1Welcome everyone to today's seminar on "CV and Interview Skills".
2Remember, your CV is probably the most important document you will ever write.
3It opens the door to your career!
4And that job interview is probably the most important meeting you will ever attend.
5It's like stepping through that open door.
6So let's roll up our sleeves and get down to work, shall we?
7First of all, I cannot possibly tell you everything you need to know about writing a résumé in the time we have.
8But let me tell you that there are dozens of great websites on the Internet.
9These will give you all the suggestions you need.
10If you look at the paper I gave you,
11you will see a list of the dozen most popular sites.
12I can mention a couple of important points, however.
13One is that your CV or résumé should not be too long.
14A page is about right. Why?
15HR departments do not have the time to read long documents.
16Too many people are sending too many CVs!
17After all, the economic crisis of 2008 is still very much alive.
18Everyone needs a job now.
19No matter how short you make that résumé, though,
20you do not want to forget to tell HR how to contact your references.
21References are people who will give you a recommendation for a job.
22That's usually an ex-boss or a professor who knows you well.
23Do not use relatives!
24I don't care how much your mum loves you.
25Also, when you send that CV, be sure to include a typed cover letter.
26A cover letter is a letter where you, basically, are asking for a job.
27It's like introducing yourself.
28Make it brief.
29The real information about you is on that CV of yours.
30And, please make sure the letter is typed!
31It doesn't matter if your handwriting is beautiful or not.
32Companies only read typed letters.
33Another point about CVs is you should try to have an attractive layout.
34Maybe use different typefonts or colours to highlight information.
35Some people include a photo.
36You can find dozens of examples on the Internet.
37Whatever layout you decide to use, however, avoid all spelling and grammar errors.
38I used to be an HR manager.
39If I saw a mistake, that CV went into the garbage.
40Something you write in a CV is a description of your skills and experiences in an interesting way.
41Mention training, too.
42I mean these are what get you hired!
43Do not just say, "I have lots of experience." or "I have many skills".
44Tell that boss what you did, for what company, and when.
45Better, tell him how well you did it!
46Don't just say, "I sold houses".
47Say, "I sold two million pounds worth of houses in my first year".
48That is, say something to make the person reading excited and curious.
49Finally, speaking of CVs, it's sad.
50But some people actually forget to provide a contact number.
51That's pretty silly.
52You wrote a great CV, you have HR dying to meet you...
53and they don't know how.
54You forgot your phone number!
55Oh sure, if you apply online, they have your e-mail address.
56But you just showed them you're forgetful.
57Why are they going to want to talk to you after that?
58Alright, moving on to the actual interview,
59I'll go over what you need to know by the end of it,
60and what you can discuss and negotiate on later once it looks like you'll be offered the job.
61First, there's working hours.
62It's not that necessary to hammer out the hours off the bat,
63especially since it's easy to come off as lazy when the first thing you bring up is how much you're going to have to work.
64You can also find out more about possible promotions later on.
65It is important, however, to get a feel for how much you'll be paid.
66You should make sure the salary range is commensurate with what you're worth,
67and if you're not, you can move on to better opportunities.
68Being sure you're going to make what you want to live on
69is much more important than issues like your pension,
70you're all so young that your pension is not going to matter for quite a long time.
71You should find out about what skills you must know for the job and what they'll teach you.
72In addition, if the company will provide training,
73you should find out how long the training period is and whether it is paid.
74Beware of any jobs that want you to train for a long time without appropriate compensation.
75Speaking of compensation, find out about holidays as well.
76Do you get paid vacation time?
77Are you allowed to take personal days?
78Do you have to work on national holidays?
79Once you work out these main issues,
80you can move on later to details like the location and expected attire and whatnot.
81Wow, that's a lot of information!
82Let's take a break so you can think everything over and ask any questions you may have.
83Don't hesitate to come and see me if you need any clarification on all this stuff!