Are you a football supporter? Or perhaps you enjoy spending your Sundays taking long walks in the wild? Is hiking your favourite spare time activity? Are you the absolute connoisseur of wine? Does Baroque architecture fascinate you? Did you just add all that in your CV? If yes, stop for a moment and think: how is it relevant to the recruiter? (more...)

The online environment does not discriminate: everyone is invited to join. While it is true that global communication has never known such expansion, with companies benefitting massively from it, we cannot look away from the negative outcomes. Fraudulent entities are constantly innovating their dishonest techniques, and a moment of carelessness may easily transform you into their next victim. As a job seeker, you could be targeted by ‘agencies’ or ‘firms’ making fake job offers. (more...)

If the concept of ‘Personal Branding’ and its alleged importance in the job seeking process have been giving you headaches, it’s time for you to take a step back and try to wrap your mind around the facts surrounding it. It is common knowledge that the job application process involves marketing yourself as a candidate, therefore Personal Branding is an intrinsic aspect of it. And the truth is…

1.     There is nothing new under the Sun – ‘Personal Branding’ has become a buzz word within the last decade, after having appeared in an article the management guru Tom Peters wrote for the Fast Company Magazine in 1997. (more...)

Imagine the job application process to be a marketing campaign which promotes YOU. The CV the executive recruiter receives needs to be shouting ‘Interview this candidate!’ Solid arguments have to sustain this message and enticing phrases have to convey it. By integrating power words in your CV, you raise the interest of the reader and retain it to the extent that he/she will get to the part announcing your hobbies. (more...)

Out of all the rules to consider when creating your CV, one is clear: you need to start with your name and contact details. But what about extra personal data, such as nationality, age, religion, photo?

While countries like Germany, China or Romania may ask for these details, UK legislation makes it clear that such cues for discrimination are forbidden. If the picture is not considered taboo, or it is even required, be careful – your appearance might influence the response rate you get from recruiters.

A common question is if you should use a photo on your CV. (more...)

With the Christmas Holidays coming closer, finding and wrapping gifts for the loved ones might steal your attention from staying firm in your executive job search. It is a natural shift of focus this time of the year, but why not get a competitive edge against the other candidates by maintaining your job search efforts as strong as ever?

The process of seeking for an executive position has its catches, so you should create a check list with things you should and shouldn’t do. (more...)

Did you ever get the impression that the CV restricts you from being specific about your strengths? Or that it offers you limited possibilities to stress your high motivation for a job? The good news is that you still have a chance to fill in these gaps: the Cover Letter.

Take advantage of this opportunity and convey your personal message to the executive recruiter. Forget about the guidelines for CV writing! You need a different mindset for what you’re about to write next. (more...)

You’ve set your mind on getting that position and you are confident that all your efforts will pay off: you have optimised your CV and customised your Cover Letter, you’ve got spotless references and your knowledge on the company’s background couldn’t get any deeper.

Do you really think you covered it all? Think again! Your online behavior is checked by two thirds of the headhunters. Whether your name brings up many or no results via search engines makes a big difference. (more...)

The moment you decide to change your job, you are already aware of the stages to follow: target the desired position and retrieve the ‘arsenal’ you need for winning the fight.

Career Change

Here two case scenarios can be identified: you either plan on making a change within the same field of work (go from being a Social Media Manager to a Marketing Manager) or you set your mind on a completely new area (from Quality Assurance Manager to Sales Manager). (more...)

Developing a CV can be a nail-biting experience. There are so many different aspects to a great CV – content, wording, style, format, design – but most importantly, strategy. That might not be what you expected me to say.

Most job seekers do not consider the audience and instead compose the CV to please themselves. This is a mistake. A CV should always be written for the reader – the hiring manager, the recruiter, etc. When we work with our clients, of course we want them to be happy with their new CV, but moreover, we want to impress the person beyond the client – the gatekeeper and decision-maker – so that our client lands the interview. (more...)