Anyone who knows me and reads my blog, is familiar with the lengths I would go to not to view a video CV. The words pins and eyes have been used.  Once called a “visumé” the ones I have viewed have been so toe-curlingly embarrassing, that I cringe at the mere memory of them. The…

I started a decluttering exercise in my own life way back in 2005 when I embarked upon a downsizing process. I carried out the final effort last summer when I came across the KonMari method. Like any philosophy it is simple in concept and can be applied not only to domestic organisation, but also other…

My email box has been flooded over the weekend with enquiries from clients asking how “Brexshit” as I call it, will impact them. The answer is noone knows at this point, but eventually some type of calm and compromise will emerge as it always does. Official statements will be made about any impact this will…

Career coaches and search consultants spend inordinate amounts of time encouraging job seekers to dazzle and to stand out in the candidate crowd. However there is one area when it’s OK to be the diamond in the rough, unexciting and utilitarian, and when dull is completely OK if not advantageous. That is in the context of resume formatting. I mention this in…

Fixing your job search visibility I have spent the past week with two different women, of two different ages. Their backgrounds could not be further apart. One is a young graduate, seeking entry-level employment, the other a woman in her 40s, with extensive supply chain and procurement experience, as well as an MBA. She has…

When CV length matters “The golden rule is that there are no golden rules.” said Mr George Bernard Shaw and nowhere is this more applicable than the job search sector when it comes to CV creation. We loves rules. The sector is heavily populated with books, articles and blogs dealing in absolutes, usually including “always”,…

Why do we get job profiles so wrong? Lost in translation As both an executive search professional and a career coach, I am frequently bemused how hiring managers and job seekers fail to communicate with each other and misunderstand or even misrepresent themselves in the process. I’m very mindful there is a strong sales role…

Are you what it says on the tin? Or do you live in the shadow of your own resume? I received a CV from a candidate (let’s call him John). My eyes lit up. A complex search had just become much easier. His CV was powerful, positive, succinct. But unhappily John was not. His responses…

Why red alert resumés send out a warning signal. I’m going to come clean. I hate functional CVs. With a passion. As someone who reads possibly hundreds of CVs a week, there is nothing more frustrating than reading a list of qualities and so called achievements and still having very little idea of what the…

How do you know what CV advice to listen to?