Having seen a few posts here and there about how difficult people are finding it to get work or get considered for work even though they are very well qualified etc. It got me thinking, I appreciate that dealing with recruiters is tough and can be a nightmare, there is not a lot we can do about them (there are some things, which I will address later). However, I believe it is easier to sort problems at home first, these are the issues I can control:

1. Learn to market yourself – here’s the big one a lot of H&S practitioners miss, there is a lot of transferable skills from sales to our game, after all a lot of the time we are trying to “sell” a safety system to those who see us as a burden. Selling cars sounds a bit like a breeze some days! SO sell yourself – what are your strong points, how can that help the company? Well tell them that in your cover letter and CV.

2. Optimise your CV – Don’t send a generic CV to every job, bear in mind your CV once in the recruiter sphere will be circulated, make sure each revision is subtly different and applies to the job you are after.

3. Keep it concise - Just because you were second place in the shot put in secondary school doesn’t mean you need that on your CV. Keep it short – two pages of A4 is maximum. Put qualifications at the bottom not the top – you are more than your qualifications. Highlight employment and provide a brief summary – brief summary means less than 100 words, less than 50 even. Answer the job post – what is the company looking for, the first part of your CV should subtly answer those questions.

4. Achievements – what have you achieved (relevant to the job of course – see earlier shot put point). Don’t be modest – tell them why you are the best candidate.

5. Prepare a cover letter – this can be largely generic when talking about your achievements however taking the time to put in small details from the job listing, showing how you can and have solved similar problems before. Also take a minute to check out the recruiters name – more often than not that recruiter will have listed their name at the bottom of the advert – address them by their name in the cover letter, believe me when trawling through 30 applications one addressed to their name will stand out.

6. Follow up – you can’t expect to forward a CV and think that will be fine. This where we can change how the recruiter treats us.  Call the recruiter, ask to speak to the name on the job listing – ask if they have anything similar – ask them CV advice – ask them advice about moving jobs – can they recommend career paths based on your CV? Ask them if their colleagues might have anything – but the biggest thing is just have a conversation, ask them how they are, be polite, remember they are a person at the end of the phone and they are working in a professional job, treat them accordingly.

I hope this helps some of you, even if it makes you just reread and review your CV – bear in mind less is definitely more!