Author: Rob

Tips for Writing a Top Graduate CV

~ Rob

I’m not sure I’m quite prepared for the job market so this week am writing my graduate CV. As a graduate its difficult writing a CV as you probably won’t have bucket loads of work experience in the industry you want to work in. For this reason writing your first CV can be a daunting task because you think you don’t have a great deal to put in it.

Writing a graduate CV isn’t easy because in reality you probably haven’t done any work in your field. Graduates are usually in this catch 22 situation so it’s important that your Graduate CV catches an employer’s eye.

Creating a Successful Graduate CV

A successful CV must sell yourself by demonstrating your knowledge, skills and personal qualities to employers. A well prepared and structured CV will improve your job prospects and give you the competitive edge in the graduate job market.

The best graduate CVs are the ones that get noticed and get you to the interview stage. The secret to a writing a successful CV to think about your audience – The employer. Supply a cover letter for each role you apply for to help support your CV and highlight your strengths and key assets.

A successful CV will secure you an interview and the only way that will happen is if you put yourself in the employers shoes. In short a CV must persuade recruiters that you are a suitable candidate for the role. The easiest way to grab their attention from the start is to provide them with the information they are looking for.

Your graduate CV  is the first opportunity that employers will see so sell yourself. These CV Tips will get your CV to the top of the pile and not put through the company shredder.

After working hard on your academic qualifications writing a graduate CV seems a little flat because you have nothing to back up your claims and feel you haven’t got enough workplace experience. Don’t worry you’re not alone and I felt that way too.

Although you might not have years of work experience you can improve and create a successful  graduate CV using the advice outlined here and avoiding common graduate CV pitfalls and mistakes. To help you write an impressive and first class CV here are my graduate CV tips so employers take you seriously and you land that job interview.

The Best CV Tips:

  • Employers receive lots of applications so it’s vital your CV looks professional and stands out from other applicants. Think about what employers really want and write your CV for your audience. Always research company and the job role so you have a solid idea of what they are looking for. Above all else tailor your CV to meet the employers requirements.
  • Keep your CV relevant to the role and show off your assets and qualities. Focus on what you can offer and how you fit the role. Including your key achievements and any information that is appropriate will help you secure a job interview. You have space so strip out anything that doesn’t add value. Cut to the chase and leave out anything that’s irrelevant or just fluffy padding.
  • Your employment history maybe a little brief and on the thin since you’re fresh out of university so use your CV as a tool to show your potential and future career direction. What work experience did you do at school? Have you any hobbies or done any voluntary work that improves your graduate CV in some way? If you have had any part time jobs while studying then list them with dates of employment, job title, the company name and a details of your key responsibilities. They may not be in your field of expertise but it shows you have experience of the working world. Make any career history relevant and don’t undersell yourself, point out any responsibilities you’ve had and targets you’re met. Prove you meet employers skill set they need. Backup your case with examples that outline your skills, ambition, talent and potential.
  • If you are fresh out of university then your education and qualifications will probably take precedence over your work experience. List your most recent qualifications first starting with your degree, A levels and GCSEs along with the grades. If you’re taken any other relevant  training course then include them too.
  • Presentation and layout will make your CV look the part so you give off the right impression. A CV needs to be clear, easy to follow and easy to read. Keep it simple and make use of headings and bullet points to highlight important information. A well layout and presented CV containing a relevant content is more likely to be noticed and give more attention by recruiters. Think about the presentation, layout and structure of your CV. CV’s are broken down into sections – Education and Qualifications, Career History, include any projects you have worked on and show the results achieved. Make good use of headings, font sizes, bold and italics, even colours – but don’t overdo it! Put your felt tips and wax crayons away. The last thing an employer will be impressed by is a CV written from top to bottom in fluorescent pink comic sans.
  • Something else to keep in mind whilst designing your graduate CV is its readability. Employers and software will be looking to pull specific information from your application, without a clear structure that allows them to find the relevant sections at a quick glance they may simply give up and move on.
  • Having a good degree but no work experience isn’t as bad as it sounds. Practical experience comes from all areas of life not just formal education so take into account other areas of your life besides your study. Employers want other skills besides your degree knowledge so describe the skills you’re learnt away from the lecture hall. Demonstrate your other abilities like team working, creativity, working under pressure and organisational planning. Even if you have limited hands on work experience or never had a job you can use examples in any part time work you’ve done and mention your involvement and any contribution you’ve made for the university societies and sports team you joined. Include extracurricular activities and anything that will support your graduate CV application. Mention any student societies you have joined and been a part of. Getting involved in extra activates and adding these to your graduate profile can enhance your CV and job application by demonstrating a willingness to participate and be a team player. Employer are looking for practical and soft skills too. Describe what you have achieved outside of your degree course.
  • Keywords that highlight your skills are more likely to be picked up on by recruiters. Place important keywords in your graduate CV so recruiters and automated computer skill search software can find your CV when uploaded to jobsites. Having recruiters come to you and letting technology do the donkey work makes the whole job search easier. As a rule avoid jargon but if it’s a specialist or technical role then a light helping of jargon will help to prove you” know your stuff” but don’t overdo it or pack it full of acronyms which disjoint the reading tone or makes the employer fall asleep.
  • If you have your own blog, Twitter or LinkedIn account add them to your CV. Employers may want to search for you on social media to see how you conduct yourself online. Help them find you so they can review and scan your online presence. Social media has a big influence on employers so include your professional LinkedIn profile. If you run a blog that can also help potential employers get to know you.
  • Employers don’t want your life story. Employers tend to scan-reading CVs due to the sheer volume of applications or time constraints so keywords and phase matter a great deal. Keep your CV concise and short between 2-3 pages long with no obscure or strange fonts and colours . Avoid the usually waffle and boring sentences that other CV contain such as “I’m enthusiastic and focused worker” – That should be obvious because if you’re not keen to do the work then why bother employing you in the first place. If you do add personal statement section make it interesting. Any dull and boring CV will likely be rejected.
  • Avoid the Cheesey Clichés that most CV’s contain. Statements like “I am hardworking, enthusiastic and driven person. I’m very passionate and blah, blah, blah” – FAIL! Employers don’t want or need to read this. If you’re not hardworking, enthusiastic, driven or passionate about the job then why would employers want or need you in the first place.
  • Keep your graduate CV factual and don’t lie, tell fibs or bend the truth too much. Honestly goes along way and so too does a little exaggeration and embellishment but unless you do have a degree in quantum physics or been the mayor of London don’t put it on your CV. It will only come out at interview stage or later on if you can’t remember the made up parts. It will also be very embarrassing and create an awkward situation for yourself.
  • Without stating the obvious check your CV for spelling and grammar errors. Nothing discourages employers more than seeing spelling mistakes and grammatical faults. Errors scream out and show that you have no attention to detail. Misspelt words and poor grammar will reflect on you and suggest you don’t care or haven’t put the effort in so get someone to double check and proof read your CV beforehand.
  • Use CV templates with caution and custom and tailor your graduate CV to different job roles in your sector. A generic CV won’t carry much weight so adjust your CV strategy based on the employers requirements.

Following these graduate CV tips will help you produce a top graduate CV and help get your foot in the door for the interview process. You can also submit a cover letter with your application giving some extra detail and explaining why you want to work at that company.

A planned and well thought-out CV which is presented correctly will increase your chances of the whole thing been read and put on the shortlist pile.

A successful graduate CV needs meaningful content with shape clear presentation and design. The best CV tips will help you fine tune and create a powerful selling tool of your assets which can lead on to the interview stage and a job offer.

There are pages and pages of graduate CV tips and CV advice on the Internet but it’s difficult without any hands on experience so in a competitive market your CV must pack a punch and sell yourself.

Job hunting can be slow after university so it’s important you are also on the lookout for graduate schemes. Start looking in your final year at university for schemes that can give you a foot onto the career ladder and get your applications in early. Doing this will give you time to review and decide which scheme appeal to you most.

It’s also useful to attend any local job fairs and recruitment events in your area and have your graduate CV printed and available just in case you walk into an job opportunity to discuss starting a new role.

Finishing university should open up a brand new journey and open up the world of work to new graduates. It’s important you are prepared and write the best graduate CV you can. Your career ambitions are probably riding high or maybe you still don’t have a clue what to do next.

Don’t panic if you’ve left university and  haven’t found a job yet. Give it time, you need to find a career and an employer that’s right for you. It can take a while to build up some career and employment history and internships can help you launch your working career.

Even if your career has a slow start remain positive and keep applying and asking friends and family to be on the lookout for suitable job roles. Having a solid and well written CV acts as an advertisement for you and your skills will help you find the ideal role.

Here are a few sites to help you with your job search:

https://targetjobs.co.uk

http://www.milkround.com

http://www.graduate-jobs.com

https://www.careers4graduates.com

https://www.jobserve.com

If you know of any more graduate job sites let me know in the comments.

Finding a Career Path and What to Do with your Graduate Life?

~ Rob

My graduation is looming and my degree will soon be over. Like me you’ve worked hard, played hard. What to do next when university life is coming to an end? What to do with your Graduate Life? A job, some world travel, more education? You are at the junction where more decisions need to be made. How are you going to live your life?

Now my university days are soon to be over I need to focus and decide on my new career path. It’s feels like a strange and scary time to be finally ending education. It’s all I’ve done since joining nursery at age 4. Up to this point life seemed certain year in, year out. Yet now I have to enter the world of work, make grow up decisions, pay back a stack of student debt and drug lords.

Struggling is not exactly a career path so it’s time to look to the future. For those out there that have a career plan or a job lined up that’s wonderful. For some of us we are at a crossroads of choice, not sure what we’re supposed to be doing with ourselves after university.

My Plan A is to start my career. I don’t include my bar work summer jobs as career advancement. I had a job interview today. I think it went very well. I communicated confidential however in hindsight do I really want to be trapped in a job just for the money. If I get the job my responsibility will be rewarded with income. But is that success?

I wouldn’t exactly describe myself as a radical thinker or as an academic despite doing my A-Levels and finishing university. To be honest I only went this route because of pressure from my parents and the fact at 18 I wasn’t ready for the world of work. I had no idea what I wanted to do and going to university seemed like a good idea to kill some time and make my parents happy.

Besides they had done it, my older brother and sister had done it so it was kind of expected that I should too. A shy guy pushed and pressured along by parents and peers. Going with the flow with no clear path I signed up to a degree.

University is supposed to prepare you for your future. In the process I’ve racked up student loans, tuition fees and debts just to get an education. So here I am and I’m not sure what to do with the leftovers.

If you’ve not got a plan together the future is uncertain and worry sets in. I realise thousands of graduates are in this situation, in the same boat with no sails.

Meanwhile to rub it in some of your uni friends are out of the blocks and starting a career in their chosen field while you’re still work pulling pints. To add more pressure family members ask you “What are you going to do now?”.

Don’t despair your life isn’t over. I still haven’t got a clue what to do next. I should know the outcome of the interview by tomorrow afternoon. If I don’t land the job than its Plan B which I don’t have a plan for right now but it’s not the end of the world.

Keep calm and slow down we’re still young. Give yourself time to decide and don’t do anything just because other people seem to be going somewhere fast. It’s not a race.

You’ve gone the distance, you have a degree it won’t be wasted. Think of all the experience your student life has given you. It’s a big world out there. Go travelling have some downtime, taste life, go discover yourself you may also have a flash of inspiration on your future career goals.

As for me maybe I can’t face having to grow up and filling the void of education with a 9 to 5 job. Things don’t stay the same? Nothing remains constant, does it?

Coronavirus Impacts Hard on Students

~ Rob

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is causing chaos and disruption for the world and students’ education. Over the last year young pupils and university students have lost months of education.

Students have faced the A-level mess from 2020, and GCSE’s and A-level exams are cancelled for this year too. In addition, many university students are suffering financial hardship due to part-time job losses as business and companies remain closed for months.

On top of a lack of rent rebate thousands of UK university students feel forgotten as they are expected to pay high course fees for an online education and study from home.

The academic experience isn’t the same as been on campus enjoying the social side of learning and face to face teaching from your lecturer. Delivering distance online tutoring and isolated self-studying feels like the quality of learning suffers, and I think students deserve a refund for receiving a second rate education service.

Alongside the learning disruption student mental health during coronavirus has deteriorated with many teenagers and students experiencing a decline in their well-being with depression and anxiety on the increase.

Since the start of Covid 19 I’ve feel a bit lost and haven’t felt like posting on this blog for a while. Each day I’m starring at a computer screen or seem glued to my desk trying to study with books and my unreadable handwritten notes.

The workload can be difficult to manage without any real social life or a beer down the pub to unwind. Been self-isolated in small room with no sunshine does little to help the feeling of loneliness and building anxiety with the pandemic putting extra pressures on student life. With nothing to do, unable to go out, invite people over and the dire financial situation there are no alternatives but to stay indoors trap with our own thoughts.

If you need help and are struggling then contact your college or universities student support services. You can also visit websites like Student Space for coronavirus support.

Student Stress and Study Burnout

~ Rob

Feeling like a stressed out student? Take comfort that you are not alone. With all the studying, exams, work deadlines and summer job it’s possible you’ll reach student burnout at some point while at university. Your student days can be a difficult transition period and a sad time of isolation and loneliness. You can’t always feel at the top of your game.

If you have a part time job you’ll find yourself trying to manage your studying and job which can pile on the workload. You may also be suffering from motivational issues, money worries, relationship problems and feel like you don’t have time to relax.

Becoming a university student is a big change and adjustment in your life. At times when it’s all on top of you, heading out of control and you’re stressing about your future career our generation can feel lost, lonely and borderline depressed. At night when you can’t afford to go out and there’s nothing to do apart from working, studying and rubbish TV things can overload us.

During the first year or random periods throughout your degree you’ll probably feel homesick. Here is my advice for homesick students. I’ve not posted for a month or so because I’ve lacked energy and felt overwhelmed suffering from work and student burnout. Sometimes stress and pressure is a necessary thing to motivate and increase performance, too much extreme stress leads to misery and exhaustion.

Remember you are not alone, life has its ups and downs. We all suffer from low moods, stress, anxiety and 1 in 4 of us will go through mental health problems in our lifetime.

At times of increased stress and emotional trouble it’s important youth people get the support and advice they need. Discuss how you feel with friends, family, talk to Student Services or your student union that offer welfare support. If you are feeling depressed then visit the doctor and explain how you feel to them.

It’s frustrating not feeling like yourself or like you don’t have time to look after your own wellbeing. A student’s life isn’t always easy, many people stereotype students, thinking our lives involve partying and shagging.

Please be careful and try to balance the mix of “business and pleasure”. You may be working too hard and need to slow down and find ways to manage your student stress.

If you don’t reducing student stress you’ll soon reach the tipping point and burnout will overwhelm you. If you are feeling run down try the following ways to decrease your stress levels and ease the burden of a student life:

  • Get yourself as organised as possible. Plan a timetable and schedule for studying, work, socialising and relaxation time.
  • Too much working and rushing around will create more anxiety. Make some fun time and break up your study periods to help increase productivity.
  • Your student lifestyle may not be helping your anxiety and stress. Eat healthier food, cut down on alcohol and make sure you are getting enough sleep.
  • Going for a walk in the fresh air and taking regular exercise can help improve your mood and relive stress. You can also try some meditation and breathing techniques.
  • Learn to switch off from the world now and then. Have some rest bite from gadgets, gaming, social media, email, texting and phone calls. It’s not healthy to be switched on and plugged in 24 hours a day, everyone needs some peace and quiet.
  • Listen to your favourite music or chill out anthems can help settle down your mood and calm your nerves. Playing some tracks will help you get through those stressful student days.
  • Watch some comedy films or DVD’s to loosen up and laugh out loud. Your student days should be the happiest time of your life so soak it up and don’t take it too seriously.
  • Stop comparing yourself to other students, friends and relatives. Life’s too short for constant competition with peers and celebrities. You can’t live your life in the shadow of others so stop trying to measure up and meet everyone else’s expectations.
  • Sex is a great way to de-stress and release “happy chemicals”. Human touch is a relieving joy so find a sex buddy to hug, kiss and practice safe sex with.

Remember being a student isn’t permanent and your student stress won’t last forever. When life is on top of you that is a clue for us to take some timeout for ourselves and relax – do nothing – it will be OK.

Organisations that can help:

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Studenthealth/Pages/Studenthealthhome.aspx

http://www.studentminds.org.uk/

http://studentsagainstdepression.org/

http://www.mind.org.uk/

Why I Back Reducing the Voting Age To 16

Voting at age 16
~ Rob

Many politicians aren’t open to the idea of allowing 16 year olds the right to vote. Yet for many 16 and 17 year old students it’s a great idea and gives them a voice in politics.

While we aren’t official classed as adults until aged 18 I find it strange that the UK age of consent for sexual relationships is 16, meaning we can have sex and create human life yet are unable to cast vote in the democracy that we live in.

Young people shouldn’t be put off by politics. I think having the chance to vote at 16 would encourage many young people to be involved in politics and the things that affect them such as tuition fees, student debt, climate change, rail fares, new laws, the economics of the country, beer prices and our beloved NHS.

Lots of people have concerns about lowering the voting age, they say how can 16 year old teenagers have enough life experience to make a decision on government manifesto and proposals. This real issue is politicians fail to realise we care about things and aren’t represented or given a say on things that impact the country and our lives. Lowering the voting age to 16 is a positive step to engage the younger generation and spark their interest in politics.

If you don’t get a vote then things are taken out of our hands, which leads to disillusionment, disappointment and disenchantment because we don’t feel listened and our opinions ignored. Reducing the voting age will help attract and engage young disenfranchised voters.

All 16 and 17 year olds views weren’t even considered in the Brexit Vote, which was crazy since it will impact young people’s future the most. As the Brexit Battle was fought out most students had to sit and watch the campaigns and fallout of the aftermath. Not getting a chance to vote on Brexit was the worst thing that politicians could have done to undermine the youth voice because it will be us that face the deepest consequences of leaving the European Union.

When problems affect the Millennial and Generation Z why shouldn’t we be able to have some input, why don’t politicians what to empower us to lead change for the future? Aren’t we important enough to be heard? Maybe 18 to 24 year-olds have a lack of interest in politics and the lowest voter turnout of any demographic because we aren’t listened to or given rights to express a political viewpoint.

Young people need to discuss politics in a friendly and informal manner and although very young adolescents may not worry about taxes or the economy and seem uninterested in the outcome you can’t deny that politics affects their lives, family and the whole world. I want you to exchange views with others and most importantly register to vote then cast your vote.

A-level and university students are given the opportunity to debate social issues  in lessons and lectures so why prevent them a vote. Isn’t education about enhancing peoples knowledge, preparing them for life and opening opportunity.

The argument about whether voting at 16 should be possible is about giving the teenagers right to take part in democracy and discussing what matters most to the young generation.

The truth is we care and dismissing our ideas, hopes and what we care about shouldn’t be dismissed the in political arena. Many government policies focus and affect our further education. If the voice of the youth isn’t been heard then it’s time to take a stand.

Having a chance to vote will let students take ownership and make decisions that shape our futures. By legislating for us to vote we can have a voice and give us the rights to be taken seriously.

We are all doing politics of some nature, whether at home with our parents, at school and working with the boss we are trapped by the rules and laws that govern us. I encourage 16 and 17 year olds to get involved, we all need to do politics or politics will do us over in the next general election.

Don’t be apathetic or think your vote doesn’t count. I believe that the voting age needs to be debated again. I know some have stereotypes about us students and if you consider our age group to be too immature to vote then “your mom”, you grumpy Boaty Mcboatface.

If on the other hand you believe that 16 and 17 years should have the right to vote and the law needs to change than please comment and share this article with the social media buttons below.