Careers
If you would like to write for our careers section contact [email protected]
The purpose of a CV is to promote you and your abilities to a prospective employer, so make it a compelling portrait of your strengths and skills, says Daniel Allen
HOW TO SELL YOURSELF information could include details of: Your current duties and responsibilities. Experience, skills and knowledge relevant to the post. Details of any voluntary work. Research, publishing or presentation experience. Any other relevant clinical care or clinical audit experience. Guy’s and St Thomas’ is one of many trusts using values-based questions in the job application process, says Ms Gardner. Such employers are looking for a good fit between the applicant and the organisation’s ethos. Evidence in your application of your ability to reflect on your values and your practice will serve you well. Ms Gardner says: ‘If the candidate is a newly qualified
Common mistakes on CVs Absence of personal statements or supporting summary. Job description presented as supporting information. Contact details omitted. Block capitals used throughout and no sentence structure. Unexplained employment or study gaps. nurse, we would like to see some concise reflection on their clinical placements. But be sure to respect patient confidentiality.’ Ms Taylor urges candidates to include key words used by a potential employer on their website, in recruitment information or from conversations with them. ‘Use action words in your application: initiated, established and organised. Numbers make an impact too: “I managed a team of 20”, for example.’ Previous convictions must be declared and Ms Gardner advises applicants to give a clear description of any offence. Finally, asking someone to check your application can be invaluable. After hours of preparing a CV, it is easy to miss a spelling error NS Daniel Allen is a freelance journalist RESOURCES RCN career factsheets tinyurl.com/RCNfactsheets NHS Careers www.nhscareers.nhs.uk RCN Bulletin Jobs www.rcnbulletinjobs.co.uk
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Whether you are applying for a job online or sending a CV and covering letter, follow these tips to ensure you get noticed. Before you start, think of four or five key points you would like to get across about yourself and include these in your opening statement or profile, says RCN careers adviser Cathy Taylor. ‘Include bullet points of your key skills and achievements.’ If you are asked to supply your CV for a job application, make sure to tailor it using key words relevant to the post. ‘Do not use the same CV for every job,’ says Ms Taylor. Candidates are often let down by incomplete or poorly written applications, according to Michele Gardner, lead nurse for recruitment at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London. ‘We would expect to see a thorough application, full contact details, the skills the individual can apply to the person specification – and no spelling errors’ (see box). John Lees, author of How to Get a Job You’ll Love, says a CV will be screened into a yes or no pile in about 20 seconds. ‘Include all important points on the first page so you end up in the yes pile. Think of the first page of your CV as an advertisement, strong enough to stand alone.’ Supporting information should be used to back up how and why you are suitable for the job. The NHS Jobs website says your supporting
NURSING STANDARD november 6 :: vol 28 no 10 :: 2013 63 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Jul 21, 2016. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2016 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
If you would like to write for our careers section contact [email protected]
The purpose of a CV is to promote you and your abilities to a prospective employer, so make it a compelling portrait of your strengths and skills, says Daniel Allen
HOW TO SELL YOURSELF information could include details of: Your current duties and responsibilities. Experience, skills and knowledge relevant to the post. Details of any voluntary work. Research, publishing or presentation experience. Any other relevant clinical care or clinical audit experience. Guy’s and St Thomas’ is one of many trusts using values-based questions in the job application process, says Ms Gardner. Such employers are looking for a good fit between the applicant and the organisation’s ethos. Evidence in your application of your ability to reflect on your values and your practice will serve you well. Ms Gardner says: ‘If the candidate is a newly qualified
Common mistakes on CVs Absence of personal statements or supporting summary. Job description presented as supporting information. Contact details omitted. Block capitals used throughout and no sentence structure. Unexplained employment or study gaps. nurse, we would like to see some concise reflection on their clinical placements. But be sure to respect patient confidentiality.’ Ms Taylor urges candidates to include key words used by a potential employer on their website, in recruitment information or from conversations with them. ‘Use action words in your application: initiated, established and organised. Numbers make an impact too: “I managed a team of 20”, for example.’ Previous convictions must be declared and Ms Gardner advises applicants to give a clear description of any offence. Finally, asking someone to check your application can be invaluable. After hours of preparing a CV, it is easy to miss a spelling error NS Daniel Allen is a freelance journalist RESOURCES RCN career factsheets tinyurl.com/RCNfactsheets NHS Careers www.nhscareers.nhs.uk RCN Bulletin Jobs www.rcnbulletinjobs.co.uk
IKON
Whether you are applying for a job online or sending a CV and covering letter, follow these tips to ensure you get noticed. Before you start, think of four or five key points you would like to get across about yourself and include these in your opening statement or profile, says RCN careers adviser Cathy Taylor. ‘Include bullet points of your key skills and achievements.’ If you are asked to supply your CV for a job application, make sure to tailor it using key words relevant to the post. ‘Do not use the same CV for every job,’ says Ms Taylor. Candidates are often let down by incomplete or poorly written applications, according to Michele Gardner, lead nurse for recruitment at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London. ‘We would expect to see a thorough application, full contact details, the skills the individual can apply to the person specification – and no spelling errors’ (see box). John Lees, author of How to Get a Job You’ll Love, says a CV will be screened into a yes or no pile in about 20 seconds. ‘Include all important points on the first page so you end up in the yes pile. Think of the first page of your CV as an advertisement, strong enough to stand alone.’ Supporting information should be used to back up how and why you are suitable for the job. The NHS Jobs website says your supporting
NURSING STANDARD november 6 :: vol 28 no 10 :: 2013 63 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Jul 21, 2016. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2016 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
