JEM44 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Hi, wondering if anyone can help. I have recently had to update my CV for a new role at work (UK) and my mentor (part of the job) has suggested that I create a skills based CV for the move to Aus as it will take away the Englishness of it. She has used a skills based CV here and says they are much better (she works in recruitment) and I was wondering what others experiences are like. I am conscious that the job market is tough and I will be up against enough locals for jobs that anything which helps my CV not go onto the "no Aus experience" pile surely must be good? Also, do you know how popular Linkedin is over there? And for higher level roles do employers use Assessment centers to support interviews? Thanks Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 I don't know if it's the same in the UK now, but the most important thing in Australia is the cover letter, not the CV itself - and yes, that needs to be skills-based. For each job, you'd write a unique cover letter along these lines: Dear... I wish to apply for ...... I feel my skills and experience are particularly suited to the role as follows: Then, using bullet points, briefly quote each of the skills/competencies needed for the role (taken straight from the ad or job description) and why you meet that need. Employers love anything that saves them effort, and if you show you meet all the criteria in a one-page letter, they won't need to read your CV - so you're ahead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEM44 Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 I don't know if it's the same in the UK now, but the most important thing in Australia is the cover letter, not the CV itself - and yes, that needs to be skills-based. For each job, you'd write a unique cover letter along these lines: Dear... I wish to apply for ...... I feel my skills and experience are particularly suited to the role as follows: Then, using bullet points, briefly quote each of the skills/competencies needed for the role (taken straight from the ad or job description) and why you meet that need. Employers love anything that saves them effort, and if you show you meet all the criteria in a one-page letter, they won't need to read your CV - so you're ahead! Thanks for that. Yes I am used to the covering letter so that is one less thing to worry about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABL275 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Just completed one contract and have successfully found the next one (had the choice of three) using a good old British CV in chronological order. Clearly it depends on who you're talking to but 6% of the Australian population is actually British and over 50% are British/Irish by descent so a little bit of Britishness probably won't be frowned upon, especially as the vast majority of recruitment specialists in Sydney (and probably elsewhere) are British. Indeed there have been articles and concerns over how the British have cornered the market in recruitment in Sydney and are prone to recruit fellow Britons over local Australians. Moral of the story: Don't worry, if anything you may well find that you actually have a slight advantage :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABL275 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 ...and forgot to mention, Linked-In is widely sued for advertising jobs but http://www.seek.com.au/ is the one site that just about everyone uses except for very senior roles. I've generally just used the two of them and generally founds new contracts pretty quickly - good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tina0101 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 They are mental for LinkedIn - the first 'social media' question I got when I was arrived was that I needed a LinkedIn account. I've found that a lot of people get a foot in with jobs because of who they know. All the jobs I was looking for (admin-type) all required a cover letter and a CV. I tailored each letter to the company I was applying for - making some of my skills less prominent for some roles (e.g. I didn't overly push my spreadsheet and data skills when going for a reception job and focused on people skills and telephone manner, but went to town on spreadsheets for more data-driven positions). Good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Thanks for that. Yes I am used to the covering letter so that is one less thing to worry about! I was going to say, my CV has always been chronological and never had a problem with it not being skills-based - the fact that you've got a skills-based cover letter is enough IMO. In fact as a manager, I tended to be a bit suspicious of skills-based CV's because they can sometimes be used as a smokescreen to cover up a lack of solid experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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