Unemployment/Careers

[welshbairn]

2 hours ago, Rugster said:

I rarely pay much attention to the hobbies section of a CV when recruiting someone, though sometimes it can alert you to a OFTW

Old Firm Tit w**k?

[Rugster]

10 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

Old Firm Tit w**k?

One For The Watching.

[Jambomo]

8 minutes ago, Rugster said:

One For The Watching.

Watching as a potentially great candidate or watching as a potential name on the sex offenders register?

[Rugster]

2 minutes ago, Jambomo said:

Watching as a potentially great candidate or watching as a potential name on the sex offenders register?

OFTW seems to be the adopted terminology for the word we can't use anymore thanks to the pair of grasses, Granny Danger and the Tedi. So make of that what you will.

[Jambomo]

2 minutes ago, Rugster said:

OFTW seems to be the adopted terminology for the word we can't use anymore thanks to the pair of grasses, Granny Danger and the Tedi. So make of that what you will.

Ahhh I see. Cheers

[Gordon EF]

3 hours ago, throbber said:

Including hobbies shows you are well rounded, if you are well into sports and play at a competitive level or are a football coach etc then it will look good but obviously not a necessary requirement. 

I know what the standard recruitment shite about hobbies is. But the fact is that someone can be perfectly well rounded without running about white water rafting and ski-jumping every other weekend and you can find plenty of fruitloops who should be on the register who've got a full hobby-calendar.

I'd be pretty confident that an honest, evidence-based study into hobbies would show that folk with lots of CV-worthy hobbies are no better or worse at their jobs than those who don't. It's a self-fulfilling recruitment prophesy based on absolutely nothing.

There's no reason playing computer games, watching youtube videos and going to the pub doesn't make somebody well rounded but nobody's going to put that on a CV.

[throbber]

I totally agree Gordon, don't think its really any of your employers business to ask what you are into doing in your own time because i do the things that you have mentioned in your final paragraph.

Another application I am doing has a section you can upload your CV, and then the awkward questions that you expect. It then has a personal statement section with a 500 word maximum, then it has a key achievement section with no specified word count and then has a section for a cover letter at the end although it isn't vital that you fill that out. I just wrote a cover letter that included my achievements and what made me good for the job in the document, what would they want you to include in a separate cover letter after you have written a personal statement?! Bloody annoying this.

[welshbairn]

29 minutes ago, throbber said:

I totally agree Gordon, don't think its really any of your employers business to ask what you are into doing in your own time because i do the things that you have mentioned in your final paragraph.

Another application I am doing has a section you can upload your CV, and then the awkward questions that you expect. It then has a personal statement section with a 500 word maximum, then it has a key achievement section with no specified word count and then has a section for a cover letter at the end although it isn't vital that you fill that out. I just wrote a cover letter that included my achievements and what made me good for the job in the document, what would they want you to include in a separate cover letter after you have written a personal statement?! Bloody annoying this.

I doubt anyone ever reads that stuff unless it's funny, intentionally or not, and it will be passed around the building and you might get an interview for a laugh. Work experience and qualifications should tell them all they need to know until they meet you in the face. Unless you're applying for a job in marketing or something which requires great bullshitting skills.

[Gordon EF]

11 minutes ago, throbber said:

I totally agree Gordon, don't think its really any of your employers business to ask what you are into doing in your own time because i do the things that you have mentioned in your final paragraph.

Another application I am doing has a section you can upload your CV, and then the awkward questions that you expect. It then has a personal statement section with a 500 word maximum, then it has a key achievement section with no specified word count and then has a section for a cover letter at the end although it isn't vital that you fill that out. I just wrote a cover letter that included my achievements and what made me good for the job in the document, what would they want you to include in a separate cover letter after you have written a personal statement?! Bloody annoying this.

Yeah, job-hunting is pretty good at bringing the old rage to the surface.

[throbber]

13 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

I doubt anyone ever reads that stuff unless it's funny, intentionally or not, and it will be passed around the building and you might get an interview for a laugh. Work experience and qualifications should tell them all they need to know until they meet you in the face. Unless you're applying for a job in marketing or something which requires great bullshitting skills.

I have emailed the person dealing with the CV's and he seems pretty casual over email, maybe he will appreciate it if i crack a joke or two.

[welshbairn]

1 minute ago, throbber said:

I have emailed the person dealing with the CV's and he seems pretty casual over email, maybe he will appreciate it if i crack a joke or two.

Bear in mind I know nothing about this, nearly every job I've got has been through word of mouth or going to a place and asking for one. I'd hate to think I destroyed your career by encouraging you to tell one of your very funny masturbation stories under "Hobbies".

[throbber]

So many mixed signals in this thread.

[Newbornbairn]

I've been daydreaming about that forestry commission job for two days now, cnuts!

[Cerberus]

Hobbies should only be on your CV if they are professionally relevant or you are 18, starting your career and want to pad out your CV.

Use the space for appropriate stuff. Why when you have 5 seconds to sell yourself tell me you like socialising, hillwalking and going to the football?

[Gordon EF]

17 hours ago, Cerberus said:

Hobbies should only be on your CV if they are professionally relevant or you are 18, starting your career and want to pad out your CV.

Use the space for appropriate stuff. Why when you have 5 seconds to sell yourself tell me you like socialising, hillwalking and going to the football?

Where did you get hold of my 'just after leaving uni' CV?

[Falcor Roar]

I'm a recent graduate so i'm trying to find a job as an assistant town planner but every post advertised is looking for at least 12 months experience. Seriously depressing job market these days. 

[PRS]

On 13/12/2016 at 16:32, throbber said:

 

I never even associated the question with customers and assumed it would be to do with co workers/bosses but sure I could waggle something in 250 words. Thanks.

 

Look closely at the job description. That should let you know the type of communication skills that they are looking for you to evidence.  Have you experience of working with the type of people you would meet in the new post? Think breadth and depth when giving your evidence - breadth in terms of the range of people that you have had to adapt and hone your communication skills and depth in terms of the complexity of situations where your communication skills have been invaluable.  It might be easier to give an example.Use the STAR approach to help you formulate your answer: 

Describe the SITUATION briefly to set the scene, what was the TASK? What ACTION did you take and then describe the RESULT - the outcome. Your emphasis should be on the action and result segments as that is where you will give the evidence of what you did and the impact.  

Given that this type of question is being asked on the application form, the job interview is almost certainly going to be based on the "competency" approach.  There is quite a lot of information on how to prepare for these on line and the wiki piece is quite good.  Also details here - www.myworldofwork.co.uk/ use the internal search engine at the top of the home screen and type in "competency interviews"

[throbber]

Brilliant PRS, thanks. I have got to these points during an application before and tried to rush things a bit but this time I really want to give it all I can with the responses as it is a position I really want.

[PRS]

On 14/12/2016 at 17:00, throbber said:

I totally agree Gordon, don't think its really any of your employers business to ask what you are into doing in your own time because i do the things that you have mentioned in your final paragraph.

Another application I am doing has a section you can upload your CV, and then the awkward questions that you expect. It then has a personal statement section with a 500 word maximum, then it has a key achievement section with no specified word count and then has a section for a cover letter at the end although it isn't vital that you fill that out. I just wrote a cover letter that included my achievements and what made me good for the job in the document, what would they want you to include in a separate cover letter after you have written a personal statement?! Bloody annoying this.

Sounds like a poorly thought through application process if you are being asked for,effectively, duplication of information.  For someone like yourself, I would suggest a master CV that is your refereance CV, it can be as long as you want it to be as you would not send it to an employer, but rather be a reference copy for you to make customised CVs for specific post.  That's the key- your CV has to be specific to the post you are applying for as the employers is likely to choose the  6-8 CVs that best match the job description.  I quite like the idea of having a Major Achievements section early on in your CV, no more than 5 or 6 bullet points that the employer will see early on in their look at your CV - it sets a powerful tone right away.  If you are asked to complete supplementary info such as in the application you quotes, you can go into detail about these achievements using the STAR system to describe.  The important things nag is to give evidence of your achievements

[throbber]

Well the most relevant thing I have to the job I'm applying for is the subject I am doing my honours project on, so I have mentioned that mostly in my statement and only briefly in my cv which I want to keep as just my achievements/experiences.