January and February are two of the busiest months of the year for recruitment companies across the UK and internationally, as many companies begin 2020 by hiring new employees for their business and releasing their budgets. However, competition is fierce as it’s estimated that one in five people look for a new job in the new year.
Lily, Managing Director of Lily Shippen, who specialise in recruiting personal assistants, executive assistants and office managers in Manchester, Leeds and London, as well as internationally, believes that there are four easy steps to set yourself apart from the crowd.
Keep your CV concise
“The average time an employer or recruiter spends looking at a CV is 5-7 seconds; therefore, it is crucial that your CV is easily digestible, has no spelling or grammar mistakes and is concise,” says Lily
- Ensure that all fonts on your CV are consistent.
- Aim to keep your CV to no more than three pages, listing responsibilities of your last three to four jobs in bullet point form.
- Responsibilities should all be in the same tense, i.e. “managing, coordinating etc”. If you’re updating an old CV, be careful that it doesn’t have the present tense in previous jobs.
- If you have any gaps in employment, detail what you were doing, whether it was job hunting, travelling or taking time out.
Register with the best recruitment agency for you
“There are hundreds of recruitment companies in the market and so it is crucial that you find the best recruitment agency for you. Do your research and find out how many quality jobs that match your criteria the recruitment agency has had in the past 3-6 months. You are better off registering with one specialist agency as opposed to several that only have the odd job that matches your criteria,” adds Lily
Update your social media profiles
According to CareerBuilder.com seven in ten employers (70 percent) use social networking sites to research candidates during the hiring process. “Updating your LinkedIn profile is easy and quick to do. All the dates should match your CV, as well as education grades. It helps adding a headshot to your profile, but steer away of pictures from a night out!” says Lily.
Brush up on your interview skills
“The best recruitment agencies will offer assistance when it comes to interviewing. Ask the recruitment agency what help they can give you, whether it’s advising you on the format of the interview, specific tips or role play scenarios. It’s also worth practicing talking through your CV concisely with a friend or family member,” adds Lily
Lily Shippen specialises in recruiting Personal Assistants, Executive Assistants, Private PAs and secretaries across Manchester, Leeds and London – as well as internationally. For more information on how to kick start your job search, contact the team today.
Image Vectors by Vecteezy.
