With summer coming to an end and pumpkin spiced lattes slowly (and predictably) becoming the drink of choice, we thought it would be a good time to celebrate September, otherwise known as ‘international update your CV month’.
Before we start dusting off our copies of ‘Hocus Pocus’, let’s dust off the old CV and see how we can improve it with some tips and tricks from the Active Profilers.
If you’re fresh out of university and at a bit of a loose end with your first September not living it up at Freshers’ Week – we’ve got your back!
LinkedIn accounts
Never underestimate the power of social media. We live in a day and age where everyone wants to know what everyone is up to, and we want it all at our fingertips. Well LinkedIn is a perfect resource to find out what COMPANIES are up to – who’s hiring? What do they look for in a candidate? It will all be subtly ingrained in the company’s profiles. Some great accounts to follow for marketing and PR advice or just general interview tips and tricks is Grad Girl Marketing. Colourful posts, providing you with free internships you can access from home, ways to improve your CV, words to AVOID on your CV, questions to ask in interviews – and much more! While it hasn’t been posted for a while – the content is still very relevant and accessible.
Pretty Little Marketer – similar to Grad Girl Marketing, Pretty Little Marketer has post after post on how to make you stand out from the crowd and market yourself – both in person at interviews, on your CV and LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Skills
LinkedIn isn’t only great to create a following, find roles and make yourself known in your industry, it’s also a great tool to use to expand and display your skillset and abilities through ‘skill assessments’. There is an option to take different tests (there’s one for each Microsoft software – valuable to all roles) and different programmes relevant to you and your career. Once you’ve taken the test and passed, you receive a badge for your profile to let prospective employers know about your skills. Don’t worry though – if you don’t do well, no one will know you’ve taken them, and you can keep trying until you do do well! This is available for non-premium members too.
HubSpot Academy
HubSpot Academy is a great resource for free training. HubSpot is an invaluable tool for anyone looking for a career in the digital and creative industries. It’s an inbound marketing software that can help with lead generation, marketing automation and analytics. It also performs as a sales customer relationship management (CRM) software, as well as being a service hub, helping you connect with customers and more. The academy, which you can register with for free, offers a range of practical lessons, some are short, and others are longer and certified. As a credited platform, all courses would look good to potential employers on your vamped and vitalised CV.
Inspirational movies (kind of)
The Internship, available on Netflix, and The Intern, available on Now TV / Sky, are both good inspiration and the sign you might need to break into your field of interest! While these are also light-hearted and fun, they are good examples of entering into the working world. Although Vince Vaughan, Owen Wilson and Robert DeNiro are all older interns – they are also a good representation of the competition for similar roles in similar industries and the ways that you need to stand out to get there.
CV assistant
While we’re sure your CV is great, it doesn’t hurt to get some inspiration from some of the best in the business. Available on Microsoft 365 subscribers, the ‘Resume Assistant’ is one to look out for. Providing spelling and formatting suggestions, it’s most definitely a useful tool if you’re stuck for inspiration or just feel like a change. If the assistant isn’t your thing, when opening Microsoft word, there is also a range of free templates available to help you stand out from the crowd.
Podcast
While there are so many podcasts available to help with your job search, providing advice with going back to the office post pandemic or starting at an office for the first time, the most fitting this month would have to be ‘Resume Update 2021’ brought to you by ‘Career Tools’. Available on Apple podcasts, it covers different thoughts on the CV front, from styles and dos and don’ts, the relevance of the resume, spelling and grammar to just general tips and tricks to get your CV seen. There are many in the same series that are also worth a listen.
Grad schemes
If you’ve recently graduated and looking for employment, there are some great websites available. If you’re in the Merseyside region, LCR Grad Scheme is a good option to help place you with employment. For a broader look at different placements and graduate opportunities in a wider region, ‘rate my placement’ is a great resource with plenty of companies across the country, as well as the rest of the world, covering a vast range of sectors. A further option is ‘give grad a go’, while plenty of jobs are listed specifically aimed at graduates, there’s advice available too.
Google Digital Garage
It’s always good to add strings to your bow and free strings are the best kind, so we present to you Google Digital Garage. There are a variety of courses available for all different abilities and sectors, but there are also career development webinars, including help in landing your first job, how to increase your productivity, speaking in public and many more.
Self-learning
If you’re still feeling a bit stuck after reading all of our suggestions, The Guardian has put together a list of six ways to help you get a job after university and the Active Profilers have put together a blog reiterating the weird and wonderful ways we ended up here, reassuring you that degree or no degree isn’t the be all and end all. The main thing to remember is that there is plenty of time to find your career path and not to panic.