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Top tips to kick start your career

Published on: 23 Feb 2015

Top tips to kick start your career

Recently graduated or qualified and are now actively job seeking? These key career tips from Corinne Mills, MD of Personal Career Management will help you succeed in your job search.

  • Perfect your CV
    Your CV should be well polished, simply formatted and show off the skills you have which are directly relevant to the type of job you are applying for.  Make sure your CV is presented using standard fonts such as Times New Roman or Arial as many companies use recruitment software to search through CVs and the software will not be able to read CVs with unusual fonts or heavy formatting such as graphics, columns and tables. Remember to check your CV for any errors, ask a family member or friend to double-check it for you.
  • Be aware of your online presence
    Interviewers will more than likely search for you on the internet to see if they can find out a bit more about you other than what is on your CV or application. Make sure your Facebook profile is private and there is no information about you online that could show you in a negative way. Every working professional should also have a LinkedIn profile that highlights your skills and capabilities in the same way as your CV. 
  • Where to find the jobs
    You should sign up to all the online job boards which are relevant to the type of industry you are applying to. i.e. SecsintheCity for PA & EA jobs. You should also ask your friends, family, and tutors if they know of any companies who are likely to be hiring graduates with your skill-set. Employers are increasingly using Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to place job adverts so make sure that you follow companies you are interested in, so you don't miss any opportunities that arise.
  • Be prepared for interview
    There is nothing worse than turning up for your interview unprepared. Ensure you take a copy of your CV and application form you submitted as well as a copy of the job description. Prepare your answers to standard interview questions including why you have the skills to do the job, your strengths and weaknesses, and prepare to talk about some achievements which show off your capabilities.  Thoroughly research the company beforehand including their products and services, recent press releases; how they compare with their competitors, industry trends etc.  Talk about this research at the interview to show your genuine interest and commitment to work for the company.

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