I wrote an article for RecruitIreland’s March E-zine titled “Job Hunting – The Fear Factor”. Basically this article discussed some fears jobseekers faced while job hunting. I must say I received many interesting emails about the article and one particular fear outlined below.
If you mention “fear” and “job hunting” most people will automatically assume you are talking about interviews. However there is another fear that limits jobseekers ability to land an interview and performance at interview – the fear of communicating strengths and achievements.
Many jobseekers can’t communicate career successes or achievements because they fear that they will be perceived as big headed or arrogant. This means jobseekers struggle to sell themselves through written communication (CV) and verbal communication (Interviews). It is important to address this fear. Failure to do so will have a direct impact on your new job prospects but also impacts promotion prospects and progression within an organisation.
Defeating fear and developing an impact CV.
You need to understand that a CV is a sales and marketing document. The purpose of the document is to tell the reader what you did but more importantly how well you did it. Hiring Managers expect this on a CV and believe me when I tell you that they will get excited rather than turned off.
It is important to revisit your successes. A common statement I hear from jobseekers “I can sell my friends but I can’t sell myself”. If this is true you should seek assistant from work colleagues or friends to help you brainstorm.
List these successes and state them out load. Can you confidently state your achievements and take 100% ownership. If the answer is “yes” then keep them and integrate them into your CV.
Finally successes and achievements are the stardust that can help bring your CV to life and help it stand out from the competition. If you keep successes hidden for fear of coming across boastful you are only limiting your prospects on the job market. Start communicating your successes today!!