting how you possess the competencies required for the job
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Is it worth addressing the job KSAs explicitly?
• Our “competency” statements
• Energetic: I am a person who is always on the go, as I am involved in a number of activities. These range from academic to work related to sporting, particularly team sports. I am an outgoing person and enjoy being an active member of numerous clubs and associations.
• Organisation skills: As a person who is involved in many different activities, I have developed excellent organisation skills to ensure that I plan my time effectively. This enables me to achieve maximum output in minimum time, as well as handle a number of activities.
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The impact of competency statements
Strong resumeWeak resume
Percentage of
recruiters who would interview
the candidate
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Are experienced recruiters influenced by these statements?
Inc CompetencyExcl Competency
Percentage of recruiters who would
interview the candidate
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Can you go over the top?Would you interview this candidate 1=yes, 0 = no
Number of competency statements in the résumé
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Does it matter where you put them?
Cover LetterResume
Would you interview
this candidate
1= yes
0= no
Number of competency statements
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Do these statements produce a halo or discrete improvements?
InitiativeNumerical skills
Number of competency statements
Does the candidate
possess this competency
5 = to a great degree
1= not at all
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Telling tales
• Take an achievement and turn it into a story
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A story
• Greg,Gail, David,Angela, Graham, Liz, Brian, Meg, Ian, Robyn, Paul and Toni were planning to go on holiday together. Greg wanting to go biking in Cornwall, but Graham wanted to visit Stirling, while Meg wanted to go to Bournemouth. Liz wanted to go to France, and Angela wanted to go to Italy. Eventually they compromised and went to Milton Keynes.
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Recall the story
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when choosing your stories to use on your CV
• (and also for the interview) ensure they pass the following test:
• What is the Point you are trying to make?
• What happened?
• Why did it happen?
• Where did it happen?
• When did it happen?
• Who was there?
• What were their Names?
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Candidate 1
I am really good at customer service. I think that customer service is really important. It is important that customers are served well and their needs are met. I have done customer service training and want to continue to keep my skills up in this important area. If customers don’t get service they don’t come back. In my current role we always put the customer first.
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Candidate 2
I’m great at customer service. I always try to understand the customers needs. Two weeks ago a customer was complaining that their appliance had slipped. My task was to understand whether or not the customer had received our on-site training in how to stop the appliance vibrating at the wrong time. She was unaware of this training service, but indicated that she was willing to try it. I organised trainers to visit same day. The result was her appliance stopped slipping and she wrote to us praising us for our helpful and prompt service. I’m always looking to give great customer service.
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Beginnings and Endings
• 7 16 191 312 0 50 53 91 87 54 23 0 11 17 0 34 32 22 19 64 86 14 12 8
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Recall numbers
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Use PREP to make an impact
“My government is the best this country has had because the economy is in such good shape. For instance inflation and interest rates are at record lows. This is a testament to my government being the best ever”
POINT POINTREASON EVIDENCE
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Applying PREP
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STAR Performer
• Situation
• Task
• Action
• Results
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STAR PREPS–Point
–Reason
–Evidence
–Situation
–Task
–Action
–Result
–Point
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Applying Star PrepsPoint I am really good at customer service.
Reason This is because I always go the extra mile to understand the customers needs and then I try my hardest to meet their expectations.
Evidence
SituationFor instance two weeks ago I had a customer come into our store who was complaining that their
appliance had slipped
Task
I decided quickly that my task was to understand whether or not the customer had received our on-site training in how to stop the appliance vibrating at the wrong time. . It turned out that she was unaware of this training service, but indicated that she was willing to try the training before
returning the appliance.
Action So I organised for our trainers to visit her later the very same day.
Result The result was her appliance stopped slipping and wrote to us praising us for our helpful and prompt service.
Point This is a good illustration of my commitment to outstanding customer service.
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Mind mapping
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KEY BEHAVIOUR Public Speaking
KEY BEHAVIOUR Good Listener
KEY BEHAVIOUR Good at resolving
disputes
KEY BEHAVIOUR Persuasive
COMPETENCY Communication
Skills
KEY STORY Point: I write well
Reason: My writing is catchy Evidence:
Situation: I was asked to write an ad campaign for Shiney Shoes Ltd
Task: To make the product memorable
Action: I wrote poems about shoes and put them on milk
cartons. Result: 70% of shoppers
remembered the poems and Shiney Shoe sales increased 20%
Point: I write wellKEY STORY
Point: I can get win-wins Reason: I understand others needs
Evidence: Situation: Smith and Jones were arguing over who got the comfy
chair Task: I had to get Smith and Jones working constructively as a
team Action: I suggested they share the chair on alternate days, and
when it is not their turn, they got some lemon ice cream as a
consolation Result: I got Smith & Jones to settle
their differences Point: I am a good negotiator
KEY BEHAVIOUR
Writing
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Mind map the
criteria
KEY SKILL Public
Speaking
KEY SKILL Writing
KEY SKILL Good Listener KEY SKILL
Good at resolving disputes
KEY SKILL Persuasive
COMPETENCY Communication
Skills
KEY STORY Point: I write well
Reason: My writing is catchy Evidence: 70% recall my Adverts
Point: I write well
KEY STORY Point: I can get win-wins
Reason: I understand others needs Evidence: I got Smith & Jones to settle
their differences Point: I am a good negotiator
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What if I have had gaps in my education or career?• Either do not explain and refrain from organising your resume
around dates
• Use only years – not precise dates
• Explain the gaps in a succinct positive manner
• Johnson (2011) - found no negative impact of a gap for entry level positions
• “The overarching theme in traditional resume-building literature is that people who are active—volunteering, playing sports, or having hobbies—benefit greatly from adding these activities to their resumes; however, our research suggests these activities have a marginal impact at best”pp324 Jnl Career Development
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How should you explain gaps in career history?
• Only 50% of recruiters noticed our gaps of 1 year
• Noticed unexplained gaps lead to impressions lowered ratings of honesty
• 9 out of 10 explanations of gaps created a poor impression (academic study is the exception)
• Any explanation containing the word ‘care’ gave the impression that the candidate was female
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What about attention to detail like spelling?
• Oh yes!
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Do minor sppilling mistaks really matter?
noneCover letter1st page cvlast page cv
Suitability for the job
5 = very suitable
1= very unsuitable
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Menor spalling mistooks
nonecover1st page2nd page
Interview?
1= yes
0= no
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Halo effects for spelling
noneerrors
Suitability for the job
5 = very suitable
1 = very unsuitable
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Career Objectives and Summaries
• Younger Job Hunters and Career changers
• Include an objective
• Mid career and above
• use a summary statement
• Remember it is a statement of fit
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Achievements over responsibilities
• Rule of thumb
• 2 achievements for every listed responsibility
• Job duties are given you by employer
• Achievements are what you give to your employer
• Think Thatcher, Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron
© Jim Bright 2015
Résumés
• Always tailor every resume closely to the job advertisement and position description.
• Be prepared to change just about every aspect of your resume so you can best present a close fit between you and the job.
• You should look to spend a whole day (at least) tailoring your resume to the job and polishing it to perfection.
© Jim Bright 2015
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Résumés
• Always include competency statements on your resume that emphasise your achievements and address explicitly the job criteria.
• Never for a second omit these because you are embarrassed about blowing your own trumpet.
• These statements can make all the difference between getting shortlisted and getting rejected.
© Jim Bright 2015
Résumés
• Never allow even a single typo or spelling mistake appear on your resume.
• Check and re-check your resume.
• Then go away and do something different and then come back and check it again.
• When you are satisfied, get an eagle-eyed friend to check it over once more.
• A single spelling error can reduce your chances of being shortlisted by 50%.
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Referees “He who steals your name steals trash”
(Stan Laurel, 1930s)
• In resume or not?
• Good old snobbery
• Demonstration of work experience
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Contact Dr Jim Bright
Bright & Associates [email protected]
© Jim Bright 2015