This week’s question comes from Mr R-C
I have applied for 15 project specific jobs in last month with no response whatever. I’m primarily looking for contract and I’m flexible on rates. What are agencies looking for?
You might not like the answer but the truth is the agency is looking for a near on perfect fit for the requirement they’re advertising. So if the role is asking for experience in X, Y, and Z, your application should be clearly showing your experience in X, Y and Z. Agencies are not interested in someone with a bit of X ten years ago, Y more recently and none of the Z. It’s harsh but true however that leaves you with some work to do. You need to be able to clearly define who you are and what you are about – in other words understand what exactly are your own X, Y and Z.
OK enough of the letters but the point is there are still too many job seekers on the market that don’t convey well enough in their CV what kind of project professional they are. Too many people still think it’s OK to throw a lot of experiences they have had over the years into a CV and hope that someone might be able to pick it apart and understand who you are and what you have to offer. Unfortunately this is never going to happen because agencies and hiring organisations don’t have the time or inclination to do that.
I think it’s worth adding a little experiment into your job hunt to see if you can get that feedback from the applications you make. I personally would look for a few positions with agencies that do carry a contact name of the recruitment consultantand first of all try and give them a call. In my experience, agencies that take that first call from you will be more likely to give you feedback on an application. Second , in that phone call I would ask a few questions that would help you to make a more considered application (i.e., that will allow you to make a few changes to the CV to make it more relevant for that particular post). Thirdly, after submitting the application I would follow up a few days later to talk to the same person you orginally contacted to see if they are willing to give a little constructive feedback.
The trick here is to make yourself stand out in a busy job hunting marketplace; finding the right balance between a professional who is keen to make the next right step in their career or someone who could quickly be labelled a bit of a pest. The truth is a recruitment consultant does remember the person they chatted to on the phone and if that call was conducted professionally and appropriately they will be more inclined to take that feedback call later.
Image © DaveBleasdale and used with permission.
Twitter: Andybud
This is a really interesting article, I will take on board those approaches. The biggest surprise for me when I had some cv writing training and it became really obvious that a cv focussing mainly on just previous responsibilities really told the recruiter nothing about your achievements or potential value to that organisation. I can imagine if a recruiter thinks a cv needs a lot of work that they may be less likely to provide feedback than on a results focussed cv that just misses the grade…or at least that is what I hope
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