Article by Bowen Eldridge.
Often in Australia we see job seekers casting their net for new roles around the End of Financial Year. Summer holidays are over and as we head into Winter it’s a time to knuckle down and think about the coming 12 months. Here’s a few exerts from an article we recently contributed to that will give you excellent advice from a range of thinkers on how best to approach this project.
Getting a new job is a very exciting time, as it enables you to take the step in your career. Not only will a new role in a new company give you the opportunity to develop both new and existing skills, but it could also allow you to familiarise yourself with a different sector to the ones you’ve already worked in, or take on additional responsibilities.
Each of these are essential for helping you to progress to a higher level in your chosen career path, or even begin a new career completely!
So, why is the New Year one of the best times to get a new job? For starters, it’s a time when many companies will have new budgets in place to hire additional employees, and many hiring managers will want to get started with this task as soon as possible after the restful Christmas period, as this will ensure the right people are in place before any major projects have gone underway.
Update your cover letter and CV
Although recruiters are on hand to give you guidance on how to spruce up your CV before applying for job vacancies, there are a few quick and easy changes you can make to ensure your application stands out from the crowd, and that it doesn’t just end up left at the bottom of the pile forgotten!
Firstly, you should ensure CV and cover letter is tailored to each type of role you apply for (and that you incorporate relevant keywords from the job advert, though this should be done as naturally and authentically as possible). Sandra Karamitelios, Senior Recruiter at Recruitment Central, advises: “One of my top job search tips is to have an easy to follow resume that clearly outlines your skills using keywords as the start of a sentence. As an example: ‘System Streamlining – reviewed all admin processes across the reception area, streamlined manual processes to save in excess of 8 hours per week. This extra time allowed for cross training into our customer service team.’”
Additionally, a trend to look out for in 2018 is shorter and shorter CVs and cover letters. As a general rule, your CV should only be two pages long, because this avoids busy hiring managers losing interest and moving into the next application before they finish reading yours. To keep yours short and sweet, list only your most recent and relevant qualifications, and take out any old or irrelevant work history; if you’re applying for a role in accounting, your old paper round might not need to be included (no matter how great of a job you did!).
View the full article here.
