My Sad Situation - Help :)

jessicamb

have you been through the careers sites?

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Applications__CVs_and_interviews/CVs_and_covering_letters/Covering_letters/p!ejFdaLl

Fire_Fox

Lamby1985 wrote: »

I dont think there is any specific area where I have very little expereince. I just think that there are better candidates out there. People who have been in the industry for 10 years + and now being made redundant.

I now face the challenge of competing with graduates of this year who will start applying for jobs now.

Do you guys suggest that I contact some employers in the field with speculative CV? The only problem is that any advertisement I see for a job requires a Masters.

Why is the agency considering you for the same jobs that people with ten years experience are being considered for? Is this you or the agency with the wrong expectations? Are there actually jobs in your chosen field that don't require a masters; what about technician roles? Are you looking up a level rather than down a level from where you'd like to be?

Lamby1985 wrote: »

I would really love to do a Masters in Conservation / Ecology field. I did numerous modules and my dissertation on this subject. The only problem is finding the funding as I’m just not in the position to be able to study more.

I did a specific degree in Physical Geography but was able to choose my own modules and ended up choosing ones that involved the environment at a conservation and management level.

Do you have any experience in this field outside of your degree? Are you a member of any environmental groups, have you helped out with green projects in a voluntary capacity? Any experience at all in the community and voluntary sector?

I have been offered several jobs largely off the back of being enthusiastic and a self-motivated learner. This is where your passion lies so this is where you should be concentrating your interest. But you must be realistic and you must convey your passion at every stage of the application process. CVs alone don't cut it.

Lamby1985 wrote: »

I’ve been applying mainly for office based roles because I have got some experience in that field. I have sent CV’s and Cover letters mainly by Email which seems to be somewhat of a mistake because you never really get a reply, very frustrating.

I have two CV’s. One specifically outlining the skills and achievements at University and the other for my experience and the skills I have learnt in my working history. Both are about two sides of A4.

Anyone know of any good sample cover letters? I've done them in the past but dont think its up to the required grade.

Don't e-mail unless specifically asked not to post: it smacks of laziness and often the formatting is lost. You have no control over the quality of the final printout, it may be on fax paper which looks awful, or the ink might run dry or smudge.

Why on earth do you have two separate CVs? Surely at your age and experience you need to tell a potential employer as much as possible. This way you are losing either your work experience or your academic abilities! You want one CV with the best of both on, changing the emphasis for different roles.

I don't understand how you can be sending out CVs alone. Either there is an application form complete with additional information section OR you send a CV with a covering letter. There are different methods but I was always taught your CV was the facts and figures - dates, places, grades, employers, role, really major achievements (student of the year/ increased turnover by 15%). I was taught this by my father who was a senior manager in education and it's not failed me yet!

A covering letter is not dissimilar to the additional information bit of an application - introduce self, why you are perfect for the job, why the job is perfect for you, address each aspect of the personal specification with examples. You can list as many skills in your CV as you like, you need evidence and personality and it must be tailored to each role.

Savvy_Sue

One thing to say about a covering letter going with an application form is to be very sure that you don't say anything in the letter which isn't also on the form. That's because the selection committee may very well JUST consider the form when deciding who to interview, so your beautifully crafted letter saying why you are perfect for the job will get you nowhere unless your perfections are also very evident from the form.

Oldernotwiser

Burlesque_Babe wrote: »

Have to say I've never used a sample covering letter - I've always started it with a sentence about the job I'm applying for, then a paragraph giving a 2-3 precis of my past career and then another 2-3 sentence paragraph about why I feel I'm a good candidate (picking bits from the JD and myexperience) and then a finishing sentence about I look forward to hearing from them.

I don't think that there's any point in the career precis if this is a covering letter to go with a CV - after all, that's what a CV is!

Fire_Fox

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

One thing to say about a covering letter going with an application form is to be very sure that you don't say anything in the letter which isn't also on the form. That's because the selection committee may very well JUST consider the form when deciding who to interview, so your beautifully crafted letter saying why you are perfect for the job will get you nowhere unless your perfections are also very evident from the form.

You shouldn't need a covering letter with a application form form - a covering letter is just that, a letter "dear sir .... yours faithfully" which explains the presence of your CV on the potential employer's desk. I only use CVs and covering letters for speculative applications but that does depend on the industry.

If it's not an online application but a handwritten form I generally complete my 'additional info' section on the computer, but it's headed as such (no "dear sir") and I only do so if the application says you can continue on another sheet of paper.

Savvy_Sue

Well, that's my feeling too, even if I was sending a cv I'd let the cv speak for itself and the letter just demonstrate that I knew how to lay out a business letter. However I come from a background where all that matters is the application form!

£$&*"($£&(

I've spent my time working in the ecology/nature conservation field and the key has always been getting some experience usually through volunteering. That's how I started 20 years ago. Now I work at an environmental records centre and we've had a number of graduates volunteering. Some have been taken on as casual employees to do short term project work and then gone on to get other jobs. This can also open doors in the local wildlife conservation network. Having some skills to start with also helps.

For instance one graduate had some ecological survey skills and was highly computer literate, He volunteered and then did a number of fieldwork projects and computer based jobs using GIS for us, then we suggested he cover the Biodiversity Officer job in the County with another organisation to keep it ticking over and then got a longer term job as a woodland survey officer. This year though we haven't had the projects to take on such volunteers.

There are also some organisations (some Wildlife Trusts and the Somerset Environmental Records Centre for instance) who take on volunteer trainees. They work at whatever for half the week then get trained in the most useful skills (no pay).

Bobby1985

Thank you very much guys. Some good information there. Ive been doing some volunteer work, but I dont think it will progress as a career because its just general park maintanence, path laying, hedgecutting etc. Its not provided me with any skills that i will find particulary useful in the conservation field.

I need to locate some organisations as mentioned by grahawk which can provide me with valuable skills, I just dont know where to look.

@ Fire Fox - I was told by a career advisor to have two CV's one for general jobs in the admin and retail areas, and the other for roles more associated with my degree where I can discuss in detail modules etc.

Fire_Fox

Lamby1985 wrote: »

Thank you very much guys. Some good information there. Ive been doing some volunteer work, but I dont think it will progress as a career because its just general park maintanence, path laying, hedgecutting etc. Its not provided me with any skills that i will find particulary useful in the conservation field.

I need to locate some organisations as mentioned by grahawk which can provide me with valuable skills, I just dont know where to look.

So you are committed to the environment, hands on (as well as intellectual = degree), willing to learn from the bottom up, a teamworker (as well as self-motivated = degree) and perhaps slipping in a little networking! Hardly the kind of skills you need in the real world, are they? :rolleyes:

What generic skills, other than specific technical knowledge and abilities, do you need for working in conservation? This list is where you need to start, both for writing a job application and for identifying skills gaps/ opportunities. You must already have research skills - use them! Is there a Transition Towns group in your area? Is your voluntary work with a nature reserve or parklands?

Lamby1985 wrote: »

@ Fire Fox - I was told by a career advisor to have two CV's one for general jobs in the admin and retail areas, and the other for roles more associated with my degree where I can discuss in detail modules etc.

That's absolutely the right advice to change the emphasis. But that wasn't what you said you had done - your previous post divided your alternative CVs into work history and university achievements. If you split it that way you lose half of your transferable skills. Modules are only half of what you should have learned during your degree - time management, research, budgeting, critical thinking ....

Bobby1985

Thank you again.

You raise some good points, and you are right about the type of work I have been doing. It is benefical yes and I am willing to start from the bottom up.

Its called BCTV, its quite a large voluntary organisation.

Configuring a list of generic skills got/needed is great advice, will really help me work out what i need to improve upon etc. Thanks