CV recommendations
Join Date: Jan 2008
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I work in the recruitment industry following some 20 years in light blue and would echo much of the sage advice given.
The first hurdle for any applicant is getting your CV to 'register' with the recruitment agency/consultant. Recognising that there are likely to be a significant number of applicants for every position advertised it is an essential that your covering note/email identifies clearly some relevancy to the role - indeed that should be echoed in any opening statement on your CV.
Get someone else to critique your CV. Family/friends are fine but may not be as harsh as they should be. As already mentioned, the number of painfully obvious mistakes that are made in the presentation of CVs is frightening.
When applying for roles always try to make your CV bespoke - we have many generic skills; however, potential employers will normally expect to see a CV that demonstrates specific qualities. It sounds obvious but the detail should always be in any job description - if it is not then ring the recruiter/employer direct.
As a rule, we will always respond to applicants who have missed the mark with the presentation of their CV and I am happy to help out should you wish to PM me.
At present the employment market is reasonably bouyant and there is an appetitie amongst employers for engaging ex-military personnel. The very best of luck to those making a move in the near future.
Regards
Critter
The first hurdle for any applicant is getting your CV to 'register' with the recruitment agency/consultant. Recognising that there are likely to be a significant number of applicants for every position advertised it is an essential that your covering note/email identifies clearly some relevancy to the role - indeed that should be echoed in any opening statement on your CV.
Get someone else to critique your CV. Family/friends are fine but may not be as harsh as they should be. As already mentioned, the number of painfully obvious mistakes that are made in the presentation of CVs is frightening.
When applying for roles always try to make your CV bespoke - we have many generic skills; however, potential employers will normally expect to see a CV that demonstrates specific qualities. It sounds obvious but the detail should always be in any job description - if it is not then ring the recruiter/employer direct.
As a rule, we will always respond to applicants who have missed the mark with the presentation of their CV and I am happy to help out should you wish to PM me.
At present the employment market is reasonably bouyant and there is an appetitie amongst employers for engaging ex-military personnel. The very best of luck to those making a move in the near future.
Regards
Critter
Was involved in the resettlement/career change business in 1993/5 after the big draw down then (Remember that awful "Access to Excellence" cr@p - I watch the video when I feel depressed!). Spent a lot of time convincing people
a. Whilst a good CV helped, a lot of luck was involved
b. A CV was not a list of postings during which the subject managed to avoid being court martialled.
c. No one out there now has service experiene, many recruiters not even their granfddads were in the services, so write in a language people with NO service experience will understand, and be prepoared for people still to judge service leavers by "Dad's Army", "Aint Half Hot Mum" and "Get Some In".
d. In 1994-5 I pointed out that to be able to pay the candidate £20k pa, he/she needed to generate/maintain turnover of about £250k - if you want £40k now it has to be in the £500k-£750k area. You have to demonstrate to the business that you can make a significant contribution. Think about it!
GOOD LUCK
a. Whilst a good CV helped, a lot of luck was involved
b. A CV was not a list of postings during which the subject managed to avoid being court martialled.
c. No one out there now has service experiene, many recruiters not even their granfddads were in the services, so write in a language people with NO service experience will understand, and be prepoared for people still to judge service leavers by "Dad's Army", "Aint Half Hot Mum" and "Get Some In".
d. In 1994-5 I pointed out that to be able to pay the candidate £20k pa, he/she needed to generate/maintain turnover of about £250k - if you want £40k now it has to be in the £500k-£750k area. You have to demonstrate to the business that you can make a significant contribution. Think about it!
GOOD LUCK
Join Date: Feb 2006
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The bottom line on one CV read:
rowed single-handedly across
and the next page said
the Serpentine.
She got the interview.
rowed single-handedly across
and the next page said
the Serpentine.
She got the interview.
Made me chuckle.
Join Date: Jan 2008
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I've been out since December 2000 and now work in Oil & Gas Industrial Gas Turbines. I found that nothing much in RAF Career counted to anything in Civvie street. Except for the very specialist things, I was a Sootie and carried out many Borescope inspections which at the time was a sparse skill outside. (Well it got me a job anyway).
The CV writing advice I received during the Resettlement Course I did stood me in good stead and a lady called Jean at Cottesmore gave me a template which I still use today and only last week was generating interest and phone calls.
The Career History Section of my CV has the last line of:
" Royal Air Force September 1978 to December 2000"
And people are more interested in the things in the paragraphs above that.
regards
HH93
The CV writing advice I received during the Resettlement Course I did stood me in good stead and a lady called Jean at Cottesmore gave me a template which I still use today and only last week was generating interest and phone calls.
The Career History Section of my CV has the last line of:
" Royal Air Force September 1978 to December 2000"
And people are more interested in the things in the paragraphs above that.
regards
HH93
Join Date: Aug 2007
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I hope we can all help
Much good advice above, the most important being to get as much help as you can - don't just sweat it out on your own - there is a lot of wisdom out there which you can usually tap into for the price of a pint or two. If your CV works it will get you an interview; as mine did when I applied for my first job after retiring from the RAF. The rest of this post doesn't include advice just shared experience.
The position was advertised as "Project Manager", it was based in a large NHS hospital within walking distance of my home and when I read the job description I thought "I could eat that". The pay wasn't much but I didn't need much and I felt it would be a really pleasant "quality of life" job to take me into my dotage.
So I went bxlls out to prepare for the interview - I even produced 3 pamphlets (The interview boards in the NHS usually include a clinical person, an HR person and a union rep) with professional graphics showing how I would approach the project. I handed these to the interviewers and they seemed impressed, we talked at length and it seemed to go swimmingly.
The next day I received an e-mail informing me I hadn't got the job and (as usual) thanking me for attending the interview. I was mildly surprised and so I called the HR director (one small bit of advice: if you get turned down - ask why) and asked why I hadn't been selected. She replied "Mr SOSL we were all very impressed with your interview but we felt that you would become bored with the job within 6 months and you would probably resign, which would involve us in a another recruitment process with the associated costs.
They didn't want a project manager; they wanted a "policeman" to make sure things were being done but I hadn't NB'd that.
The lesson is - try to find out exactly what the employer wants, not just what they say they want. Bit of an unanswerable question really!
Since then I have worked for myself - easier to get through the interviews!
The position was advertised as "Project Manager", it was based in a large NHS hospital within walking distance of my home and when I read the job description I thought "I could eat that". The pay wasn't much but I didn't need much and I felt it would be a really pleasant "quality of life" job to take me into my dotage.
So I went bxlls out to prepare for the interview - I even produced 3 pamphlets (The interview boards in the NHS usually include a clinical person, an HR person and a union rep) with professional graphics showing how I would approach the project. I handed these to the interviewers and they seemed impressed, we talked at length and it seemed to go swimmingly.
The next day I received an e-mail informing me I hadn't got the job and (as usual) thanking me for attending the interview. I was mildly surprised and so I called the HR director (one small bit of advice: if you get turned down - ask why) and asked why I hadn't been selected. She replied "Mr SOSL we were all very impressed with your interview but we felt that you would become bored with the job within 6 months and you would probably resign, which would involve us in a another recruitment process with the associated costs.
They didn't want a project manager; they wanted a "policeman" to make sure things were being done but I hadn't NB'd that.
The lesson is - try to find out exactly what the employer wants, not just what they say they want. Bit of an unanswerable question really!
Since then I have worked for myself - easier to get through the interviews!
Don't oversell yourself but also don't undersell yourself.
Friend got caught out once in the late 1990's with a "How do you cope with change" question after 25 years in the services from 16-17, he imploded.
Initially view was he didn't as nothing really changed when he in HMGs employee.
It was funny sitting down and reminding him of what i could remember of mid 70's and services collecting bins or driving fire engines, cold war enemies, Falklands war, end of Cold war, Northern Ireland, Gulf war, exercises in NATO in with former enemies.........then suggesting that if he thought that nothing had changed from day he went in to day he left.
He wasn't involved in all of them and accepted no blame for starting any of them apart from what he claims a few fights while tired and emotional........suggested not a good idea to talk to an employer about that element.
Bluntly told him that anybody in the services for that length of time or even part of it has seen huge organisational change as well as change of masters when elections occur.
Accordingly he should be stating that change was a normal state of affairs giving examples over either short, medium or long term.
Funnily enough this he has used on a number of occasions since and gets credit for it plus number of jobs.
Friend got caught out once in the late 1990's with a "How do you cope with change" question after 25 years in the services from 16-17, he imploded.
Initially view was he didn't as nothing really changed when he in HMGs employee.
It was funny sitting down and reminding him of what i could remember of mid 70's and services collecting bins or driving fire engines, cold war enemies, Falklands war, end of Cold war, Northern Ireland, Gulf war, exercises in NATO in with former enemies.........then suggesting that if he thought that nothing had changed from day he went in to day he left.
He wasn't involved in all of them and accepted no blame for starting any of them apart from what he claims a few fights while tired and emotional........suggested not a good idea to talk to an employer about that element.
Bluntly told him that anybody in the services for that length of time or even part of it has seen huge organisational change as well as change of masters when elections occur.
Accordingly he should be stating that change was a normal state of affairs giving examples over either short, medium or long term.
Funnily enough this he has used on a number of occasions since and gets credit for it plus number of jobs.
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If you have to give an e-mail address then make sure that it's a sensible one, I once had an applicant with a an address that started with iamat**t@, guess how much of that CV got read
And whilst we are talking e-mail and things, remember recruiters read social networking sites, so if you are after a job, no pics on facebook of you legless in the Hgh Street!
Join Date: Jan 2008
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A good point made above. One of the best mediums for job advertising at the moment is Linked In. Regardless of your thoughts on the site there are a wealth of opportunities posted on a daily basis - indeed, many recruiters (us included) find that the very best candidates come from this source. You will also find that many employers will look to recruit direct through Linked In. There are some very specific groups that directly target the ex-military community.
For those about to make the plunge or for others who are loooking to move onto pastures new, I would wholeheartedly recommend Linked In. It has the added advantage of being free.
For those about to make the plunge or for others who are loooking to move onto pastures new, I would wholeheartedly recommend Linked In. It has the added advantage of being free.
Red On, Green On
Join Date: May 2004
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In my head-hunting days I used LinkedIn all the time, so it's well worth getting up and running and making full use of it. Join the ex-forces groups so you can be found by recruiters, and make sure you use civvy words instead of/as well as the military terms.
You can LinkedIn pro-actively too, to find people who've made the transition. Ping them a message asking if you can buy them a beer and have a chat. Most won't bite, and it may give you an inside track on jobs coming up in their new employer. If Bloggs has already made a good impression then a friend/contact of Bloggs will be seen in a more positive light, and get you an interview. The rest is often quite easy.
You can LinkedIn pro-actively too, to find people who've made the transition. Ping them a message asking if you can buy them a beer and have a chat. Most won't bite, and it may give you an inside track on jobs coming up in their new employer. If Bloggs has already made a good impression then a friend/contact of Bloggs will be seen in a more positive light, and get you an interview. The rest is often quite easy.
