The Joys of Recruiting

One of the most important things I do at work is recruiting, and that is what has held my attention for most of the day. It would be inappropriate for me to blog about the details of today's recruitment exercise, but I thought it worth recording some general observations...

Recruitment campaigns have various stages : putting together role profile and candidate information; identifying search and advertising strategy; first sift & shortlisting; and of course, that final interview. Today I spent time working on a first sift - sorting through applications, matching them up against our key criteria and working out who to take through to the next round. I'm afraid it's nowhere near as dramatic as Alan Sugar or the X Factor!

I always find this stage the driest - a CV can't discuss or explain, it just sits there as a sheet of paper... or maybe not. Although no-one has yet to submit a podcast application, I imagine it's only a matter of time !

Some CVs and supporting statements stand out better than others - here's my list of top tips :

Keep it concise : no more than 2 or 3 sides of A4 (without shrinking the font). This demonstrates the candidate's ability to focus on key issues, and ability to present information a structured format.

Chronological order, starting now and working backing in time. In the past I've witnessed a CV from a senior executive which started with their first job as a bookies clerk in 1960 !

Highlight key responsibilties and achievements, rather than just listing tasks carried out in a role.

Don't use txt msg spk. Do punctuate properly. Am astonished I need to say this.

Stick to the same "regular" font throughout, random switching between paragraphs is distracting. I'd counsel against unusual or fancy fonts, just stick to something simple.

Address each criteria on the supporting statement, one by one. Give examples of how your experience matches the criteria, rather than just stating "I am a team player" etc.

When I read CVs, I'm amused how frequently men record that they're married and have children. I guess it's meant to give the impression they're steady chaps. One I read a few years ago even quoted "father to three happy boys who are into rugby, cricket and their x-box" - I cynically I wondered if the author had carefully selected active sports plus one bit of technology, to make him seem like a "regular guy". In contrast, I rarely read a woman's CV that quotes marital status or numbers of children. For right or wrong, it's an interesting observation on people wish to portray themselves.

One last thought on putting together a CV - I wouldn't bother paying a CV writing agency to do it - with a bit of thought and research, chances are your effort will be just as good as theirs. A couple of years ago, the Notting Hill stand at a recruitment fair happened to be right opposite a company running workshops on good CVs. The advice they gave was at best poor, and on occasion, down right dishonest.

Jayne