If I had a pound for every time in my tenured recruitment career, that I have heard the words, “I have to fit my C.V. onto one page” muttered, then I would be a very rich man. However, I struggle to understand why this is acceptable and become the norm. If you need to use two or three pages to make sure you display all of the salient information you should feel relaxed in doing so.
It is like posting a picture on a social media or dating site – you don’t choose the worst picture of yourself! Sending your CV for a role is very similar. The C.V. has the sole purpose of convincing the hiring manager/HR that you should be called for interview. You should therefore send the C.V. which provides the decision maker with the tools and information to decide that you are one of the people they should interview
We live in a recruitment world where too many decisions on candidates are made from a two dimensional piece of paper – aka your C.V. So why would you want to omit key facts that will help you convince for an interview, Surely not because you are worried you might be a few sentences too long?
Here is the fact – There is no rule that says your C.V. should only be one page long! In fact when asking most hiring managers one of their biggest frustrations is receiving too many non-relevant C.V.’s. However when probed further, it often transpires that actually it’s not necessarily that the people aren’t relevant, it’s just the hiring manager hasn’t been able to ascertain whether the person’s experience is relevant for their hiring needs.
A similar thought processes can be applied to when you are applying to an advert. Why use your generic CV to just be quick? On average over 80 candidates apply on-line for each job in the Operations and Middle Office sector. So you need to make sure your C.V. is as relevant as possible in order to draw the attention of the recruiter, how else will a recruiter know you are applicable if it doesn’t say somewhere it on your C.V.?
Returning to the dating site analogy; when you are just about to message that person, you would look at their profile and structure a message that will be relevant to their interests. Applying for a job should hold similar comparisons – take a little longer to read the spec and send a CV that includes the requirements of the role. As clients look to hire experienced hires through recruiters – that’s what they pay us for- If you apply for a role and you don’t have the relevant experience disclosed, you will not be considered further.
On the flip side, your CV should not be the length of War and Peace. You only really need to detail the last five to ten years of your experience, because this should be the part that is relevant for the role you are applying for. You don’t need to add multiple points to a role much past the ten year mark, because this forms less relevance in your application, keep those roles to just a couple of points will do.
So, how long should a C.V. be? Long enough to ensure you have all relevant experience to get an interview and don’t make it so short you miss valuable information. However there is a rule of diminishing returns, and as you get onto that third and certainly the fourth page if you were to find yourself there, you should be asking the question, is this next point adding to my application?
There are three main qualities you need to have to succeed in a job in the City: a corporate mentality, determination and a strong work ethic.
Having a corporate mentality is very important if you want to succeed in this environment. Many people come to work in the City because they want to earn significantly more money, but you have to appreciate that you are working for a conglomerate and that, fundamentally, thriving in that environment takes the right kind of individual coupled with the right attitude.
The City is renowned for hiring the crème de la crème of the market – and indeed that’s the way it should be. To get there, having the determination to succeed should go hand in hand with also having the right work ethic.
To be better than everyone else in the City, you have to be relentless.
You have to try your best and make sure that you surround yourself with good people. You are only as good as the people around you, and having a good boss who you believe in is crucial.
The most important lesson I have learnt over the years is: look after yourself.
To do this, work with a manager who will give you clear and measurable goals that are in line with your expectations.
The best piece of advice I could offer to anyone who wants to work in the City is: don’t try and run before you can walk.
It is highly unlikely that you will land your dream role straight away, so the first job that you have in the City is not the job you’re going to be doing forever. Whilst many people want to land the perfect role immediately, sometimes to achieve your goals you have to do things you don’t really want to do to get there, especially when you’re starting out.
When trying to get a job in the City, it’s really important to ensure that you can clearly communicate why you should be hired above other people.
Competition is fierce. What are your unique selling points? What it is that makes you stand out when hiring managers are looking through countless CVs?
Fundamentally, the City is a great place to work, and the financial rewards can be great.
People who work in the City are paid, on average, 40% more than someone doing a similar role outside of London. However, in order to get here, you need to be at the top of your game. The things that will make you stand out are your personal traits and your ability to you fit into a firm’s culture. So if you want to get a job in the City, don’t be disheartened if you do really well in the interview, but then get feedback that says they don’t think you’ll fit into the team. You have to trust that those managers are making their decisions based on the current make up of their environment. Keep going at it, don’t give up, and do things that other people are not doing. David Beckham didn’t become the best free kick taker by just training with his team mates and kicking a ball all day – it was because he used to do all that work and then stay behind after training every single day to practice 100 free kicks. You need to be doing that.
On this Valentine’s Day, there is not much point in analysing relationships from a purely scientific point of view. There are not many people that fall in love only if all their boxes are “ticked.”
The nature of relationships is such that there is so much more involved than basic (logical or illogical) compatibility. There is an animal magnetism that is often unexplainable, a mutual understanding that goes far beyond any common beliefs, and a naturalness in their company that starts from the moment your eyes meet theirs. Well, there are a thousand variations on this theme, but you get the idea….
The same thinking could equally be applied to your career.
Thinking about your current job – are all your boxes ticked? I doubt it. Do you enjoy it? Possibly. Do you need every box to be ticked to love it? Absolutely not
A job is something that grows on you – you can learn to love it. Your relationship with your job is a lot more complex than a simple list of preferences. What you put in equates to what you get out – passion and determination are key ingredients for a love affair with your career.
Therefore, as the economy gets better, and more people start to think about making some strategic moves, it is worth bearing in mind that there is no perfect match for your next step either. When a company meets a candidate at interview, it will be extremely rare that they will meet every requirement. When a candidate considers their options of which company to join and which role to take, there will have to be certain compromises.
The more flexible you are initially, the more interesting possibilities open up. Companies could take a chance on seeing those candidates who aren’t perfect on paper – they may have that special something when you meet them. Candidates might choose to go to an interview that on paper might not seem ideal, only to understand that it was exactly the challenge that they were looking for.
This concept also applies to internal projects and change in job scope. Everyone enjoys being confident in what they are doing, but sometimes a change can bring out a new aspect to your abilities. It may not seem like a logical move to start with, but if you welcome the new activity with open arms, more often than not you will be adding a new string to your bow.
Everyone has career goals – that is very healthy. You might want to be a Sales Director one day, but there is no set path to get there. If you are flexible about your journey, then you are likely to become a far more rounded candidate. If, on the other hand, you only take on the projects and roles that are on your “list”, you will miss out on an awful lot of learning.
With the introduction of technology, the world of work is changing rapidly for many. New boxes to be “ticked” are appearing every day. Be open to as many new experiences as possible, and your career will undoubtedly benefit.
Your dream career might not quite be what you expected, but you will have every chance of getting there if you are more flexible in your expectations.
