Career Coach CV/Resume Writer by Rob Ridout

Your Career Story - The cornerstone of a good interview strategy I am constantly asked questions about the interview and its many variations and complexities. This all too common topic has become a major fear factor for most candidates moving through the recruitment process. Actually, the interview is simply one party trying to understand if the other party can do the job and/or has the potential to do the job and of course, is telling the truth. Oversimplification, I know.  In the defence of the interviewer, this screening process is a critical part of ensuring that an incorrect candidate is not hired. The interviewer often or not resorts to a form of an interview that assimilates interrogation.  The candidate, however, moves into the interview process blissfully unaware of the interrogation that is about to follow and many times is not well informed of the key issues around company corporate culture and hidden key details that have not been included in the specificatio

The purpose of the CV UNCOVERED! by Rob Ridout The traditional  CV/resume has been around forever. Even with the advent of Linkedin and other social media platforms the candidate and hiring manager still considers this necessary document as the primary screening document. There is little chance of this document being replaced in the near future.   This CV has, however, three specific uses that the candidate needs to understand before entering the market. The CV, therefore, will need to cater to each of these but still keep that narrative on point according to the job specification.   Screening Purposes    The ultimate test for the CV is that it passes the screening test. The CV should always give the initial “minimum requirements” test. Most candidates still seem to think that there is no need to adjust their CV when submitting. The CV needs to be ‘loaded” for each specification! The reader will cross-reference your CV with the specification to ensure that the two docu

BECOME AN INTERVIEW DETECTIVE USING LINKEDIN by Rob Ridout   One of the most vital aspects of any job interview is your ability to successfully interpret the job specification. For many, this elusive document often carries with it very little information, which in turn provides no insight into the vacant role and therefore impacts your chances of a successful interview.   This is where your detective skills are needed.   Finding the exiting incumbents profile There is a part of the job specification that is always left out and is vitally important - who was the incumbent in the role? This is the starting point of investigating your alignment with the vacant role.   My tip First, find the previous incumbents profile on LinkedIn. By simply inserting the job description title and choosing the company name in your search fields you have a good chance of finding the profile(that’s if it's not a new role). You can also use google this may also take you to recruiters who ha