EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
(Or, properly preparing to find and get a job)
A series of 3 x one hour Workshops
which will cover:
• What Employers really do want
• Writing your CV(s)
Researching Potential Employers
Analysing a Job Advert
Writing a good Application Letter
Preparing for the Interview
Attending the Interview
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
1
What Employers really do want?
• A positive, “can do” attitude & willingness to follow
instructions.
• Reliability, dependability, & willingness to work.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• The ability to learn fast & regularly do pieces of
intensive work.
• A friendly approach, good manners & the ability to
get on with others, a real team player.
• Intelligence & the ability to think on your feet.
• Imagination, creativity and use of initiative.
SHOW them you meet these 7 criteria, and they
should be willing to train you in everything else.
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
Slide2
Human Nature
Employers are normal people like you and I, &
people make friends with, hire or do business
with people who they Like, Respect or Trust.
The challenge for you is to persuade them that
you have the 7 essential attributes, and that they
Like You.
Respect and Trust often need to be earned, and
these may well take a little longer.
PEOPLE HIRE PEOPLE THEY LIKE.......it’s
human nature....!
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
Slide3
Basic Types of CVs
Chronological
• Outlining your career history in reverse date order,
beginning with the most recent items first.
• This usually works well for students with a good allround mixture of education and work experience.
Skills Based
• Highly-focused CVs which relate your skills and
abilities to a specific job or career area by highlighting
these skills and your major achievements.
• Works best when your education and work experience
is not directly relevant to your application.
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
Slide 4
Every CV should have
Personal details - name and address, telephone
number and email
Education
Experience
There are additional sections that you could also
decide to include:
Personal statement
Skills
Hobbies and interests
References
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
Slide 5
Writing your CV (1)
What is a CV for? Is it a list of facts about you?
OR is it your personal sales document?
Your CV should be:
• Short (preferably 1P x A4, 2 at Max)
• Easy to read, visually attractive, & interesting
•Free of spelling & grammar errors
• Free of slang, abbreviations & “txt spk”
• NOT just a list of bare unexplained facts
It should include a short personal statement
which emphasises your strengths & skills and
says something positive about yourself.
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
Slide6
Writing your CV (2)
• You should have more than just one CV, different
versions should emphasise different qualities, skills
or experience that you could bring to the employer.
• You need to try to match the CV you send to the
requirements of the job. Edit and amend your CV to
match what they need (after you’ve found out...!)
• Keep it short and to the point, your CV should be
on 1 page of A4 (max 2).
• Try to always be interesting, and seem interested.
• What makes your CV stand out from the crowd ?
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
Slide7
Writing your CV (3)
You should mention ALL the skills and experience
you’ve got, and try to maximise the perceived
benefits to the Employer of these:
• If you’ve done The Duke of Edinburgh Award,
say this taught you resilience and initiative.
• If you’ve (eg) been a paper boy/girl, say this
taught you to be reliable, dependable and an
early riser. (Mention any part-time jobs or work
experience in the same positive way.)
• If you’ve been on a Team at school, say (eg)
that you learned to work with others, to never
give up and to obey the Team captain/coach.
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
Slide8
5 Minute Individual Exercise
• Write down the three or four things about you
that would be of most interest to an employer.
• Now put these things into a short Personal
Statement which summarises what you want
and why the employer should hire you.
This Personal Statement will become your own
personal advertisement, and the basis of your
answer to common interview questions like “Tell
us something about yourself”.
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
Slide 9
Writing your CV (4)
Focus on clarity, simplicity and economy:
• Selectors often take about 6 seconds before they make
an initial 'fit or no fit' decision" on a CV.
• The best CVs have a lean, mean, clean, crafted look
with the use of every inch of space carefully considered,
so don't make your CV too busy: if in doubt, leave it out !
• Use font, font size, straight lines and alignment to
organise your CV to be as clear & simple as possible.
• If you put absolutely everything that you think might
sell you in your CV it will be less appealing than one that
just focuses on your strongest selling points.
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
Slide 10
Simplicity
• “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work
hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s
worth it in the end because once you get there, you can
move mountains”. Steve Jobs, Apple
• NASA spent millions of dollars developing a special
pen which could write in the zero gravity environment of
space. The Russians used a pencil .....
“Our life is frittered away by detail ... Simplify, Simplify”.
Henry David Thoreau, US poet & writer
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”.
Leonardo Da Vinci
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
Slide 11
Essentials
• Your CV should have a clear visual hierarchy and no
distracting visual elements. These hinder the selector’s
ability to find relevant information.
• Research has shown that All deviations from the
formal format reduced the chances of an interview.
Coloured paper had a clearly negative effect, while the
“creative” format was worst of all: the same candidate
had almost twice the chances of being offered an
interview with a formal CV as with a “creative” one.
• Whatever else you do, ALWAYS CHECK your spelling,
grammar and the consistency of the information you’re
providing. Illiteracy or Inconsistency = An instant NO.
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
Slide 12
CV Group Exercise
Here are 3 different CVs (on paper).
• What are the good & bad things about these ?
• Which ones are interesting, and why ?
• Who would you chose (as an Employer) to
interview, and why ?
• Briefly discuss this in groups of 2 or 3, and be
ready to state (and justify) your group’s findings.
Who reads CVs ? How many each day ?
How will YOUR CV stand out and earn you an
Interview ?
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
Slide13
What to do next
• Think what to put in your first CV, and why ?
• A really useful information source is at
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cvexamples.htm
• You may download today’s slides from:
http://northwarwickshirecatenian.com/index.php/c
atenian-secondary-schools-initiative/schoolsinitiative-documents/ or just Google “North
Warwickshire Catenian” and follow the links.
• Practice putting together your first CV.
• We’ll see you at the next workshop, and help
if we can...!
END WORKSHOP 1
Delivered by The Catenian Association to
help Catholic youth succeed
Slide14