How to market yourself as an experienced hire - CVs and applications forms
This blog is being published as part of the Get UK Career Ready week, have a look at the events we are running, tailored to international students (but open to all students), from Monday 30th January to Thursday 2nd February. We have two events specifically for Experienced Hire students. Careers Service would like to thank Debbie Pye for writing this excellent resource, which is also a part of our Get Started - Postgraduate Taught students guide.
Experienced Hire (EH) students are usually students who have 2+ relevant years experience and who therefore are not interested in graduate schemes and graduate roles, and are focusing more on roles which require more experience and skills. Below are some top tips how your CV and applications can be improved as an Experienced Hire applicant. You can find more tips in the original resource.
Transferable/technical skills
Showcase complex and focused examples of the transferable/technical skills you’ve gained in previous roles. These should exactly match as many as possible of the person specification’s “essential/desirable” criteria and should link to the context of the vacancy for example a change project, launch of a new product, design a technical innovation, setting up a new team and onboarding a major new client,
Outcome/impact/deliverable focused
Ensure your bullet points are always outcome/impact/deliverable focused. As an EH you’ll be expected to deliver results from the outset – you’ll need to be able to quote hard and quantifiable evidence of the value you’ve added in your previous roles. Demonstrate your strategic perspective and commercial acumen by linking the results of your work to the wider organisation’s performance,
Challenges overcome
Give examples of challenges overcome…not just times where it’s all gone smoothly. The ability to deal with uncertainty and the unexpected sets EH apart from the less experienced, especially where you can evidence your ability to adapt your preferred style to one more appropriate to the circumstances.
Where you quickly upskilled
Find examples of where you’ve quickly upskilled to meet a business need. Even better if you did that independently of in-house training (for example online courses./self-taught approach to learn a specific programming language). You could have this in a subheading of your Education section under “Professional Development” or “Technical skills” in the “Additional Skills” section.
The “people thing”
Don’t forget the “people thing”. Recruiters will hope to see evidence of your relationship building skills, with both internal and external stakeholders at senior levels as well as junior staff you have managed.
Find more general CV tips in our Get started Cvs and applications guide.
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