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The 2 main reasons why doing something between jobs is so important

When between jobs it is easy to fall into a negative routine off staying up late watching a late-night movie, waking up past dinner time, which leads to a late breakfast and by the time you have finished watching the afternoon talk show the time for job searching is over.

To combat this negative routine job hunters need to fill their time between job searching and a second activity IE training, volunteering, etc.

There two main reasons to fill your time:

Reason One: from the employers point of view, when reading your CV a gap in your employment can look negative, with some employers generalising that gap means your lazy or you have served a short term prison sentence.

As with all generalisations this conclusion has no evidence, but once an employer has a negative thought about you it is hard to  have a change of mind. So the first reason is, by volunteering or training you will have a gap-free CV

Reason Two: a job is more then just an income it is an identify, when being between jobs you can easily become down beat or depressed falling into that negative routine we discussed before.

By undertaking a training course or by volunteering, you will create a purpose, a positive routines and a new identity, in short you will feel good about yourself keeping you motivated during your new job applications and interviews.

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What is a Targeted CV?

A targeted CV

Many unsuccessful job seekers in fact will not have heard of targeted CVs, having just one CV. Often this CV is of a good standard and records the job hunter’s employment and education history. So, why do you need a targeted CV?

A targeted CV will make you more marketable.

If you’re applying for several job roles, which many job hunters do to help increase their chances of gaining employment you need to create a targeted CV. A targeted CV is a CV aimed at an individual job role and company; research has shown that targeted CVs increase offers of interviews.

First write your general CV, or if needed ask a CV writing service to write one for you. A general CV should record your contact details, personal profile, employment history, education, hobbies and your references.

Once you have a CV, read the job specification for the job you are applying for. The job specification will tell the job hunter what key skills and qualities are essential for this particular job role in this particular organisation, if you possess these essential requirements RECORD them on your CV-it’s these skills the employer is looking for, so many job hunters record information that they feel is relevant, where as the interviewer does not.

The personal profile is often the first section on the CV the employer will read, this is the section on your CV to really sell yourself. Look at the personal profile as a “sales” paragraph, why should the employer interview you? What makes you stand out from the other applicants? Before you write your personal profile, re-read the job specification and only record your transferrable skills needed for this opportunity.

How long does an employer spend reading your CV?

Need a CV writing service?

An employer can receive over 300 CVs for every advertised job role, for any organisation that is a large amount of CVs to read and time is money! In many cases employers will spend 30 seconds “skimming” through your CV quickly looking to see if you have the essential skills and qualities needed for the job role. If you do, the employer will put your CV through to the second round of the application process, spending more time dissecting your CV, helping the employer decide which 6, on average, applicants to interview for every one job position.

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How to get rid of gap’s in your CV

Do you have a CV with gaps in your employment history? Don’t worry, so do many other job hunters. Some gaps can be easily explained, while other normally longer gaps may not be so easy to explain.

The secret to writing a CV is to keep the CV positive, especially when explaining employment gaps. If you can not avoid the gap in employment, you should record an explanation rather than just leaving a long gap.

If you leave a gap, an employer reading your CV, will notice your employment gaps and may come to their own conclusions why you have the employment gaps.

How to get rid of gaps in employment.

1. On your employment history only record the years of employment rather than the day, month and year as this will quickly delete any small gaps of unemployment between jobs.

2. Record if you have had time off for becoming a parent or taking a gap year to travel-you can even record what skills and qualities you have gained from this experience that you can use in your new job.

3. If you have had a custodial sentence and completed any qualifications while in custody, you can record the qualifications and governing body. This will look like you have attended a training establishment. You don’t need to record criminal convictions on your CV, when completing an application form you have to answer honestly the question “do you have a criminal record” Remember with many industries you don not need to declare “spent Convictions” for more information visit the Nacro website.

4. Many people at one time throughout their career have a long term illness, leaving them with an employment gap. Explain that you have had an accident or illness and you are now completely recovered and ready for continuing with your career. I recently worked with a client who had recovered from cancer, while having treatment the client became a mentor for other cancer patients, from this he gain a wide range of skills that he could add to his CV.

5. Have you been unemployed for several years? Many job hunters find a large unemployment gap hard to explain. To overcome this type of employment gap you need to highlight any positive activities you undertaken, this could be voluntary work, attending a short course or a hobby that has given you transferable skills that will be useful to your next employer.

Need help? Use a professional CV writing service.