Five top tips to make LinkedIn advertising work for you

Social media is a booming area within the digital marketing sphere. Marketeers who are pro-active and use their initiative to learn all the useful features of social media will stand out from the crowd. Here at Metia we’re doing an increasing amount of paid social media marketing to amplify and target content to specific audiences.

I want to draw my attention to one platform in particular, LinkedIn. The site has grown in popularity because it allows professionals to network easily. It also allows users to promote targeted job adverts and post daily feeds (similar to Facebook) containing information on industry trends and expert advice from industry luminaries.

One of LinkedIn’s smartest tools is its advertising feature, LinkedIn Campaign Manager. All you need is a business account and you can promote yourself and your business to other LinkedIn members. Just go to Account & Settings then Advertising and it will take you there. The campaign manager is designed to build advertisements targeted at specific LinkedIn users.

 Tip 1: Use both sponsored updates and display ads

By doing this you can monitor both to determine which one is more successful and therefore suitable for the next campaign. Sponsored updates use updates which are seen on a company page and sponsors them. These are the advertisements that you will see pop up on your LinkedIn feed if you follow a specific company (It will say sponsored next to the update – see below).

Display ads, use text, image or video and places it on the side of a LinkedIn page targeting a specific profile of LinkedIn users. See an example below.

Sponsored Updates

To setup a sponsored update, once you are in campaign manager go to ‘Create new campaign’ at the top right and choose ‘Sponsor an update’.

You can either choose to sponsor an already existing update, which will come up at the bottom of the page or you can create a new one on your company homepage, if you have user access. To setup your own, paste the landing page link (where you want to send your target audience) into the top text box (see below). Once the link has loaded, you can change the copy for the advertisement.

Tip 2: Make sure you use all of the allocated amount of characters for the ad copy.

For example, by using more words to describe your service it will grab the attention of viewers and sound more plausible. Before going live double check the character length. The specifications for character length are given below.

Tip 3: Use images with the correct ratio. 

If you have the wrong ratio the image will look skewed and the viewers will see this. Once you are happy with your image and copy, go ahead and share. You can now follow earlier steps and sponsor the new update.

After you have chosen which update to sponsor you will have to create your target profile of LinkedIn users. The options to target are fairly extensive, the main ones including by location, company name/industry/size, job title, school, skills, group, gender and age.

Tip 4: Be specific when targeting. 

The more detailed you are when setting your target audience, the more likely you will achieve higher engagement levels with your advertisement. For example if you sell professional bicycle equipment you could target users with skills related to cycling, who follow cycling groups on LinkedIn or who have a job title related to cycling. In contrast it wouldn’t be beneficial to solely target the user’s sports industry.

Display Ads

Creating a display ad is slightly different to setting up a sponsored update. The main difference being that you don’t have to sponsor it, just create it. To do this enter the campaign manager, go to ‘Create new campaign’ at the top right and choose ‘Create an ad’.

Follow the instructions and choose your chosen headline, image and main text and click next. You will then be taken to the profiling page (see above).

Tip 5: Avoid using ‘ady’ wording in your ad copy.

This could drive traffic away. Instead, be clear and concise about what the product/service is and how it can add value to the customer.

The final step before your advertisement goes live is to choose how you want to pay for the campaign. Extra tip: From personal experience paying by cost per click (CPC) is most effective because there is definite engagement with your target audience. Whether that click turns into a lead depends on how suitable the target audience is and whether the landing page is designed appropriately. The other option is to pay per 1,000 impressions if you wish. Finally, choose your daily budget/total budget for the campaign and then click ‘Launch campaign’!

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Top 10 Ways to keep up to date with industry trends…

I have been working at Metia, a digital marketing agency in London,  for two weeks now and am really enjoying it. Although I am now employed, I still want to share my views and offer advice to those who are unemployed. This is a blog taken from work, but I want to share it here. It’s targeted to people who work in digital marketing, however many of the points are relevant to any industry. If you are unemployed it’s useful to learn about the industry you want to work in and for those who are employed this will improve your industry knowledge making you a better employee.

‘Are you a savvy marketing enthusiast who wants to be in the know about anything and everything digital? Well, here at Metia we have put together a top 10 list of ways to keep up to date with all the latest digital trends and gossip. Have a read and if you are an opinionated digital native let us know what you think…

 

1. Online marketing publications such as Marketing Week, Campaign and Brand Republic are the ‘go to’ industry standard if you’re looking for the latest news in digital marketing. You can find information on new jobs, the latest digital technologies and advice on how to improve your business or career. Other very useful publications include Wikipedia B3 and Computer weekly to name a few.

 

2. Print Magazines including the Digital Marketing Magazine are always useful to top up your knowledge whilst you’re on the move or travelling. Rest assured, the content will be highly relevant and up to date providing the latest information across the globe. It’s always a great idea to join a weekly or monthly subscription to your favourite magazine.

 

3. LinkedIn is a great tool providing the latest information on new jobs, a space to reach out and connect with other digital marketing experts and gives you access to follow a large array of digital marketing groups. All it takes is one click of a button and you can receive daily feeds from these communities and it’ll automatically be shown in your message inbox! It’s also a great place to find advice and recommendations from industry leaders.

 

4. Trade shows and event exhibitions are a great chance to network with other like-minded digital marketers. What’s best is that you’ll find out what are the latest products and have the opportunity to test them out. For instance the digital marketing show is taking place later this year in London and you will have the chance to listen to the latest news and even participate on classes to update your skills in areas such as content marketing.

 

5. Look at your competition for ways to improve your own business offering or develop your own digital marketing expertise. It’s relatively cheap to do this and consists of doing a bit of marketing research. If you’re good at searching you might be able to source a report conducted by your competition which presents information and trends in your industry.

 

6. Twitter is a particularly user-friendly and simple platform to use if you are looking to keep up to date. Follow industry leaders and you’ll receive daily updates from them with their thoughts and opinions on the latest trends in digital. In addition to Twitter another useful social media channel is stumble upon, which is a tool to ‘stumble upon’ new websites on a certain topic or interest. There are lots of cool, new websites about digital marketing.

 

7. Work colleagues are a rich source of up to date information and knowledge. Use your superiors as people to learn from because they’re the ones who have honed practical experience of the digital marketing field. In addition to making your skill set stronger, having healthy working relationships enhances your work flow opportunities and potential exposure to other people’s opinions on the latest trends in digital.

 

8. Blogs are a great place to view the opinion of the public. If you are looking for an answer or even just an opinion to a certain topic, which you are facing in digital marketing it will help to browse through some blogs. The most famous blogging websites include WordPress, Blogger and many people have their own blogging websites.

 

9. Google Alerts is a brilliant tool that allows you to set up email updates to the latest, most relevant trends, which show up in Google results. Simply state what your topic of interest is whether it be social media, content writing or anything related digital and then filter by region, occurrence and result relevance. Google Alerts is a great tool to personalise your news updates.

 

1. Create new trends and product innovations yourself. The lucky few of us who manage to create that unique idea and set the tone for the next generation of marketers will become the latest trend. This covers all you budding entrepreneurs and misfits who have a great new idea that will change the digital marketing world. We anticipate your arrival and can’t wait to see what the next big thing in the marketing world is!

 

 

Want more?…For the latest predictions on what digital marketing trends to expect in 2014, please check out our latest industry report written by the Metia team: http://www.metia.com/seattle/deborah-hanamura/2014-%281%29/03/death-of-digital-metia-insights-2014-is-live/‘

Am I in the right job?

This morning I was browsing through LinkedIn and read an article arguing why you should quit your job. It made me think about the big question? Should you choose a job for the money or because you enjoy it?

 

Making the right choice can be difficult when searching for your next job and it will take time. I experienced this whilst searching for my first role as a graduate. My last three years were spent studying Business Studies at University, a broad subject to say the least. As part of the course it covered modules in management, marketing, statistics and entrepreneurship. Although it was a great experience to gain exposure to a wide range of topics, it can make you indecisive when it comes to picking a specific career path to take after graduation. This is a trap many graduates fall into when studying a broad degree and there isn’t really a clear solution.

Following graduation and a year travelling abroad, I returned to London to focus my time on applying for any job. At that point it was smart to keep my options open and not be fussy because the job market was competitive. I considered roles in management, sales and marketing. However, throughout the job application process I couldn’t help but feel like most of these roles were not interesting. But, I kept applying to them because I needed some work experience and had to pay the bills.

Within three months I had landed a job at a boutique management consultancy in the city. The money was much better than the £6.31 I was earning at the café in my local town. The city was alive, thriving and filled with the sound of people on their smart phones. The clattering echoes coming from their pricey, designer boots could be heard from a mile away as they rushed to be somewhere important. I couldn’t help but think of what it would be like to be in their position. With money, with importance, with the right job. Well that’s what I thought.

Throughout a period of a month working at this consultancy I met some interesting people. However, their industry wasn’t right for me. The role didn’t match my skills or personality and it all felt too corporate to me. It was clear that money was important for these people, but I couldn’t help but acknowledge the stress levels that were radiating around the office. At times it was too much and unfortunately I left, sacrificed the pay check and continued my search.

Following the efforts to get my foot in the door in Management Consulting, it was about time to mix up my approach. Marketing and media was next on the list. Why?… because the industry attracts people who are more creative and practical, like me. With a degree specialising in marketing in the first place it only made sense to look for a job in this sector. Fortunately, this plan worked.

I found a Digital Marketing Agency situated bang in the middle of central London. The salary was less than my previous role but it was more enjoyable and satisfying. I was working alongside likeminded people who spoke the same, creative jargon as me and wore the same relaxed blue shirt and blue jeans too. Although I was earning less, not wearing a flashy suit, I was much happier! I was in the right job!

’10 Reasons You Have To Quit Your Job In 2014’https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140407131300-5858595-10-reasons-you-have-to-quit-your-job-in-2014?trk=NUS_UNIU_PEOPLE_FOLLOW-megaphone-fllw

 

The Better Career infographic

First day working at a digital marketing agency in London…

Ever since I graduated in 2012 I have always wondered what it would be like to work in the Digital Marketing industry. In particular, what is work experience like in an agency environment?

Being a consumer my whole life I have been exposed to a plethora of media and marketing collateral. But, what made me particularly interested to work in digital marketing was to find out how companies differentiate their products from the rest of the competition. What makes that advertisement or brand image more appealing to me and why? How do these experienced marketers produce the brochures, build the websites and create the online video advertisements that make me interested to find out more as a consumer?

To answer these questions I thought the best way would be to work at a digital marketing agency myself. What is an agency you may ask?… Well, an agency is an outsourced company who provide a particular service on behalf of another company. In the field of digital marketing these services will vary widely from an agency who specialise in a particular service,  for example a web design agency who put together websites for their clients. Other agencies will offer a range of services or be  fully integrated,which means they offer expertise throughout the whole marketing mix. But what is it like to actually work at a digital marketing agency in central London?

Before I walked through the door of the agency I am working at now I had certain preconceptions of what it would be like. I thought I would be surrounded by hundreds of suited up people, most of whom would just be starting out in their careers, looking to learn as much as they can. Moreover, I imagined the day-to-day duties to be quite hectic,  heavily client focused and based around a set day procedure or routine. However, this was not necessarily the case.

During my first day working at a digital marketing agency my experience was very different to what I expected. The office was situated in central London and when I walked in for the first time I was surrounded by glass windows and marble floor. To be honest, this is kind of what I imagined an agency foyer to look like, very suave and professional. However, when I got to the second floor it became clear that the agency I was working for was very relaxed and in fact quite a tranquil place to work at. I couldn’t believe my luck! Alongside the more mundane first day set procedures including signing the contract and being shown the fire exit, I met the team who I would become a member of. To my astonishment all of them were very friendly, relaxed and welcoming. I was quietly in disbelief at how relaxed the agency environment was becoming.

The first task I was given as the latest addition to the team was to read a print out showing the rebranding process of one of their healthcare clients. I read through the documents over lunch and realised I was in the right job. The content was colourful, creative and innovative. I thought to myself that this was the kind of work I wanted to be apart of and learn how to produce myself. Shortly after, I began actively contributing to the same rebranding project and was attending interviews with senior members of the team. Finally, I was in an environment where I could really learn how to market a product effectively!

I am now into my third day and enjoying it very much! I have put together my first blog post (the one you’re reading right now) to be put on the agency website, have created a short presentation and produced a Venn diagram, which looks very colourful and attractive. I thought I was going to be stressed out of my brains after the first two days starting a new job at an agency, but I am not. I am enjoying it very much!

‘How do you get a job at DELOITTE?’

This post is written by a friend of mine who graduated in 2013. He studied management and achieved a 2:1 at a top 10 University, which is a great achievement. Moreover, through preparation, confidence and being himself he managed to a land a job at Deloitte! But how did he get offered a position at such a prestigious company?, he explains below…

 

“I already had applied for Deloitte in November 2012 for September 2013 entry however I was naïve in my approach, I was able to get to the first interview stage however I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been. After applying again I was able to correct my previous mistakes for the first face to face interview and then have the confidence and amount of preparation required to get the job in my second face to face interview. In this particular article I will go through the different stages that I had to go through and how to be the best that you can possibly be in the application process.

As with many jobs that are currently on the market there were many stages in the process. Initially there is the application form with C.V and optional cover letter, my advice in this particular section is to be precise in your language and to ensure that your ideas in respect to the two career motivation questions are clear. Make sure that you have read the job description and know what the job entails, whilst also understanding the company, what the company does and how the company is performing in the current market.  The majority of applicants pass this particular stage however it is easy to become complacent, being thorough in your work means that you will probably make it to the next stage.

After the application form and C.V section of the process, there is a numerical test which is multiple choice. Make sure you have a calculator with you so that you can do the sums effectively. With this particular section, it is important to read the questions rigorously as they will try to catch you out in the wording of the question. Double check the answers that you have given after each question, although the section is quite strict in terms of time they mark you on the questions that you have attempted, so rather than rushing, it is best to ensure that the questions that you have answered are correct.

The next two sections are both e-mail based. The first e-mail was multiple choice and contained a wide range of information regarding financial data, data regarding other employees you would be working with and information about the client you would be working with. The e-mail situation gives you a taste of what it would be like working with Deloitte, having to make decisions based on the information that is given to you. Read the information thoroughly; write down on a piece of paper key information which will be important to you in answering the questions. Both of the e-mail sections are time constrained, like the other sections, being thorough and reading through your answers is vital in ensuring that you can give the best possible answers necessary to pass to the next stage. I found the first e-mail exercise harder as there was a lot of information to take in, in a relatively short space of time. However, be calm, methodical and logical in the decisions that you make.

The second e-mail exercise was a written one. In my example you had to advise a client who is looking to move their business. The client in my case was a bookshop who was looking to expand their business and there were three different options that were on offer. There was a range of information about what type of books were sold, the demographics in the area, whether it was independent or a chain and so on. What I found key in this particular exercise is to ensure that the client is put first in the decision that you make, how will it affect the client’s current business? Will it be too divergent from their current business model? These type of questions are vital in giving an answer which will enable you to pass to the next stage. There’s no right or wrong answer, but it is important to have a clear answer and justify why with the information that is provided to you with respect to the location you chose in comparison to the other two.

The first interview stage is where I slipped up in my first application. There are 6 core competencies; these are communication, achievement of goals, commercial awareness, career motivation, planning and organisation skills, adaptability and problem solving. I had a look on sites such as wikijobs to give me an indicator of what is required and the types of questions that will be asked. I had two examples for each competency and was prepared for questions such as; give me an example when you had to lead a group, which then lead to further questions such as; how did you deal with a dispute within the group? It is thus important to look at what follow up questions could be asked given the answers that you are going to give. My problem in my first application was that I wasn’t prepared enough on the qualifications that I would be getting during the job; I made this mistake because I was so focused on the 6 competencies. However when it came to my second application I studied this meticulously, looking at the ACA qualification, what it entailed, the different exams and experience necessary over the three year time period. I came in with renewed confidence and a belief in myself. Being able to present yourself smartly, both physically and intelligently, is important in any interview and it was the case in my interviews with Deloitte. Thankfully I was able to go through to the final stage, which was an interview with a partner of that particular office.

For the final interview I prepared for a couple of months, going through in great detail about what is happening in the particular industry that I would be working in as well as the economy as a whole. About a month before the actual final interview the company sent me an email outlining what my 5 minute presentation was going to be about. Research as much as you can about the particular issue in hand, you can never do too much research. I bought the Financial Times every day to keep on top of the current issues in the auditing market. I also had to give a one page hand out to the interviewer about the topic in hand; I split it up in sections that I would cover in the presentation.  Although not overtly stating that there were sections in my presentation, I ensured that one section flowed naturally to the next being confident and clear in my delivery, the questions that followed probed further about the topic in hand, with some of the questions being ones that you wouldn’t necessarily be expected to know the answer to. What they want to see is how you deal with these questions, be honest to the partner, he does not expect you to know everything about the company. I found the second interview a much more relaxed affair than I expected, even with some talk about articles I had written about football!

The first interview is designed to look at your competencies, your ability to do the job required based on past experience. I found the final interview to be much different, looking at you as a person and whether you would be a good fit for the company. Throughout the whole process it is important to be thorough in your answers, and in the interviews to be confident in your own ability, although a cliché, being yourself is the greatest asset you can have in a job interview.”

‘How to write a GOOD Cover Letter’

Before you send off your application you need to write your cover letter. In this post I will go through the structure you should adopt to create an effective cover letter and discuss what content to include.  However, I can’t put enough emphasise on the importance of quality over quantity when deciding what content to include.

Your grammar must be impeccable and I say this because the reader is most likely to be your future employer. You’d rather give a strong impression from the start instead of having to make up for the grammatical mistakes in your cover letter. Always use the spell check tool to start, but also re read your cover letter at least twice. Another smart way to check for mistakes is to get friends and relatives to proof read what you have read. It’s important to focus on your grammar because employers have to filter through hundreds of cover letters, which makes them very picky. As a result, they will quite happily put you on the no pile if they see just one small grammatical mistake in your cover letter. Be a grammar geek!

When you write your cover letter I advise you to save it as an attachment document, either word format or in PDF. I prefer saving in PDF because it looks more professional when you open the document and it cannot be edited by anyone else. However, on occasions the recruitment agency or hiring firm will require a certain format, which is typically Word doc.

Header:

A good place to start your cover letter is the header at the top of the page. For organisational purposes I tend to put the date at the top right side of the header. You can also add your name, occupation or the role you are applying for to act as a prompt for the cover letter and remind the reader what they should expect the content of the cover letter to include.

Introduction:

From here onwards you need to follow a typical letter format…

– Make sure to put your address on the top right and the company’s address below yours but on the left side.

– Use Dear Sir / Madam with Yours faithfully and Dear …(person’s name) with Yours sincerely (Standard stuff really).

– Have an introduction paragraph/sentence, one or two main content paragraphs and a short conclusion.

As part of your introduction I recommend explaining what the reason is for the cover letter: explain the role you, the company who are advertising the role are applying for and explain the source, which led you to finding the role e.g. Job board, recruitment agency, through a friend, social media etc. Following this, briefly describe your skill set and the industry you are looking to get into or what you are looking for in your new role.

Make this very informative and a paragraph to set the scene, which is clear and to the point. At this stage the reader should have an idea to whether you are a strong candidate or not by the way you have explained your intent.

Main Part:

The next section will consist of one or two larger paragraphs. The first one will outline what you currently do, your skills, experiences and how they are relevant to the role you are applying for. The second paragraph will go into the reasons why you are right for the role and the company who are recruiting.

In the first paragraph a good idea is to refer to the job specification. For example if one of the responsibilities is to manage a spreadsheet, you need to show how you have previous experience of using a spreadsheet effectively. If you have to be someone who can communicate clearly with people, you need evidence to show you have done this in the past, which will suggest you can do it again in a new role. What you want to communicate through the first paragraph is a trend, which suggests you are capable to do the job being advertised. There will almost always be an example you can use, it just takes time to find it.

The second paragraph is there to highlight your interests and enthusiasm to work for the company who are hiring. A good way to show this is by using examples in your cover letter to show that you have researched the company. For example are what was their latest article in the news or on their website e.g. What is the latest business, which they have won? or What is their history and Unique Selling Point? Try to talk specifically about why their company is better than the rest and right for you. Talk about the industry, the company culture, clients they work with, exciting projects they have delivered and how you want to be apart of it. It is extremely important to make it clear that you can add value if you were offered a role and explain why.

Finish off with a short summary, which outlines your unique abilities, willingness to work and value that you can add to the company who are recruiting. Try and write the final summary giving the impression to the reader that you are highly enthusiastic and grateful for their time. Explain your availability,  salary expectations if necessary and whether you have attached any further documents to support your application.

Always finish with Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely and your full name.

This is the kind of structure, which I use and it has worked for me many times in the past. It is simple, but it works and will help you to write a good cover letter. The finished product should look something like this…

 

‘How to plan a good cover letter…’

You will now be at the stage where you have a well written CV, which makes you stand out and covers all of your key qualities. What you need next is a well written cover letter, which supports your application and will help you in getting a job.

However, before I go through the format of what I believe makes a good cover letter, I will go through the main factors you must consider before you put a pen to paper.

When you write your cover letter you must maintain relevance throughout and be mindful to develop your content around the following factors:

These are just a few factors to consider before writing your cover letter. It is always a good idea to plan out what you write before and make sure you consider everything. On my next post, I will discuss the process of actually writing a cover letter and how to structure it effectively with the result of impressing the reader.

Stay tuned!

‘How to make a good CV: Part 2’

In the last blog I covered what should be included in your contact details and personal profile at the beginning of your CV.  Following on, I want to talk about what should be included to form the main content of your CV.

After speaking to many people including University tutors and a number of recruitment agents, I have found a trend, which suggests putting your ‘key skills’ on the first page following your personal statement works best. The most important part to remember is keeping the key skills near the top of your CV, but why? It makes it much easier to catch the eye of the employer/interviewer who is reading it. Furthermore, it helps structure the flow of your CV highlighting clearly what your unique abilities are near the start allowing your qualifications to follow on and go into more depth.

As per discussed before, straight after your key skills add your qualifications. Following on from your qualifications include a list of personal attributes, which are relevant to the industry/role you are applying for. From this point onwards you should focus on maintaining consistency throughout the rest of your CV.  For example, if your key skills are using excel spreadsheets or proofreading, then in your personal attributes and work experience sections should give practical examples to support this.

One of the last parts that you must add and forms the main structure of your CV is your work experience. There are varying opinions on whether to keep a CV to one page or more, but from my experience and the opinions of others, it is preferable to keep to one side. In addition, it makes it easier for an employer to see a candidate’s whole profile and make balanced decisions. It also saves paper.

The final sections to add to your CV are your personal interests, achievements and references, but before I go into too much detail I will go through all of the parts one by one.

1. Key Skills:

• Keep the list relatively short, five should do. If you have a long list of key skills it will make it harder for the person reading your CV to identify your main strengths.
• For example, if you want to become a Digital Marketing specialist your key skills should be related to the digital platform e.g. Content writing, social media, website writing, search engine marketing and sponsored advertising.

2. Qualifications: This section should be in chronological order with your most recent qualification first. Only add the most important and relevant ones to your CV.

• Start with your most recent qualification, which you gained. For a lot of graduates that will be their degree. Use the following format as a guideline for setting it out: Degree name, university, location, year of graduation and grade. If you are not a graduate you can still follow this format.
• A-Levels – make sure you include all the subject you studies and the grades for each one.
• GCSEs – I would recommend including them if you are a recent graduate, but if you’re a seasoned professional it won’t be necessary.

3. Personal Attributes:

• This section should outline any extra curricular activities you do now or have achieved in the past that support your application. For example if you read any industry related magazines add this as one of your attributes. Other examples may include awards you have been given at University or high school e.g. Marketing student of the year etc.

4. Work Experience: As I mentioned above, this section forms the main structure of a CV.

• You must include your most recent role and all relevant roles to the job/industry you are applying for. For example, if you are looking to get into finance and accounting don’t drown this section by including any roles, which are unrelated such as a Waiter Barman. The only time I would add unrelated past work experiences would be whether it was a long time ago and shows your ability to work hard or you worked in this role whilst applying for a more suitable position to save money.
• Make sure to include the job title, dates you worked there in months and years, company name, location and two or three bullet points outlining your main responsibilities.
• It is very important to write highly relevant examples of your responsibilities. Show that you have experience and skills that would make you a strong candidate for your new role. If you are looking to become a junior writer for example, however you have no direct practical experience of doing so,  you can still bring out skills, which you have already learnt that will be relevant. e.g. proof reading, sending emails etc.
• For each past role, highlight your key achievements e.g. Turned over sales in excess of £5,000 within a month of working there. This is a smart way to give practical examples of you making a real difference and indicated to the reader that you might be someone who can deliver results.

I have gone over the main areas, which I believe should be included in a good CV. It takes time to do this, but it is worth every minute and will make you stand out from the crowd! Remember, the process of making a CV is constant and on ongoing. You will always have new skills and experiences to add that will make you stand out. Don’t forget to add all of them, be pro active! In my next post I will discuss ways to write an effective cover letter. See you then!

‘How to make a good CV: Part 1’

In my last blog I gave advice to use your University or high school careers adviser to help improve your employability, whether that be your CV or other areas of the your application.  In this blog I want to talk about what actually constitutes a good CV. What techniques can you use to stand out and put yourself in a position to have the better career.

I must highlight that on many occasions throughout your job hunt you will get more than one view or opinion on your CV. Some might be good and others the complete opposite. The key here is to find a trend in the answers you get from those with an opinion you tryst and create your CV based on that. You can always take advice and make little adjustments if you see fit.

A CV will vary by industry, hence there is a lot of material to cover, however in this blog I want to highlight what I believe are the main points to include in any CV. These go as follows:

1. Contact details:

• Full name: It looks more professional putting your full name at the top of your CV instead any abbreviations or nicknames. For example use Jonathan H. Smith, instead of John Smith.
• Phone number: Include a contact number, which you will be able to answer. For most this will be there mobile phone.
• Email address: Every CV should have an email on it. But, be aware if your email has an old email address with an old name that you used when you were younger, create a new, more professional email address. For example use jonathanhsmith@outlook.com instead of johnsmitty156@hotmail.co.uk.
• Blog addresses: If you are writing a blog make sure to include a link to you site under your contact details.
• Personal website address: If you have your own website, it is very useful to include this at the top of your CV allowing employers to see your work before they interview you in person.

2. Personal Statement: This doesn’t have to be long and should include a short summary.

• Personal strengths: Use strengths that indicate you are willing to contribute and grow e.g. Ambitious, creative, driven. This indicates to a future employer that you might be a someone who can add value to their business over the long run.
• Professional skills:  Use skills that are related to the role you are applying for. e.g. If you are applying to be an Architect, include skills such as CAD drawing, Photoshop etc…
• Current occupation and what you are looking for in your next role.
• Type of organisation you would like to work  e.g. If you want to work in marketing are you looking to work at a small boutique marketing start-up, a company with an internal marketing team or a global media agency?
• Industry you are working in or would like to work in at your next role: Be as specific as possible e.g. Digital Marketing instead of Marketing or even Social Media Marketing instead of Digital Marketing.

This is just the start of what your CV should look like. The contact details and personal statement act like an introduction summary of who you are as a person. The start of your CV should flow nicely leading onto the more in-depth content covering areas such as your key skills, qualifications, personal attributes and work history. I will cover these on part 2 of how to make a good CV. See you then!