Posted By Jim Walker
I have in the past recruited several people via this site. I'm not an agency by the way, just work for a company who needs lots of high quality H&S staff. Now I can't advertise I have a regular "lurk" here to see what's on offer.

State your location.

Poor spelling and grammar suggests to me, a lack of care in your work.

Don't assume lots of H&S experience is always required, not long ago I recruited a "newbie" to H&S who had experience in construction.

Anyone else want to add a few tips?

Posted By keith baglin
Dear Jim i have recently become affiliate member attached to Manchester branch attending when i can
. I hold NEBOSH Cert general 2002 and CIEH PROFESSIONAL TRAINERS CERT bur alas need practical experience. Iam currently security officer in a car-care products company in Bury. Iam looking for a support role in H and S putting together training material i already have 30 such packs covering topics such as manual handling and COSHH. Iam 57 but thinking i may have "missed the boat" anyone brave enough to give me a try i can be contacted on 01617052366 keith baglin

Posted By Manny
Keith,

Jim says "Poor spelling and grammar suggests to me, a lack of care in your work".

Manny

Posted By Jim Walker
Philby,

My son is dyslexic.
He has ways of getting round the problems you outlined.
He also has a 1st class Honours degree in Engineering (just bragging there!)

If 50 cvs hit my desk (as they do) and I whittle them down to two interviewees, unfortunately some very unfair yes/no criteria creep in.

Posted By garyh
I often note posts where people plead for an opening, saying things like "just give me a chance" or similar. This to me says "loser". I know it's hard but no one will give work in a professional environment to a plea like this.

Be confident, short and sharp and state what you can do (think "transferable skills"), what you have achieved, qualifications etc.

Don't reveal your age if you are getting on! Leave that till they bite. Likewise location - don't mention it unless it is relevant.

Get your CV up to scratch; if it is more than 3 (best - 2) pages it's too long winded. Seek professional advice.

Lastly whom would you employ? The person that has had a thousand experiences or the person that has had the same experience a thousand times?

Posted By Ron Young
Your CV should be no more than 2 pages long and it's really important to grab attention as soon as you can on page 1 by inserting a paragraph summary profile of your experiences. From my experience of reading CV's and on advice from other employers, if you don't grab attention within 20 seconds on your CV, you might not get past the first hurdle.
Be honest in what you say and know your CV well, you will be challenged on it. Don't lie about experience and qualifications and if you're asked to do a presentation don't worry about being nervous, it's natural and expected.

Posted By garyh
I believe that you have to distinguish between a standard CV (which I would maintain has to be short and sharp, selling your transferable skills, your abilities and achievements), and the situation where a client asks for a DETAILED CV.

Posted By Jim Walker
Lilian,

If sex, age or anything else needs hiding from a prospective employer; they are not really the sort of company I'd want to work for anyway

Posted By Andy Langham
Hi Jim,

I have had my CV re-written by a recruitment company and have been using it for 3 months.

I've had little luck in getting interviews and wondered if you would be kind enough to have a look over it and be very, VERY critical!

My e-mail address is langham.langham@virgin.net, if you would send me an e-mail I'll ensure my CV is sent to you.

Kind regards,

Andy Langham

Posted By peter gotch
Hi Lilian.

In terms of Jim's comment about "unfair" Yes/No criteria, if all else was equal, I would not pick out the person who has given me an initial instead of first name on their CV, not because I would think they were hiding their sex, ethnic origin etc, but rather that I would think that they don't want to communicate on first name terms, and in this day and age, that would be a serious downside.

Regards, Peter

Posted By Asha Harriott
Hi Jim,

Well i am an administrative assistant who started working for the HSSE Department on Jan 1st this year. (I work for BP and I'm not afraid to disclose that on here.) HSSE is my passion. I have just completed the Nebosh Certificate and I'm going after the Diploma come Jan 20th next year.

But let me tell you - I cannot wait to start work in the field which i do by the way but it is more administrative based and I'll say this -i am fed up. I need to start doing something else with my life very soon.

What advise can you offer in terms of what kind of work can the certificate level at least allow me to do as a transition and start into work that will add greater value to the field of HSSE?

Thank u much
J

Posted By Brian Rudge
I don't think I'm breaching the Age Discrimination legislation in admitting my next career interview is likely to be with a pension advisor, but here is my take on job hunting as seen from both sides of the fence (desk).
1. The purpose of a CV is not to get you a job it's to get you an interview. You should redo the CV for every application. Read the advertisement and get as much information as you can on the job and the company; then emphasise what you can offer that matches the job specification.
2.In general a CV should be no more than 2 sides of A4. When you are selecting candidates for interview and you have a great pile of applications, a short CV that highlights the essential requirements in the job specification is much more likely to make it.
3. If you get an interview make sure you have prepared. What is the style of the organisation?- you will need to show you can fit in.
Most interviews will follow a pattern, including what you know about the company; why you want the job (wanting to get away from the job you are doing is not a good answer!). Watch out for 'tell us about yourself' - develop a 2 minute profile and then say 'that's very brief, are there any areas you would like me to expand on', if the interviewer has to stop you - it's too long.

Merry Christmas and happy hunting.

Brian