Category Archives: CV

Career success stories, CV, Job Boards/Online, Personal branding, Uncategorized, Uncovering opportunities

The SlideShare presentation that got me hired

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I received this in a SlideShare newsletter last week. It’s a great example of a creative campaign to get hired (for a job that wasn’t being advertised – it was being tweeted).

Yes, it’s American; yes, she works in PR; and, yes, this won’t apply to everyone for every role. But there are some very important lessons to be learned from Laura’s story:

  • The impact of technology on the job search is unrelenting and you need to a) keep up, and, b) start using it to your advantage
  • Thinking creatively about how to market yourself usually creates a very good impression with a prospective employer
  • You create your own opportunities to stand out from the crowd

So read Laura’s story and think about how you could market yourself more creatively…

Resumes are Old School, Use SlideShare & Twitter to Get Hired

Laura Gainor wasn’t always the PR & Social Media Strategist at Comet Branding and this is the story of how that came to be.

When Laura found out she and her husband were moving from Charlotte to Milwaukee, she reached out to companies in the area, including Comet Branding who tweeted about a job opening.

Laura set out to get herself hired by launching a #LauraGainorToMilwaukee campaign that mixed in Twitter, FourSquare and SlideShare.
Laura and her husband had already planned a trip to Milwaukee. She made a poster out of the Comet Brand logo and posted pictures of the poster in various venues at Milwaukee with a Foursquare check-in and a tweet. The campaign was fun, spontaneous and creative and showcased Laura’s personality and creativity.

But Laura also wanted to showcase her experience as well as creative and strategic talents. So she uploaded a presentation to SlideShare and periodically tweeted links to that presentation.

“SlideShare allowed me the opportunity to publicly explain what I did and how I did it, to get the attention of Comet Branding,” said Laura.

Laura pulled together photos to create a virtual resume as well as screenshots of her Foursquare check-ins from Milwaukee. “My goal for my SlideShare presentation was to create a story about who I was, my professional experience, showcase my talents that would make me a good fit for Comet Branding, as well as pull together my #LauraGainorToMilwaukee story into one place,” Laura explained.
The very day Laura’s presentation was uploaded, it made it to SlideShare’s ‘Most Popular’ and was passed around on SlideShare and the Twittersphere. She got tweets and direct messages from all over.
There were even teachers downloading the presentation to show their classes and example of presenting yourself as a brand to possible employers.

Comet Branding also noticed Laura. They contacted her to setup a first interview. On March 1st she went in for a second interview and was immediately offered the position!

Laura says, “I feel very honored to have had my first day in my new desk at Comet Branding on Wednesday, March 3rd.”

If you are looking for a job, take a lesson from Laura’s book – showcase yourself through a presentation and use Twitter or Facebook to get the attention of the company you want to work at.

CV, Job Boards/Online, Job Search Resources, Recruiters

CV scams

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The Guardian and other sources have reported evidence of scammers preying on beleaguered job hunters by posing as recruiters and offering CV re-writes for a fee.

Fake job ads are netting CVs and the candidate then gets a call saying they are an “ideal fit” for the job but the CV needs to be tidied up before it can get sent on to the company. There is also usually a promise that the upgraded CV will result in an interview. The recruiter then recommends someone to revise the CV for fees ranging from £99 to around £350.

Of course the job doesn’t exist and, whilst CVs do appear to be getting a makeover, there is no interview – candidates are told the post was filled internally or withdrawn at the last minute. After a month or so, the web site comes down and a new one goes up in its place for the whole sham to start all over again.

Good recuitment consultants will help you refine and develop your CV, or make suggestions as to how it can be improved, but be highly suspicious of anyone who wants to take money off you – especially if it’s mid-process and they’re tempting you with the possibility of an interview to follow.

There are many good specialist CV services out there, some from a recruitment background, some are professional writers. If you’re going to use one (and I’d argue that the best person to write your CV is you), look for one that’s completely independent of any recruitment organisation – and do your own research. A personal recommendation is always far better than a Google search.

One of the most widely reported scams is a website called employeruk.com  It looks very plausible, but DON’T SUBMIT ANY DETAILS, IT’S A FAKE!

There are also reports of the mainstream job sites like Monster and totaljobs.com being hit by scammers registering as recruiters and skimming personal details off CVs for identity theft crimes. The Guardian article reports of a controlled experiment to see how much personal information gullible job searchers would offer up. It’s estimated that criminals need just three out of 15 key pieces of information to commit identity fraud – the average CV received as part of the experiment contained eight items.

Some tips to avoid the scams:

  • If it looks too good to be true, it probably is
  • Avoid any recruitment sites with just 0845, 0844 or mobile numbers – they could be anywhere. Avoid recruiters with webmail addresses like Yahoo! and hotmail. Look for a bricks and mortar address and research the company if you’ve not heard of it before
  • Be very suspicious of any recruitment consultant asking you for money – in a bone fide agency it’s the employer who pays their fee
  • On your CV, do not include your date of birth, place of birth, middle names or marital status – it’s irrelevant for a job application and grist to the mill for identity fraudsters
  • Be wary of including your full postal address in CVs being uploaded into job portals, your general location such as a town or city should suffice.

It’s appalling that people are exploiting job searchers for money, and also sometimes committing identity fraud with unsuspecting job applicants. Don’t get caught out.