Major event for ex-military personnel to tackle CV bloopers
Wednesday 8 September 2010 10:43 AM
Failure to recognise unique selling points and complex formats have emerged among the top five CV bloopers made by ex-military personnel returning to civilian life, according to industry experts.
The mistakes highlighted in a poll by specialist recruitment company Gemini Forces will come under the spotlight at a major event to help ex-Services personnel find work when they return to ‘civvy street’.
Gemini Forces and Drivers Direct, working together as the British Forces Resettlement Services (BFRS), is staging its event at Aldershot on September 16.
It is aimed at helping past, present and future service leavers and their family members access a range of support organisations and find meaningful employment. It will also include practical help in areas such as CV writing.
The top five mistakes identified by Gemini Forces are:
·Use of complex document formatting. This can make a CV look messy and complicated.
·Inability to back up claims about career. An exaggeration of skills and experience, or even downright fabrication is asking for trouble later.
·Using more than two pages. Most people should be able sum up their career in less than 2 A4 sheets.
·Failure to understand their unique selling point (USP). Job candidates need to demonstrate they have something different or special to offer, and many fail to highlight what they have that gives them the edge.
·Overuse of abbreviations and technical jargon. This can be very offputting for civilian managers who would rather know about what transferrable skills an ex-military employee can offer.
Harry Dean, Gemini Forces director who served in the Army for 30 years, said: “Making the move from military life back into civilian life can be an enormously daunting prospect for many and having a first-class CV is vital in taking those first steps back into the civilian workplace.
“Our poll has highlighted the fundamental errors that many people make which can often be the difference between getting and not getting the job. The event we are staging on September 16 is aimed at helping ex-Forces or soon-to-be ex-Forces personnel address those issues and put them in a stronger position to market themselves in the civilian world of work.”
Gemini Forces specialises in helping ex-Services personnel find employment when they return to civilian life. It has helped countless ex-Services personnel make the seamless transition to civilian life, finding employment in an array of industry sectors including Health & Safety, environmental, aviation, facilities management, project management and defence consultancy sectors.
The event on September 16 follows the astounding success of a groundbreaking networking event also hosted by BFRS at Aldershot last year.
Mr Dean added: “Last year’s event at Aldershot was a major success and we are looking forward to making this year’s event bigger and better. Attendees and exhibitors found the last event mutually beneficial and we are delighted to be staging another event to help potential service leavers identify their future options.”
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