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New Year; New Job... Take Control of your Career in the New Year

3/12/2013

 
Career_Change,Career_Progression,CV_rewrite,New_Job,JobSearch,Promotion,Career_Progression
New Year, New Job. Time for a Career Change?

Looking to Progress your Career?

The Christmas and Summer holidays are usually the time when people, having taken time out, realise that they don't enjoy their work and they're not looking forward to going back after the break.

So there's no better time than the Christmas break for evaluating where you are now and where you want to be next year.

If you're in a job that you're not enjoying, you feel undervalued or you're simply not using your skills and progressing, then it might be time to rev up your career plan.
This means you need to take stock of your current position, decide where you want to be, then create some goals and milestones to help you achieve your aim.

Don't merely update your old CV...  Rewriting your CV usually gets better results

Carrying forward old and irrelevant job history usually won't bring success.  Instead, take a blank sheet of paper and start brainstorming about where you are today in terms of knowledge and skills, and where you where to be.

Working from scratch, list all your hard and soft skills.  Then list your achievements and the value you have delivered in previous roles.  This could include increased efficiencies, profits, sales, brand awareness, functionality, etc.  If you're short on ideas, browse LinkedIn for job vacancies and member profiles, which will help give you some inspiration about skills, terminology and how to present your achievements.  You're not just trying to create a list of duties; you want to create a list of value-added achievements.  Employers need to know what makes you better than the other candidates; why they should employ you.

Be honest with yourself.  It's no good saying you've got excellent interpersonal skills if no-one in your office enjoys working with you or if you don't enjoy working as part of a team. 
If you're a square peg, you'll never fit into a round hole, however much you kid yourself.

This process will almost always identify skills gaps.  These could be technical or perhaps lack of knowledge about team leadership or business methods.  Whatever gaps you identify, try to plug them.  Research the internet for training courses - many of which are free or very cheap - then sign up.  Don't overdo it and take too much on at once.  Bite-sized training over a period of time
will deliver better results.

A word of warning...

Don't quit until you've got all your ducks in a row.  You're always more employable when you're in work.  So stay focussed on your existing job while you get your career move in place, and make sure you leave on good terms and with a glowing references and testimonials.

Will next year be the year in which your career soars?

We're always happy to chat and we're around over much of the Christmas break, so give us a call if you need help.

Barbara Patrick,
Career Coach
Compelling CVs, Reading, Berkshire


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What Next? A Gap Year? Internship? Work Experience? Travel? Volunteering?

24/6/2013

 

Ideas for gaining skills, adding value to your CV and enhancing your employability

Graduates,Work_Experience,Internships,Volunteering,Skills,Transferable_Skills,CV_Writing,LinkedIn_Profile_Writing,Compelling_CVs,BerkshireLearning doesn't end after Graduation
So you've graduated in the class of 2013... Well done!

What next?

If you don't have a job, an internship or work experience lined up, what should you do next?

Perhaps take a gap year?

If you didn't take a gap year before you started college or university, now might be a good time to do this.  However, it's crucial that you plan what you're going to do and that as well as being a great experience it will add value to your CV.   Here are just a few options:

Volunteering

Volunteering can be highly beneficial - not just as a worthwhile experience but also in terms of adding skills and experience to your CV.  Just Google "work experience" to find a host of possibilities both at home and abroad.  You could work in a remote support or teaching role, or perhaps work for a charity - volunteering your time to help the needy or less privileged, or just helping the wheels of their office run smoothly - possibly helping with bookkeeping, running charity events, raising awareness.

Whatever volunteering you opt for, it's best to ensure that it's relevant or that you'll gain valuable transferable skills.

Skills Improvement

If you find yourself twiddling your thumbs, what about learning some new skills - ideally vocational skills such as IT or copywriting?  Or you could apply for a full-blown vocational course such as a Marketing Diploma and perhaps combine this with part time or full time work too.

Independent Travel

Notice I "independent travel".  Anyone can book package tours but it takes careful planning, research and self belief to travel independently.  You'll generally go off the beaten track and out of your comfort zone, all of which can add to your soft skills - initiative, research, adaptability, self-sufficiency, resilience, problem solving, team leadership, project management, risk analysis, etc.  You'll also meet with people of all cultures and enjoy diverse and memorable experiences.

Many years ago I travelled solo to Australia and New Zealand.  I obtained a "Working Holiday Visa" and was able to take temporary office and bar work to subsidise my travel costs.  I can still say today that it was the best year of my life and it made me much more confident than I'd previously been.

Work Experience

Who wants to work for free?  No-one I suspect - including me!  But work experience helps you acquire new skills and adds value to your CV and it often leads to paid work.  Do take care that you're not simply unpaid labour.  Choose your work experience carefully and try to agree a plan with the employer so you're sure of working with or shadowing different managers and growing your knowledge.

Or you could register with an employment agency and take on a succession of temporary roles that will give you some vocational experience and transferable skills for your CV.  Temporary jobs often transition into permanent roles.  If a company likes what they see, they'll likely make you an offer.  So, again, target the type of company or market that you'd like to work in.

Teaching English as a Foreign Language - TEFL

Many students obtain a TEFL qualification to enable them to work overseas AND earn money at the same time.  Unlike independent travel, you'll probably spend most of your time in one location but you'll still have a fantastic experience while acquiring transferable skills such as team leadership, planning, motivating.

Whatever you choose to do, here's what NOT to do after graduation...

  • Don't get off the roundabout - you might never get back on
  • Don't waste your time taking "well-deserved R&R" - you'll miss the boat
  • Don't chill out watching TV or catching up on 3 years' worth of missed sleep

Life's not a rehearsal  - you're future starts now.

And remember that learning is lifelong - it doesn't stop after your graduation ceremony.

by Barbara Patrick
Professional CV Writer and Career Coach
Compelling CVs

Reading Berkshire


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Full marks for award winning Berkshire based CV writing service

19/3/2013

 
CV_writer_Reading_Windsor_Caversham_Maidenhead_Basingstoke_Newbury_SloughProfessional CV Advisor in Reading Berkshire
Sometimes it's good to blow your own trumpet especially if you have something to celebrate.

FreeIndex, perhaps the UK's leading online business directory, has awarded us a "Highly Recommended" ribbon for our CV writing service and they're ranking us #6.  Quite an achievement.

We have received 30 customer testimonials and have scored full marks.  In fact, as we write this, we've just received our 31st testimonial, again scoring full marks and we know there are some more in the pipeline, based on feedback we're receiving from clients we're currently working with.

Anyone can write fictitious testimonials on their own website and I have to say I've sometimes seen testimonials that were so incredulous that they actually dissuaded me from using a supplier!  That's why I usually direct clients to a third-party, independent review site.  I feel it adds more credibility if they can say what they like.

All of the independent reviews can be seen on our testimonial page, together with additional testimonials that didn't come via the online directory site.

We're obviously getting it right so we'll continue the good work; doing the best for all of our clients and helping them achieve their goals.

Of course, none of this could have been achieved without the support of our lovely clients, so I'd like to extend to all of them a big THANK YOU.
<rel=author>
Barbara Patrick
Professional CV Writer
Compelling CVs
​
Email:  mail @ compellingcvs.co.uk

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Hobbies & Interests... Should you include them on your CV?

24/12/2012

 
Picture
Whilst many hobbies are interesting, you need to assess whether your hobbies add to your character and/or provide added value for a potential employer.

If you are running the local kids football club, or you coach tennis at the weekends, volunteer as a leader for Duke of Edinburgh Awards or Chair the local Women's Institute, then you will probably have amassed a considerable number of transferable skills that you can apply in the workplace.

Let's look at running.  If you go for a quick run after work every evening, that shows a degree of commitment.  However, if you have a gruelling training schedule and you are planning to run the London and New York Marathons next year then, hey, that's really something special.  It illustrates commitment, ambition, determination and perseverance - which could all be valuable to a potential employer.  And if you are doing it to support a worthwhile cause, better still!

Coastal walking is another interesting one.  Do you just enjoy occasional walks at the seaside or are you executing a lifetime ambition to walk the entire UK coastline to raise funds for your favourite charity?

Do you attend personal fitness classes as a social activity or do you have a goal to lose 3 stones and climb Mt Kilimanjaro?

Think hard about your hobbies, how they affect your character and how they can translate into worthwhile attributes that will add to your employability.  If you have little or no work experience, then these transferable skills become even more important.

If your interests are solely partying and drinking to excess, then these are probably best left off your CV unless you are applying to become a holiday representative for the 18-30s club where the ability to party is a pre-requisite!

If you really can't see the value in your hobbies, then an employer is unlikely to see them either.  So perhaps you should leave them off your CV entirely.

This is an area which we always explore with our CV clients.  What we discover is often amazing and heart-lifting - which helps make what we do so worthwhile.


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    Barbara Patrick, Career, Job Search and Employability Coach, and Professional CV writer at Compelling CVs in Berkshire, UK

    Thank you for visiting my website and welcome to my blog.

    Barbara Patrick, Career Coach, CV Writer, Interview Skills Training, LinkedIn Training and Profile Writing, Berkshire, UK
    Barbara Patrick, Career and Personal Development Coach, CV Writer, LinkedIn Profile Writer and Trainer, Interview Skills, Job Search and Employability Skills Trainer
    If you have any questions or if you'd like me to write about a specific subject, please get in touch.
    My success is built on my clients' successes, so I do my utmost to help every client achieve their goals - however great or small.


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​Barbara Patrick

Career Coaching, Interview Skills Coaching, LinkedIn Profiles and Training, CV Writing
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mail @ compellingcvs.co.uk

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Based in Reading, Berkshire, Compelling CVs offers: Career Coaching | Interview Skills Coaching | Job Search Skills Training | LinkedIn Profile Writing, Optimisation and Training | Outplacement and Redundancy Support | Job Applications | CV Writing | Cover Letters | Everything you need to help you with your Job Search