Tag Archives: CV advice

Jackie Brown Medical launches new website!

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Alert!We have just celebrated our 4th Birthday @ Jackie Brown Medical and have given the Business a Birthday present of a fresh and fabulous new website which it deserved!

We now have movement, interraction and life on our site.

We have a Social Media aspect

We have used our job seekers and Clients comments and input in to the content and design.

We have kept the same high standard of Compliance and made it very user friendly.

As the business grows, we learn more and have more to give to you, our readers.

We have features such as our Advice Centre which gives solid advice around interviews, CV layout and Medical Sales which remains one of our Specialist sectors across Medical Recruitment.

We are very excited about it and will watch over the coming months it’s performance with Google and it’s bots!

In 2008 and 2009 we were short listed for ‘Best Online Service’ @ the National Recruitment Federation Awards and we are now aiming for the overall winner.

We couldn’t have done it without you, our readers, so please do keep your comments and feedback coming as it is very important to us to remain on top of our game.

 

You cannot submit a CV without a Personal Profile

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Your CV Personal Profile is essential

Your CV Personal Profile is essential

Your Personal Profile on your CV is essential in today’s jobs market – you cannot submit your CV for a job without one.

When a potential employer receives an average of 50 CV’s today for 1 job, your Personal Profile can be the determining factor as to whether he/she will look at your CV in more detail, or not.

Employers use them as a guide to you!

Your Personal Profile is your one chance to highlight yourself and point out why you should be seriously considered for the job.

Your Personal Profile is your introduction to you – your chance to sell yourself, your chance to shine and stand out from the crowd.

Without one, the CV has no introduction and simply becomes a black and white list of your life.

Your Personal Profile should be one paragraph, approx 5 sentences outlining where you have come from and where you are going.

It can be used to sell yourself to a particular job and altered accordingly.

It can be used to rule out the competition.

It can be used to highlight your biggest achievements or used as a Sales ‘brag list’

These days, you cannot afford to have a CV without a Personal Profile at the top of it which takes minutes to draft but can alter your career path

A CV without a Personal Profile is like buying a new computer with no instructions!

So remember, you must have a Personal Profile on the top of your CV – do not send your CV anywhere without one.

First impressions last

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CV is your first impression

CV is your first impression

First impressions last and it is rare you get the second chance to get it right.

In this day and age, CV slip ups are simply not allowed.

There is no excuse for a careless or poorly presented Curriculum Vitae – (CV)

If you are serious about your next job, you must be serious about your CV.

Your CV can make the difference between you getting an interview or not.

 

 

One of the most common errors we are seeing on CV’s are spelling mistakes – simple spelling mistakes.

This gives the impression of a job seeker who is rushed, careless and does not have good attention to detail.

Your CV should be your show piece – it is your one document of your life and experience of utmost importance when changing or seeking a new job.

Your CV is a direct reflection of you

I say nowadays as we are in an age of very advanced technology, there is software available to do your CV for you – there is a basic spell check – grammar check and a multitude of sources of reference on the internet to perfect your CV – therefore there is absolutely NO excuse for spelling mistakes on a CV.

We have one here within our website specific to CV guidelines and layout -

http://www.jackiebrownmedical.ie/advice/resources.php?url=advice

Those who take care, time and pride in their CV, recognising it’s significance will be the ones who are called for interview – your CV is a future employers or a Recruitment Agents first impression of you, so remember -

FIRST IMPRESSIONS LAST

Your Best Foot Forward

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Be the Best

Be the Best

When reviewing or re-doing your CV, stop and rethink it. You need to think of your CV as your representative on first look! Put your best foot forward with your CV.

  • Do not tweek your CV to the job, rather include the relevant details in each position you have held and that should speak for itself.
  • Pur your jobs in chronological order and not in terms of relevancy to the job you are applying for. i.e. in date order not your Nursing jobs first then your Medical Sales jobs.

It is easier to read a CV when put in chronological order. If your CV has all the relevant duties worked per job, then it will speak for itself and your best foot will be put forward to potential employers.

So rethink when revising your CV – simply make sure all the details are up to date and it will speak for itself!

It’s All in the Details

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Details Details Details

Details Details Details

Whether you are applying for a Medical Sales job, a Nursing Job or a job in the Medical Device industry, your CV says everything about you from first glance. Whether you get that second glance depends on the contents of your CV. It’s all in the details you have provided.

Where as once upon a time, your title in the medical company you worked for and the dates you worked there were all self explanatory, these days a little more fine tuning is required in the details of your CV.

For example, if you are a Nurse, it is no longer acceptable to simply give the name of the hospitals you have worked in and your title of “Staff Nurse” and hope for the best. You need those extra details of not just the hospital, but the type of ward, the specific duties you carried out on a daily basis. Whether you are Orthopaedics or Cosmetics… it is all in the details.

Similarly, if you are working in the Kitting Department of a Medical Device company, you cannot just assume that your next potential employer will automatically know what your current job entails:

  • Do you deal with QA? How so?
  • Do you have regular contact with R&D? In what capacity?
  • Do you have detailed involvement with Product Development? Explain the details.
  • Have you named or detailed the specific projects you have worked on?

It is a very difficult mission, and although a bit daunting it will be worth it in the end. It is those extra details in this day and age that could get you that second glance.. possibly the job!

Word is the Word

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Take the time to format your CV in an accessable format.

Take the time to format your CV in an accessable format.

Word is the word when applying for a job, particularly to a recruitment agency your opening shot is with your CV and the worst thing you can do is send a CV in a format that cannot be edited easily such as Pdf. Whats the difference I hear you say?

Well for a start  all CV’s received by agencies (and some direct hiring companies require CV’s to be presented in a particular fashion that  has to be done swiftly.

As the majority of  agencies use MS Office and in particular MS Word, it means having to convert CV’s to a completely different format. But that should’nt take long you say. You’re absolutely right but tell that to the recruiter who is under pressure and has a hundred CV’s to review before lunch and edit those of use.

If you send your CV in PDF or other format, it will remain most likely untouched and unconsidered at the bottom of the electronic documents submission list. What would you prefer?

Take time about your CV but the simplest thing you can do is send it in the most easily accessable format that can be read, re formated and read by OCR (Optical Character  Recognition) technology used by most recruitment databases for data capture.

Give yourself at least a fighting chance for your next job.

It pays to be nice!

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Take the time to listen and to talk

Take the time to listen and to talk

It pays to be nice! Simple manners go a long way when dealing with people you meet in recruitment. How often have you found yourself in a situation where you helped a person not seeking a reward but for the simple pleasure of  being nice or to help a person out of a difficult situation. Being nice pays! This might appear disingenuous but in recruitment potential and opportunity are closely relatives and a good recruiter nevers wastes an opportunity to be nice.

In the Irish recruitment industry, recruiters meet many people and often its the little things that count or lead to success-such as taking the time to talk to candidates. Perhaps you dont have a job for them today but the time you take to talk with them can be all some people are looking for. Some people may simply be looking for help or guidance about their career prospects, feedback on their CV or a little direction.

Because of our intimate market knowledge it doesnt take much to helpfully point a candidate in the right direction or to steer them out of a potential dead end career. So if we can we take that time to talk and we help when we can.

So- whats in it for you? Why bother? Why waste valuable recruiting time talking to people when you need to spend that time making placements and securing your job I hear you say? Well, for one, a candidate can be a candidate today but they can also potentially be a client tomorrow. They can  potentially introduce you to friends or colleagues who may be able to help you with your requirement or be the ideal candidate you need tomorrow -or in quite a few circumstances, be the husband, wife, brother or sister, of a client you have been trying to do business with for months.

Always remember be nice to people, its good for its own reason and it will make you feel better but more importantly remember- it’s too small a world to be nasty to people. The wheel will turn and you never know who knows who or who will be in a position to either hire you in your next job or give you your next break-its in your best interest.

Give something back

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Interview and CV preparation skills

Interview and CV preparation skills

It’s always nice to give something back to those who you work with. In the case of recruitment its nice to give something to those that recruiters most depend on to ensure their business’s continue to function;-ie the job seekers.

Many Irish recruitment agencies spend a lot of time taking CV’s but not giving  enough feedback to those who are unsuccessful  in their application but none the less have taken the time to respond to the advertisements that the agency has  run. If they didn’t reply the agencies wouldn’t  have the CV’s they require to support their clients requirements and by extension they would have nothing to offer to sell their recruiting services.

As recruiters work continually involves the professional assessment and presentation of CV’s and daily interviewing of candidates, they are uniquely qualified to present valuable insights and advice to candidates, and to enhance their candidates with the maximum possibility of achieving success in not only winning an interview, but also maximising their competitive potential against opposition at their individual interview.

The NRF has recently taken measures to address this and has set up workshops to educate those who require information on a variety of topics on areas such as CV and interview preparation. Jackie Brown Medical, an NRF award winning recruitment agency in particular, has provided it’s applicants with specialised tips and advice on a wide variety of professional topics to ensure and to enhance their job hunting prospects in today’s challenging employment market for medical professionals seeking work in the medical jobs recruitment market.

Please feel free to visit our website to read our testimonials and to review our advice center topics if you are looking for a winning CV or tips on how to get the best out of agencies and interviews. Its worth your while and our pleasure to help.  After all, its nice to give something back.