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Since Lockdown 1.0 began on 16^th March 2020 the way we work has been revolutionised – overnight, teams who were used to working face to face have on the whole become remote based and managers responsible for leading these people, have had to quickly adapt to managing effectively from a distance.  There are specific skills required to being an effective team leader on a remote basis so here are 5 tips which could help improve upon existing good management working practises.

Communication is key

Everyone responds and reacts differently with how they communicate and of course different work aspects may require various methods of communication.  It is therefore key for everyone in the team and your superiors to understand the best and most effective means of communication.  Some people ignore emails but respond better to a phone call whereas others might prefer instant messaging or a skype/Teams chat.  A quick matter could be resolved with a phone call whereas a more major aspect might require a team meeting by video.  Communication presents one of the biggest hurdles to remote based working but with so many platforms and tools now at our disposal it should be possible to adapt to all scenarios and satisfy all personal working styles.

Daily check-ins

Whilst you want to ensure your management style has not gone from trusting and autonomous to micro-managing, having daily check-ins will boost morale especially when times are challenging and communication styles vary within the team.  Projects and tasks can be prioritised and any potential issues can be flagged up.  Hold an on-screen call with the team then follow-up on email with agreed actions which can be discussed on the next day’s call.  Being able to see as well as hear each other works wonders for fostering team unity.

Make your expectations clearly understood

Clearly defining the goals and objectives for the team and ensuring everyone is aligned to them is paramount to unity.  When you can’t see people at work you need to know they are staying on task and not being distracted, being clear with your expectations – whether it’s how you communicate each day or what the weekly objectives and deadlines are is key to getting things right.  If everyone is aligned to the plan regardless of how far away from each other they are working, they will feel committed to making things work and not want to let their colleagues – or you, down.

Ensure deadlines are being met

Managing remote teams requires careful monitoring of task completions, if deadlines are not being met there will be need to investigate as to why.  Of course, given the extraordinary circumstances many people find themselves working in due to the coronavirus pandemic, there could be reasons beyond their control which are impacting on their ability to complete work related tasks in time so its important to be mindful of this.  Having a level of flexibility could help with ensuring people meet deadlines but equally conveying the importance of a delivery-focused work practise is essential.

Have empathy towards your team’s well-being

As team manager your role is a pastoral one so you have a responsibility for your teams physical and mental well-being.  Some people may struggle working in isolation and those who have a propensity to soldier on when ill could become severely ill or burnout if they don’t take necessary time to rest.  You need to have regular check-ins with all your team and the best way to do this is a coffee and chat video call where you can see the person and just talk about non-work-related matters – this is key to long-term successful remote based working.

We are in a very difficult and challenging world right now as we fight our way out of the Coronavirus pandemic and some days it can seem hard to find anything good in the world but in order for our own mental health and well-being to stay healthy, we need to find ways to acknowledge and celebrate even the smallest of our daily victories.

It is important to celebrate the small as well as the big wins – many people have significant goals they are striving to achieve but if we remember to celebrate the small victories on a daily basis it will make our end goal seem much more attainable because our minds are constantly set in ‘achieved’.  Scientific studies have shown taking time to reflect on and celebrate success helps not only with improving physical health but with creating better coping strategies, those of us who can deploy this are less likely to be affected by stress – so take a moment to bask in the glory of your having responded to 20 of the 200 emails awaiting your action or the fact you have already hit 10,000 steps for the day and it’s not yet noon.  These may seem small victories but they should be acknowledged outwardly and if you are someone who suffers with low self-esteem, by verbalizing your small victory to others you will receive kudos and positive comments which contribute towards making us feel better and reaffirming what we are doing is all definitely worth the while.  Small wins on a regular basis add up to big achievements so never underestimate the power of a small win because when you tot them all up, you will see just how far you have come.

Here are some ways to celebrate your small successes

Family Fri-yays – we all love Fridays to look forward to, get the family together at an allotted time each week and celebrate your weekly victories – for the kids this could be eating one more yukky vegetable that week, cleaning out the hamster’s cage or clearing their clothing off the bedroom floor; for the grown-ups it could be acknowledging achieving all your weekly fitness goals, the fact you ate healthily 5 times in the week or avoided having an argument with an irritating family member.

Get excited – you may have a big goal you are working towards achieving but instead of saving up all of your excitement for the grande finale which may not be for months or even years, make a point of getting excited about the small wins along the way.  By celebrating or acknowledging these small wins, no matter how small, they will ensure your motivation remains on track and that will keep you in a positive frame of mind – which will make the long term goal seem that much more achievable.

Small wins team report – in any company there are always goals and objectives to be achieved but why not implement a ‘small wins’ report too?  Every member of staff can contribute on a monthly basis with a snapshot of their small wins and these are compiled into a monthly report which is then shared across the business.

Share your wins – by verbalizing your small wins to a friend or loved one you are not only affirming to yourself that what you are doing counts but you are talking about something positive and whilst your small win may seem small to you, to another, it could be really quite significant and be a motivator for their own celebrations of wins.  By talking about something positive we are eradicating the doom and gloom of the coronavirus world or every day issues – now isn’t that a great reason to want to celebrate even the smallest of wins?

So, what will you be acknowledging or celebrating as your small wins this year?  I would love to hear about them – write to me – rowena@shoreyconsulting.co.uk

Handling interview rejection is hard …

You might adopt the mantra ‘fate has a way of working things out for a reason’ but handling rejection when you have invested time and energy into an interview process can be draining however the good news is that you will be learning interview technique and developing your skills.  Following is advice on nailing your next interview:

Focus on the negatives

Knowing where you went wrong is key to moving forward successfully next time around.  Was it a question you fell down on such as not knowing who the company’s competitors are or not being able to provide sales figure, or did you underdress for the occasion?  Focus on the key aspects which let you down and next time make sure you have done your prep or know what is expected of you.  Constructive feedback is beneficial.

Prepare better

Learning by where you went wrong previously will help you next time around, you know you fluffed up on certain questions so go to town on your homework and make sure you have this watertight.  See my Interview Questions & Answers on my website for a comprehensive list of questions which can arise in interviews.

Ask where you failed

Your recruiter should provide you with constructive feedback after the interview but if they don’t then ask them for it and if they don’t have it then ask them to contact the hiring company and find out why you were not successful.  It might simply be that someone else was the better cultural fit in which case there is nothing more you can do to improve but if there is specific feedback then use the comments wisely.  You can always send an email if you’re worried about calling in person.  My top tip – at the end of your interview with the hiring company, ask if you can obtain the employers contact details saying that you would like to send a follow-up thank you to them.  If the recruiter is lazy or not forthcoming with feedback detail for you, then you can go direct to the person who interviewed you – and you never know, the person they did offer the job to might have rejected it and as second choice candidate they might then offer you the role instead.

Stop throwing spaghetti at the wall

Avoid the temptation to apply for every job which looks appealing to you, focus on your skills, experience and the business culture you thrive best in and temper your applications accordingly.  Blithely applying and sending out hundreds of applications is a disheartening and time-wasting exercise because the chances are your CV does not meet the role criteria.  Look at the job description and candidate requirements and if you are a good match then apply, otherwise don’t, it’s just a waste of your time and the recruiters’ time, chucking spaghetti at the wall and hoping it will stick is a pointless exercise and this could be the one area which is letting you down in your chances to have a positive interview in which case it’s not your interview ability which is at fault.

Create your interview cheat sheet

If you need an interview cheat sheet then you can download mine from the website – this will help you focus on your skills, experience and relevance to the role you wish to apply because it forces you to look at the job description and set down on the cheat sheet where your experience is a relevant fit and this will help you talk compellingly in your interview about why you are a great candidate for the role.  Write down your strengths, weaknesses, what makes you unique for the role, what motivates you to get up each day and the type of framework you work best in.  Set down all your skills and knowledge and if you thrive better in a fast paced dynamic company or a more process led one.  Once armed with all these facts you will then see how well you match up to the job criteria being advertised and if it’s not a close match, then walk away.

Don’t take it personally

Whilst the recruiter or hiring manager may have liked the way you came across in interview, it could just be that either your skills or personality fit were not as strong as another candidates’ and unfortunately only one person can get the job so try not to take it personally if you are unsuccessful.  Use the feedback provided to strengthen your knowledge and put the interview down to a positive learning experience.

Family issues, traveling, sabbatical, sickness, redundancy, raising a family – these are all reasons why so many people have gaps in their CV history but it’s how you deal with the gap which will contribute towards landing your dream job.

Edit your CV

If you have been working for several years you do not need to explain all your career history since completing education.  By listing on one line the employer name, job title and years you were there will save a lot of space – and by only stating the year rather than month helps to avoid employment gaps.

You could just put the employment from and to dates as years omitting the months for previous roles however a half decent recruiter is likely to ask you for the actual months you were employed there as well as the years, particularly during the last 5-7 years of your career which is the most crucial part of your working life. 

Rather than explaining gaps in the middle of your CV which takes up unnecessary space or could simply put the reader off you straight away, explain any lengthy gaps in a covering letter supplementing your CV.  Gaps for more than 3 months should be explained.

Honesty best policy

Never lie in your CV, it will eventually come out so honesty is always best. 

You might not be able to fully disclose certain information especially in the case of a settlement agreement or tribunal but by informing the recruiter of this situation they will understand and should not press you for details.

Never change your employment dates to try and fudge any career gaps in your CV.  If the recruiter or hiring company calls your past employer they will provide your actual dates and then your fabrication of the truth (or lie) will probably result in you not being offered the job.

Always be honest about your career gap, recruiters and hiring managers see career breaks all the time in CV’s but lying about your gap will not benefit you – it could cost you the job.

Be Proactive

There are many ways you can fill any gaps in your CV whilst you are looking for work.

Take up voluntary work.  Do an online course (speak to an advisor at the Jobcentre about any courses you could be interested in as there may be government sponsored courses available meaning you do not have to pay for them).  If you enjoy writing then start a blog or if you’re creative find things to make and either donate or sell on eBay or Etsy.

Do not wait for things to come to you, you have to be proactive and by doing this it will show your grit, determination and drive to want to improve yourself and be a contributor – employers will look much more favourably on someone who does not just sit and wait for the world to come to them.  By being proactive your life will have structure, value and meaning which ultimately will boost your morale and confidence.

Positive words

Explaining gaps in your CV is simply a matter of the right positive wording e.g. ‘I was let go and I’ve haven’t found work since’ would sound much better if you said ‘I have been taking some time out to re-shape my career direction and identify companies and opportunities which genuinely excite me.’  This conveys a strategic approach to your having a gap. 

If you have been proactive in improving your skills through learning or showing flair by setting up a small side-line venture to occupy your time whilst you seek your next full-time perfect role, talk about how this experience has benefited you – it is far more impactful to show a positive mind-set.

Be Prepared

Your gaps will get raised in interview so being ready to cover them off with a slick response will be crucial to interview success.

By genning up on the hiring company and understanding more about who they are, their business culture and the actual job description, you will be able to succinctly and convincingly convey why you are an ideal candidate for the role despite your career gaps.  Being able to talk confidently and knowledgeably of their industry, latest trends and competitors will propel you into a front row seat for next interview rounds.

Reasons

If you have gaps in your CV for any of the following reasons here is how to handle communicating them:

Travelling

Right thing to say – ‘I didn’t take a gap year prior to university and after 5 years of working I really wanted to explore part of the world I had no knowledge of.  I spent six months traveling around Asia and immersing myself in the local cultures and communities.  It has given me a much wider appreciation for how different cultures think and operate which I believe makes me a more rounded individual.  I now feel ready to embrace my next exciting career challenge.’

Wrong thing to say – ‘I went to Koh Racha in Thailand and partied hard for 3 months, I really can’t remember much about it other than the Moon party which was amazing.’ 

Family Issues

Right thing to say – ‘My father was really ill and as my mother wasn’t capable of looking after him by herself I decided to take time out from work to support them both and I’m happy to say my dad made a full recovery so I’m now able to return to work full time and can’t wait to get started.’

Wrong thing to say – ‘I had some issues which I don’t want to talk about’.

Sickness

Right thing to say – ‘Unfortunately I did not feel strong enough to be a positive contributor to my job due to a lengthy illness so I made the difficult decision to resign from  my job which I actually loved.  However, I’m now back to full health and fitness so I’m keen to settle into my new career challenge.’

Wrong thing to say – ‘I have an on-going health problem so I give up work easily.’

Redundancy

Right thing to say – ‘Unfortunately due to covid pandemic 30% of our workforce were let go, I was really enjoying my job and although I’d only been there 5 months I was starting to make quite an impact.  It was literally a case of last in first out and being a newby to the team I was part of the cost cutting exercise.  My line manager is more than happy to provide a reference for me.’

Wrong thing to say – ‘They let me go because my face did not fit’.

To summarise

Be ready to talk about your career gaps, the odd few weeks or couple of months here or there are common and understandable therefore hardly likely to raise any red flags but prolonged periods out of work will require careful explanation.

Head any concerns off at the pass by bringing up your gaps at the start of the conversation if you have not covered them off in an accompanying letter with your CV.

Be positive and engaging, show your desire to want to be a positive contributor to a future employer and this will highlight you as a desirable candidate.  Be honest, don’t hide anything and then you will have nothing to fear.  Recruiters want to help you get a job so being honest with them is key to your future success – if you lie to them and they later find this out they will feel embarrassed and let down by you, ultimately they may not want to ever discuss another role with you.

Need more CV advice?

It takes about 7 seconds for a recruiter to accept or reject your application.  Does your CV clearly convey your key skills, achievements and responsibilities?  Nailing the perfect CV is vital to securing a job interview.  If you think your CV could do with some tips and advice for improvement contact me for a free CV review – rowena@shoreyconsulting.co.uk

It’s a stressful experience looking for a new job

Even the most seasoned jobhunter finds looking for work stressful and challenging, never more so than in our Covid pandemic when so many people are fighting for the same jobs.  Sending your CV off and waiting to hear back is a painful experience – hours, days, weeks can go by sometimes without even having any form of response from all your hard and careful work to ensure your CV is clear and concise.  It is therefore hardly any wonder that mental health problems are rising but you can help manage your stress, following are some tips and words of advice to help create a more positive frame of mind whilst you are job seeking.

Managing expectations

Don’t panic if you have applied to various jobs but still have not had a response from the recruiter.  Even in a normal world it can take time for applications to be sifted and sorted – several weeks or longer but currently with hundreds of people applying daily to a role time delays will be greater.

Believing in yourself is key to maintaining your confidence levels so try not to worry if a few weeks lapses after sending your CV off, whilst it sounds easy to say don’t take it personally, the answer really is to try and not, otherwise your emotions will get the worse of you and when you do get that invite to interview, the last thing you want is to be in a dark and moody place ranging against the world.

Sadly, not every company or recruiter will respond to every single application, whilst they should, it is down to limited resources and time but hang on to the fact you are good at what you do.

Take your own initiative

You don’t have to sit and wait for the recruiter or company to reply to you, being patient is all well and good but be proactive and contact the person you submitted your CV to.

Reaching out to the recruiter or hiring company directly or via LinkedIn is going to help put your mind at rest short and long term.  It is always advisable to send a follow up note a week after submitting your CV if you have not had any response in the meantime.  Simply say you wanted to ensure they are in receipt of your application and stress to them that you feel your experience and knowledge are a great fit for the role.  This should generate a response and hopefully even if the reply is to say you have not been invited to interview, they should provide you with reasons why.

Understanding their reasoning for rejecting your CV could highlight areas where your skills or experience are weak and need boosting – this means you could invest a bit of time doing a short online course to amplify your abilities.  They might have missed something in your application – or you might have overlooked to include some information about yourself in which case you can clarify this and it might mean they do want to interview you after all. 

Recruiters always appreciate someone who takes initiative and follows up with their application so make a note in your calendar to drop them a line a week after CV submission.

Be strategic

Focus your job searches and applications by carefully exploring each opportunity and try to find out about the hiring company before you send your CV off into the ether.  It is far more effective to take the ‘less is more’ approach rather than blindly hitting send to every application going – that scatter gun approach is unlikely to generate positive responses which will result in your becoming more despondent with rejection.

If you tailor your CV to each role you apply for, the success rate is bound to be much higher. 

It is a full-time job looking for a job so do ensure you make time in the day to get fresh air and exercise.  Time away from screen is important for mental health and thanks to Lockdowns 1.0 and 2.0 it is being proven that getting out into green space is a wonderful tonic for mental well-being.

Each CV submission should also have a bespoke letter to accompany it, these days you will be sending it via email or online but it should still be carefully constructed and relate to the role in question supporting your CV and highlighting key aspects of why you are a suitable fit.

For your own mental health’s sake, take the ‘less is more’ approach, even if you only send out a couple of applications at a time you will feel so much more positive when you receive an actual response rather than a wall of silence which is what will happen if you blithely send out hundreds of applications each week – that approach will only lead to becoming demoralised and disappointed.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice

Job seeking is hard work and you might feel isolated as you spend hours of each day trawling job sites and whilst it is happening to you, similarly millions of others are suffering the same emotions and challenges, friends, family, colleagues, people you have never met.

Reaching out to Mind, the NHS and the Samaritans may help you so don’t feel you have to cope on your own.  Loved ones, friends or even former work colleagues might be willing to lend a supportive ear.  The Jobcentre staff are incredibly supportive and you could be entitled to a Job Seekers Allowance to help relieve any financial concerns.  There are also many new training schemes becoming available so you could discuss some ideas and options with the Jobcentre staff to see if there are any short courses you can take for free to widen your knowledge base.

Try to ditch the concept of unemployment being a stigma, in this pandemic world people are losing their jobs through no fault of their own and that makes it so much more difficult to accept and mentally live with. 

If you would like a free CV review with honest feedback and critiquing please contact me – rowena@shoreyconsulting.co.uk I understand how tough the world is and how many people are struggling right now and my ear is very sympathetic and empathic.

It is easy to become depressed and despondent with unemployment levels and competition sky-rocketing but you have simply got to believe in yourself.  If you do not believe in yourself then how do you convince others to believe in you? 

Keep going.  Keep positive.  Believe in yourself.  Things will improve.

Keep learning

Even when another rejection comes in, try to take the reasoning behind it as something to learn from.  It might highlight areas of weakness which you had not previously recognised – this means you can do something constructive about this and look at ways to learn and improve.  Talk to your local jobcentre they may be able to recommend some free courses to help you improve.  If you can improve your areas of weakness you will feel positive.  So even when you are at your lowest ebb, try to see a positive outcome and always, always, always ask the recruiter or hiring company why they have rejected you – ask for feedback and state that you are keen to keep learning and improving.

One day soon things will change for the better so keep going, do not stop.  Empower yourself with new skills and knowledge.

More tips when looking for jobs

• Dedicate an area for your work which is not your bedroom or sofa.
• Feed your soul and your body with good food and hydrate well with water.
• Look after your physical well being as well as your mental state – take time to get outside into daylight, greenspace and fresh air every day, even for a 20 minute walk.
• Create a structure for every day so your day has purpose and meaning.
• Set yourself realistic and achievable goals – these could  be sending out 2 CV’s a day which have been carefully tailored to the role. 
• Motivate and incentivise yourself – when you achieve your goal for the morning, afternoon or day, reward yourself – whether it’s with a bit of cake, some exercise or anything you really enjoy or feel good about make this a daily or weekly habit.
• Boost your skillset, confidence and knowledge – take a short online course – it will keep the brain engaged.
• Celebrate the smallest of successes.
• Gaps in your CV?  Don’t stress, a lot of people have gaps but be prepared to cover them off when asked in an interview situation.  (see my document on how to Explain a Gap In Your CV).

If you have any mental health tips you would like to share with me please contact me and I’ll add them to the list – it could  just help others out there – rowena@shoreyconsulting.co.uk

Recruiters, talent acquisition, hiring companies all turn to LinkedIn at some point during a hiring process and the more populated with relevant key and buzz words a profile is, the stronger the chance it has of being found.  If you are serious about having your LinkedIn profile found then this is what you need to do today:

• Contact section – put your email address, home location and phone numbers in so you can be easily contacted about job opportunities – even if they are not the right role for you or timing is not right for you, it feels good to be approached and hey, you may even want to throw your hat in the ring!
• About section – copy/paste your CV profile and use this in the About section – but make sure you bring the section to life, use buzz words and key words which will help sell you.  Don’t just say what you do but what your skills mean to you and how they could help a future employer.
• Experience – copy/paste your CV career history so people can easily see your experience – before you do this, make sure it is up to date and your responsibilities are backed up with outcomes and achievements.
• Skills and endorsements – ask colleagues or stakeholder parties you work well with to endorse your skills – this will really give your profile kudos.
• Recommendations – ask people to recommend you – if you know you have delivered great work to them or worked effectively as a team unit they will want to endorse you and sing your praises, again giving your profile kudos.
• Turn on your job alert toggle so you get to hear about opportunities – to create a job alert: search for a job on LinkedIn.  At the top left of the job search results page switch the Job alert toggle to On to create a job alert for your current search criteria. Switch the toggle to Off to turn off the job alert.
• If you are part of an alumni or on a committee or chair of something then include this in activities.
• Finally – let hiring companies and recruiters know you are open to hearing from them,  click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.  Select Settings & Privacy from the dropdown.  Click the Privacy tab at the top of the page.  Under the Job seeking preferences section, click Change next to Let recruiters know you’re open to opportunities.

Trust me, as a recruitment specialist if a candidate submits their CV to me speculatively I will automatically look them up on LinkedIn.  When I am headhunting I will turn to LinkedIn.  If you are serious about being found, or would simply like to be kept informed of potentially exciting job opportunities you cannot afford to not have an updated, fully populated LinkedIn profile.

If you would like further information or need help with your Profile please contact me.

57.1% of professionals rank a CV cover letter as a vital part of the job application process so this is why you need to submit a CV cover letter.

I know you will have spent a long time carefully refining your CV so now you can extract relevant key information about your skills and experience which relate to the role for which you are applying.  The CV cover letter is a snap shot of your CV and if carefully written, it will make recruiters want to know more about you.  That said, just like your CV needs tailoring to each role you apply for, so must the cover letter be tailored.

If you are uncertain how to go about writing a CV cover letter, following is a toolkit to take you through the process and how to tailor it for each job.

Research first

The chances are you will already have carried out your research about the hiring company to confirm your skills and experience meet the job criteria and that the business culture and ethos is aligned to the style you perform well in.  The likelihood is you will also have considered their competitors, their place in the market and looked at their social media pages and sites such as Glassdoor or LinkedIn for comments, endorsements, criticisms.  Trying to establish a company’s future goals and objectives is not always easy unless a recruitment specialist is handling the process on your behalf in which case they should have done their due diligence and determined this for their candidates – if they have not, then you should ask them to because it should affect your decision making process.  Finally you want to establish who to submit your CV and cover letter to and more importantly, who will actually read these documents?  Human Resources, the line manager, the company owner or director, the recruiter?  Tailoring your letter accordingly shows you have taken the time and by taking the time means you care.

Simple Format

By following the a simple format you can tailor your letter to every role you apply ensuring it’s relevant to the company and job in question.  The cover letter should say:

• Why the position is of interest to you
• Explain your appropriate key skills and experience relevant to the role
• Why your skills and experience will benefit the company
• Ask for an interview

How to construct your cover letter

Most letters are sent electronically rather than as hard copies these days however the layout should remain in traditional cover letter format as though you were posting it.  Point to note however, do ensure your email address is a sensible one including your name, avoid anything stupid like partygirl@outlook.com  or studmuffin@hotmail.com you will not be taken seriously.

The layout of your letter should look like this:

[Your address Line 1]

[Address Line 2]

[Address Line 3]

[Phone Number] and [email address]

[Name of person you are addressing the letter to]

[Name of company]

[Company address line 1]

[Company address line 2]

[Date]

Dear [Name] (Avoid using just the person’s Christian name, use their surname.  If this is not provided then look up the website for personnel information or try calling the company to obtain their full name – it is better etiquette and more formal).

First paragraph

This should be brief and comprise only of 3 things – why you are sending the letter, include the name of the position you are applying to and how you heard about the role; e.g. “I am writing in application of [job title] following your advert on [include job site] and I enclose my CV for your consideration’.

Second paragraph

This includes your relevant key skills and experience which relate to the role you are applying for and this is where you can expand more on your CV providing further information on specific achievements and why these can benefit the hiring company.  Utilise the job description to reflect the hiring company’s requirements against your skills and experience. 

Third paragraph

Time to shine and demonstrate your knowledge of the company and its business sector, revealing why you would love to work for them and saying how you can help add value to the business and how your core values are aligned to theirs.

Fourth paragraph

Call to action – say you look forward to hearing from them in due course and confirm you would love an opportunity to meet with them for interview so you can further demonstrate your capabilities.  Thank them for making the time to read your letter and CV then finish with Yours sincerely if you have addressed the letter to them in person, or Yours faithfully if you have had to use Dear Sir or Madam and provide your first and second name.  If you want to call the company to follow your application up then give a day and approximate time so they know your intentions.

Sending your application via online

Your cover letter won’t need changing in its format but you will need to save it as a .PDF file extension.  This way your formatting will be saved and secure and nobody can tamper with it.  Avoid using Windows.docx or Mac .pages file extensions as not all computers can read or download these and you don’t want all your time and hard work to not get through the ether.  Stick to .PDF and you won’t go wrong.

If applying via email you may need to amend the cover letter slightly so in the subject bar of the email you may need to include the job title and a job reference number (if there is one) e.g. Application for [job title] [job ref number] [your name].

Next, take out the part of your letter showing date, addresses and signature – unless you have signed and scanned your cover letter. 

If you are applying via a job board you may need to edit your cover letter as you might be limited to a certain number of words in the application box.  You could therefore say:

Dear [insert name] (try to avoid ‘hi’ it’s a bit too informal at first instance).

I would like to apply for the vacancy you have advertised for the role of [job title].

Your opportunity is of great interest to me as I am currently working for [insert your employer name] as [insert your job title] and I am responsible for [insert your relevant skills which relate to the job you are applying].  I am keen to progress my career and take on more challenges in a new business environment and I am confident my experience and knowledge of your sector meet your requirements.

I am available for interview at [insert your availability] and I look forward to hearing from you very soon.

Thank you for considering my application.

Kind regards

Your name

Your mobile and or home phone numbers

Your email address

How long should a cover letter be?

Approximately half a page to a full page of A4 sized paper (or on screen, one page) – less is more – keep it relevant and on point, do not waffle.  Do not regurgitate your entire CV.  Recruiters and hiring managers are very busy people with hundreds of applications to review every day.  Anything more than 1 page will probably not get read.

How to make a speculative approach without a specific job advert

If you are using your initiative and applying to a company without knowing if they are currently hiring and there is no job description for you to respond to, you will need to approach your cover letter differently.  You will still need to use the same format as the original cover letter but unless you have a known email address it will be hard for you to send the letter electronically as often companies will not give out email addresses over the phone but there might be one on their company website so it’s worth checking.  You could also try reaching out to the relevant person on LinkedIn – so check out the company’s LinkedIn page.  Regardless, you will need a name of the best person to send your letter to so that means calling the company up and asking who you can submit your CV to.

In your first paragraph explain why you are approaching the company out of the blue, maybe a friend has recommended them as an excellent employer in which case provide your friend’s name in the cover letter and state the type of work you are looking for.

The second paragraph should highlight your key skills and experience – give a few specific examples of your achievements and successes – hiring companies and recruiters don’t just want to read a job description, they want to know where you have been successful in your current business and what you can potentially bring to their organisation.  This will require you to research the company to show you understand their market.

Finally, repeat your keen interest in their company and say you believe your skills and experience could be a great fit for their organisation.  End the letter with thanking them for making time to consider your application then put in a call to action – say you look forward to hearing from them in the near future and confirm that you are happy for them to retain your details in the event of future opportunities arising. 

Each letter you send needs to be specific to the company and person to whom you are writing.  Never regurgitate the same letter twice and double check for any grammatical, language or typo errors before you submit it.  Do not forget to include your name, mobile and or landline numbers, email address and home address.

If you stick to these points you won’t go wrong but the letter has to be personable and relatable to you.

Passion, enthusiasm, a genuine love for the job you do exuding down the phone line, through the ether or even, dare I think it in this covid world – face to face, socially distanced naturally! 

Recruiters and hiring managers love a tenacious and enthusiastic candidate, they feel more reassured that this person is going to really apply themselves and when the going gets tough, help carry the team with their positive, collegiate, can do approach to make things happen. 

Simply put, people buy from people, so regardless of how tired you are feeling or what adversity you may be experiencing in your life at the point of interview, you need to bring your A game, bolster those energy reserves and let your likeable personality shine through.  Of course in order to be offered the job, you will have to compound your scintillating and likeable personality with articulate examples of your work responsibilities and successes as well as your ability to fit in with colleagues and teams, but if you can lift yourself above just the ordinary requirements of a box tick exercise then you are far more likely to stand out.

I love hearing candidates talk about what they enjoy doing outside of the work environment, I learn so many interesting things about people which makes them unique in their own way and the chances are I will go on to remember that person for decades because of the titbit of information they shared.  Personal interests serve as wonderful ice breakers in interviews so if you are wondering whether you should put down in your CV that you took a 6 month sabbatical to help build an orphanage in Kenya or swam with hammer head sharks in Egypt as one of your top 10 things to do before 50, then yes, include it.  Interests and hobbies are what makes us human, a CV conveys your knowledge, skills, experience but without those titbits of personal information, your CV is not making you quite so unique.  Be human, be unique, be memorable.

Click here to find out how I can help you put together an awesome CV that gets you noticed or discover more about my interview prep services to help you shine on the day.

Regardless of company size, every employer needs to deploy an effective onboarding process to ensure their new hire understands how to be successful in their daily job and what their input means to the overall organisation.  According to Glassdoor, a strong onboarding process will have the effect of improving new hire retention by 82% and productivity by 70% but in these strange and socially distant pandemic times, how do employers go about effectively onboarding new hires when so much of the process is about social engagement across the organisation.  Following are 6 useful strategies to help chart a successful remote hiring and onboarding process.

1          Create and implement a clear job description and candidate spec

Prior to commencing any recruitment drive, make sure you have a clear and concise job description and candidate spec.  Create clear expectations for what your desired outcome is for the new employee’s first 12 months in the job.  Whilst possessing the right key skills for the role are essential so too is ensuring you identify candidates who will fit into your company’s culture, ethos and values so when creating a job description and candidate spec you need to really sell the role and company.  This will help your talent acquisition teams to run a much more successful recruitment drive.  This should be standard practise but it is even more crucial in our current pandemic world.

2          It starts the day the candidate accepts the offer in writing

Just as in normal times, the day your new employee has returned their acceptance letter you must begin the onboarding process.  Along with the company information booklet you might consider sending some merchandise from your business either for the employee or their family, this is a small price to pay for making the new employee and their family feel special and valued before they have even started working for you.

3          Have through screen meetings

During the resignation period of the new employee you should be keeping in touch with them on a frequent basis.  You can hold formal and informal meetings so they begin to get a flavour of what it’s like working with and for you.  Set up a Zoom call for a professional meeting where you can update them on certain information which will help them integrate more swiftly when they finally do come on board.  Holding a casual Zoom meeting where other colleagues have been invited to join is an excellent opportunity for everyone to meet for the first time, even though it is through screen.  You need to be invested in this process and deliberate in your intention of creating a welcome experience.  Tip – when you are having a face to face screen meeting with your hire do not check your emails or take other calls, do the decent thing and give them 100% of your attention.

4          Create a sense of belonging – over-communicate and over-engage

For remotely onboarded new employees it is vital that you create a sense of belonging, they will not have had any opportunity to meet people in person so over-engaging and over-communicating will help with their coming up to speed on things and starting to feel like a team member.  Remember they will not be picking things up by osmosis as they are not in the office meaning it is much, much harder for them to understand how things get done or what your ways of communication are.  They will want to find people they can connect with who can help guide and support, be available to answer any ‘stupid’ question (no question is ever stupid), they should be able to connect with this person outside of work – think of it as a mentoring programme, someone who can help guide them through the ways of the business and most importantly someone who the new employee can be totally open and honest with.  If you do not already have a Buddy system in place then now would be a good time to start but do ensure the Buddy will be an appropriate fit for your new hire.

5          Introduce your company culture

Working remotely means it will be that much more difficult for your new employee to get a sense of company culture but this is a vital piece of fostering positive employee engagement.  This means you will need to devise remote meet ups and events with a focus on fun and interaction so over time your new employee gets to meet everyone in the business and they become acquainted with their new colleague.  Get creative with ways of uniting people, have a weekly ‘show and tell’ – what produce has your greenhouse grown this week, who has baked the best decorated cup-cakes, have a remote pub quiz. 

6          Strategize your onboarding programme

Without the opportunity to meet people whilst waiting for the kettle to boil in the kitchen or overhearing conversations around the office the new employee is not benefiting from early stage learning because they are working in their own home silo.  By following your strategic onboarding programme you will help ensure your new recruit gets to connect with everyone relevant to their role and have the relevant tools and experiences to begin learning and being successful in their new job.

Points to remember with remote hiring and onboarding

1          Is your onboarding process geared up for a remote world?

Think about your onboarding processes – are they relevant to today’s remote based working world?  If not adapt, evolve, change.

2          Engage a specialist to recruit for you

Not all managers or HR teams make the best recruiters – engage the services of a specialist recruitment consultant – they know the right questions to ask and partner with you to understand your company culture, ethos, values, pains, goals, vision and they sell a compelling story to potential candidates providing them with all the facts and figures the candidate needs to know to make an informed decision as to whether your role and company are the best fit for them.  In turn you will receive a selection of carefully targeted and filtered candidate CV’s whose skills, experience, personalities and salaries fit your criteria and business culture.

3          Avoid work-shy candidates

Be aware of candidates who require a lot of motivation from you or need a high degree of management to keep them on task.  You will not be there in person to hold their hand, unfortunately in this Covid world employers need people who can apply themselves diligently but equally know it is ok to ask any question or for support.

4          Don’t forget to include everyone

Finally remember to make sure all your team are made aware of the new person starting, maybe have a company wide meeting so the new employee can say hello and introduce themselves, give them opportunity to offer to their new colleagues a time to chat so they can all become familiar with each other.  The most unlikely friendships can be built from quarters you least suspect so open it up to being company wide – that way everyone feels like they are being included. 

Onboarding remotely is hard work but the long-term benefit will be worth the effort.

Top Tips for CV writing and creating a strong LinkedIn profile

Maybe you are unaware but software technology plays an increasingly important role in the recruitment process, more agencies and hiring companies are deploying the use of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and AI to expedite the hiring process and help them collate relevant CV’s from the millions of job seekers applying on line each day.  This means bots get first dibs on your CV application and decide if the words in your CV match the key words for the job description you have applied to.  If they find relevant matches then your CV is sorted and ranked prior to passing to a human being, nice eh?  So how do you beat the bots and stand out from the crowded marketplace? 

CV action – how to ensure it is ATS compliant, beats the bots and sells a compelling story about you and your capabilities

Firstly, in order for your CV to be taken seriously by a recruiter or hiring company you must review your CV objectively – when was the last time you gave it a thorough overhaul and edit?  ATS cannot scan or read abbreviations, acronyms, ampersands or words in text boxes and it can only read round bullet points.  In order for your CV not to fall at first hurdle you must ensure your CV is thoroughly ATS compliant – and as you do not know who is using ATS you must presume wherever your CV is sent, a bot could be scanning it.  Next, to create a powerful and dynamic CV you must set it out in the following way and in the following order:

Contact information – your name – this should be in larger letters than your personal contact details, make them big and bold, use colour if you really want to add a touch of creative flair.  Provide your mobile number, email address, give your home location – town and county are fine, provide the URL for your LinkedIn profile. 

Profile – this is the hook which succinctly paraphrases your years of experience, captures the market sectors you have been working in, provides relevant industry information relating to your job and concludes with the type of role and business you would love to work for.  Ultimately it leaves the reader wanting to know more about you.

Areas of expertise – this is a snapshot of your capabilities such as communication, leadership/management, commercial, creative, financial, logical.  Each section should be no more than two or three lines and to power it up you should give information on why you are an expert in these areas – do not just make a generic statement.  Generic statements do not earn you kudos in the eyes of recruiters or hiring companies.

Career history – this should be clear and concise, back up your responsibilities and actions with outcomes and values.  Focus on the last 5 years primarily.  Show results of your actions – give values and outcomes to your responsibilities.  Hiring managers and recruiters will be impressed if you can clearly demonstrate how you successfully negotiated a more lucrative price, managed a complex project, worked tirelessly to complete an assignment within budget and on time, gained traction with new listings and boosted company turnover.  Actions and outcomes will set you apart from a generic list of job responsibilities which anyone could put down.  Roles dating back 5 to 7 years should include a few key deliverables with achievements.  Roles 7 years or older can simply be set down as job title, employer, employment dates – what you were doing 7 years ago is hardly likely to be relevant to what you are applying for in the future.  If you follow this guideline you will maintain an easy to read career history section with punchy, salient and engaging information which is factual but informative and conveys very clearly just what you are capable of bringing to a hiring company.  Use active verbs and modern words to bring your CV to life and ensure it is of modern day.  Avoid Arial font this looks old school – alternatively use Calibri.  Use font size 12 which is easier to read, 11 is a bit too small. 

Key skills – this comes after career history and highlights a few of your relevant skills – if you are not sure then Google key skills for your job title and what to include in a CV and you will soon find a list of suggestions which fit your experience.

Education – unless you hold a degree, diploma or qualifications relevant to your role, if you have a decent career history then putting down GCSE’s or O’Levels is rather a waste of white space when you would be far better off expanding more on your areas of expertise which will be way more impactful to a hiring company or recruiter.

Hobbies and Interests – do include these, they humanise your CV and bring you to life as a person, they can be a great ice breaker for interviews.  However, do give a bit of context to your interests and hobbies so if you enjoy baking say why and what it means to you or if you love running, mention any charity events you have taken part in to help fund raise – this will say far more about you as a person than simply ‘running’ or ‘baking’.

2 or 3 pages long is the golden rule for CV length.  4 pages is not acceptable.

Proof read your CV – ensure it is grammatically correct, error free of typos and spelling mistakes.

Proof read your CV again, ask a friend or family member to look through it.

Now that your CV is ATS compliant, packs a punch with salient content and contains all the right key words and active verbs, you should update your LinkedIn profile if you have not already done so.  LinkedIn is a powerful tool used by agencies and hiring companies every day and it is free for you to use, it will only take a short amount of your time to update it.  If your profile is static and contains no relevant information on you then it could be bypassed.  If you are actively job seeking or would simply like to hear about potential opportunities then you must populate your LinkedIn profile with key criteria. 

Making your LinkedIn profile work for you

• Contact section – put your email address, home location and phone numbers in so you can be easily contacted about job opportunities
• About section – copy/paste your CV profile and use this in the About section
• Experience – copy/paste your CV career history so people can easily see your experience
• Skills and endorsements – ask colleagues you have worked with or any third party people you have dealt with to endorse your skills
• Recommendations – ask people to recommend you
• Turn on your job alert toggle so you get to hear about opportunities – To create a job alert: Search for a job on LinkedIn.  At the top left of the job search results page, switch the Job alert toggle to On to create a job alert for your current search criteria. Switch the toggle to Off to turn off the job alert.
• If you are part of am alumni or on a committee or chair of something then include this in activities
• Finally – let hiring companies and recruiters know you are open to hearing from them,  click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.  Select Settings & Privacy from the dropdown.  Click the Privacy tab at the top of the page.  Under the Job seeking preferences section, click Change next to Let recruiters know you’re open to opportunities.

If you follow this step by step guide you will have a far stronger chance of being identified and selected.  Writing a stand-out CV is not an easy process, it requires time and consideration, you will go through a few drafting stages but the trick is to create one master document to work from, this remains static but you will add to it with each role however you never use this document to send out.  You will work from this document to select only the most relevant criteria which relates to the role you are applying for and matches the key words in the job description.  This is how you beat the bots.