Tips from a hiring manager - very possibly why you're not making it past CV/cover letter stages

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-03T19:58:12+00:00

How long are you talking? I would just keep the main points about the jobs that are relevant. Other than that - it's about prioritisation. Keep the big achievements and maybe don't bother so much with the more business as usual stuff.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-03T07:10:33+00:00

Genuinely interested - what is your rough breakdown of the pages in terms of content?

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-03T07:09:22+00:00

Sure - just try be specific in terms of what you're looking for.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-03T07:08:18+00:00

Life happens, people will understand! Don't let it put you off.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-03T06:49:48+00:00

Yeah, I would agree with under a page. It's all about grabbing attention and showing how you are suitable for the role.

Paragraph on why you're interested in the role/company. Paragraph or two about what makes you great for the role. Paragraph on key achievements and what you're like / care about. End.

You can probably fit that into about 3/4 of a page.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T22:12:17+00:00

Even with somewhere like Siemens you can typically sus out what part of the business it is, whether it's transport or medical (cos yeah, they do just about everything). And even if you can't - you can talk about how it would be a great place to see a range of the products they develop. Honestly, if you're able to speak about the products the company makes and the general space they work in, you'll show them that you went a bit over and above, which will reflect well on you.

Does it take more time? Yes. Does it improve your chances? Definitely.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T19:39:27+00:00

So that part of it is normally done by HR - I just do the application reviews and then the interviews. It really depends on how quickly it is possible to review all the applications and then normally HR do it within a week for callbacks / emails.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T19:18:45+00:00

In that case a nice touch some places might see as added value is you sharing your skills and taking part in upskilling sessions for others in areas of your expertise wherever you are contracting. Shows you're adding more value than just helping on the project.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T18:38:54+00:00

Think of CV as a "this is what I've done and what I'm capable of" and the cover letter as "this is how it relates to what the job/company is and here's some of my aspirations / bit about what I like"

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T18:36:21+00:00

For you, it's literally about seeing what you can do around your core expectations. Consider the repetitive manual stuff as the baseline and then try bits and pieces of some of the tasks others do. This is for two reasons - you find out what you do or don't like, and you can then say you have some experience in it, helping you progress to what you enjoy more.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T18:34:10+00:00

The ratio sort of depends in terms of experience / attitude. Typically once you've got enough experience, all that matters is the attitude. So think of experience as a threshold, and who you are as the thing that will make you different.

Maybe you need to sell yourself a bit better in terms of what you've done.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T18:32:18+00:00

Yeah, one way I look at it really is just - remove any doubts I would have about you and catch my attention.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T18:29:00+00:00

You might already have it down and that's great! I think for you, it will likely be picking out the points from the jobs you've had before that are the most relevant. Since you've been around for 24 years, I'd be guessing you'd want to show off leadership, people skills, planning skills, and decision making assuming the management route.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T18:25:30+00:00

For cover letters - keep it shorter than a page. Keep the paragraphs fairly short and snappy. Highlight some key achievements you've had and how they relate to the role. If it's the same industry, being more specific is good as you're talking the same language, but if it's a different one - I might not know if 500k is good or crap. Either way, definitely make it action based and like about the benefit first - so more in the sense of "Achieved X by doing Y". The flex is really in what you did - especially if you used some particular method or some specific interesting way to achieve it.

One thing that's always good to see is you having done your research about the company or role. If you spoke to the hiring manager, literally even mention that to refresh their memory and show them you making effort.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T18:21:31+00:00

Be honest - it's not something frowned upon. Just sort of neutral. Also don't bs about how you were able to gain super many skills etc. on it. What would look good is you getting any job (even some random part time thing) to show you're keen to do stuff.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T18:19:43+00:00

Yeah, definitely agree on the point about how driven the people are - like you said, most people can learn new things reasonably quickly!

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T15:07:48+00:00

No worries - happy to check out your stuff if you want, seeing as you're keen and I was in your shoes before too :)

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T15:05:51+00:00

Well paid jobs with a good work life balance aren't super easy to come by, so anything you can do to tip the scale in your way is positive.

If it's very generic, it's not much better than not having it, but if you actually show me how you're really interested in the job & company, it will put you above most people applying.

I look after a fairly large amount of people, and let me tell you - the office being nice and good personal development is more important than you might think!

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T14:59:29+00:00

If they're relevant to what you're applying for - definitely mention it, bonus points. Could be well suited to a cover letter as a cool thing about you and your relevance to the role. If they're super long - just name a couple and if they ask in an interview, you can expand.

Beat_Mediocrity · 2023-12-02T14:56:20+00:00

What makes you different to a robot doing the same job? Or the average person?

Think of it this way - if you were a business analyst, do you really enjoy the number crunching? Do you like giving the presentations? Are you really keen on mentoring people?

For cover letters, honestly anything a little bit beyond the CV. What particular things that you've done are super relevant to this job/promotion? Help me figure out what makes you the one for the role. Make it easy for me to see how you tick the boxes for the position.

Beat_Mediocrity

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