Here’s something to mull over before you go into that next interview: non-verbal communication (aka body language) – accounts for 55% of communication in a face-to-face situation, according to a recent study. The words which come out of your mouth account for only 7%, and the tone of your voice 38%. Of course what you say Continued »
If you’ve just graduated, congratulations! Those letters after your name look pretty neat, don’t they? Perhaps the only cloud on these sunny uplands is that your CV might look a little… well, empty. After three years in higher education you have the qualifications on paper, but applying for jobs can be hard if you don’t have Continued »
Cover letters are notoriously tricky things. Recruiters are only human and have very short attention spans – if you haven’t grabbed them within the first thirty seconds, assume your letter will end up on the rejection pile. Your cover letter needs to shout ‘hire me’, so here are the key things to remember when you Continued »
If your CV is what bags you an interview, think of the cover letter as the CV’s warm-up act. Most employers will at least skim through the first paragraph even if they switch off after that, so it’s crucial you grab their attention from the off. Ever wondered what an ideal cover letter should look like? Continued »
Are you being underpaid? Upload your CV to ValueMyCV to find out how much your skills are really worth! It can be hard to know where to start with a cover letter. Some people go overboard and write lengthy essays of self-praise, while others can barely think of enough to fill a paragraph. Whatever the Continued »
Interviews are very delicate things. This is probably the first time you’ve met the person opposite you, so you’re having to feel your way and judge the mood in the room. It’s a two-way conversation as you work each other out. They ask you questions and you get to fire some back. Asking questions can Continued »
It happens to all of us at some point in our lives. We suddenly get the feeling that we’ve become stuck in a rut career-wise, doing the same thing day in day out. You might have started off brimming with ideas and passion but now you find yourself trawling job sites when you should be Continued »
Here’s a harsh truth: a lot of recruiters will never, ever read your cover letter. With time and attention spans short, there are some employers who reach straight for the CV consigning your lovingly written letter straight into the trash. On the other hand, for every recruiter who ditches the cover letter there will be Continued »
Money. It must be one of the last taboos in the modern workplace, which is why so many people find raising the subject at the interview stage so agonisingly difficult. If you’re one of them, remember this: you might find it awkward, but the person sitting opposite you expects it as part and parcel of Continued »