CV Advice 

Career journey 

Feelings that most people feel at the beginning of their career journey could be feeling Lost, frustrated, stuck and like they have no direction. 

It’s our CEO, Irfaan Hussain’s passion to help jobseekers through their career journey because he experienced those same feelings when first starting out on his very own career journey. 

A little bit of background:

Apply4U’s very own CEO came straight out of university, got his degree, and was feeling a little bit directionless on what career to go for.

He then got his CV out on some of the job boards and spoke to a recruiter. 

His recruiter recommended him a job but he really wasn’t interested. Despite this his recruiter encouraged him to at least go to the interview and guess what? 

That’s the job he ended up accepting. Never say no to an interview, that’s one of the most valuable lessons Irfaan learned.

CV/resume 

RESEARCH 

This is the first actionable step you need to take and this will help you build the foundation for your CV. This is where you will need to find out:

-    What’s happening in the sector

-    Job titles and keywords

-    Your Strengths and transferrable skills

-    Hobbies, likes and dislikes 

Plan the structure 

Your CV must follow a planned structure and this is going to make the information in your CV easier to absorb, so if you haven’t already get a notepad out and start noting these things down:

-    Your Personal brand 

-    Career history and impact 

-    Education 

-    Hobbies

Put it all together 

This is where the real magic happens. This is the time to do all those final checks to ensure there are no mistakes and that your CV stands out from the crowd. 

Some things to consider:

-    You’ve got less than 10 seconds to impress 

-    Make it look nice/Have a good font, a good layout, etc.

-    Do a spell check, e.g.  Grammarly and word. 

-    Try to keep it within 2 pages if possible 

Job Search 

Your CV is the best it can be, great! 

But...

Don’t let it sit there collecting dust, it’s time to get job searching. 

Register your CV on the job boards:

-    CV library

-     total jobs

-    reed 

-    Apply4U.

Quick tip: Update your LinkedIn profile

Choosing a career 

Search for jobs in your chosen industry and you should already have a job role in mind by now and, then your next step is to get a job alert set up.

The Application process 

-    Set yourself a target, for example: 5 or 10 jobs a day

-    Apply to as many jobs as you can

-    Be selective with your job search

Networking

Why should you be networking? Most job search advice talks about the importance of networking but not all of these resources tell us why it is so monumental to your job search. 

Here’s your answer, it builds meaningful relationships bettering your chances to get hired. It is as simple as that. 

How can I get started networking?

As I discussed earlier you should update your LinkedIn profile and once that is done you should build your network by finding new connections and joining some industry specific groups. 

To successfully network with people you must remember these two things believe in yourself and think big, but be realistic and this is the mindset that will make your job search a success. 

“Persistence overcomes resistance”

-Irfaan Hussain 

Interview 

Pre interview research 

-    Go to the website of the company and read a little bit about them 

-    Read the through the profile of your interviewer, use that language to your advantage to relate and to make a good first impression this can be a common interest like golf for example.

Star method

This is great self help method to use for when you’re stuck on a question. 

Situation

Task

Action

Result

Body language and confidence 

60% energy 

22% tone 

18% words 

It’s not what you say it’s how you say it.

Rejection 

It hurts but it’s important to maintain a positive mindset don’t let it knock your confidence because although you haven’t gained anything you haven’t really lost anything either. This way you can go into your next interview and smash it. 

Mock interview 

Practice, practice, practice 

If you’re not going to see an expert , practice in front of a mirror or practice in front of your friends and family.

Have predefined stories and answers for the questions that are mostly likely to come up, and once again use the star method. 

Quick tips:

-    Use only positive words 

-    Talk in present or past tense 

-    Always sell yourself 

-    Fake it until you make it you don’t want to show that your nervous in front of the interviewer

-    Give examples to back up your points

Has this blog post been helpful? If it has let us know in the comment section below which aspect are your most likely to implement into your Job search?

For more support with your Job search register with us today to try our 1-1 coaching.

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