Gutted I've not had an interview, and not sure why

athensgeorgia

Here's the email I sent

Dear Mr Bridge

I am writing to apply for the position of Civil Litigation Secretary that you have recently discussed with my tutor, Anne Willliams.

I have enclosed a copy of my CV and look forward to hearing from you. If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me on the details enclosed.

Yours sincerely





I'm struggling with my CV because I don't have Office on this computer and I'm in work, any suggestions?

LisaW123

Your letter looks fine to me. I would be very careful about posting CV's on a website. If you do, make sure you remove all personal information - DOB, address, contact numbers, email etc.

marybelle01

athensgeorgia wrote: »

Here's the email I sent

Dear Mr Bridge

I am writing to apply for the position of Civil Litigation Secretary that you have recently discussed with my tutor, Anne Willliams.

I have enclosed a copy of my CV and look forward to hearing from you. If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me on the details enclosed.

Yours sincerely


I'm struggling with my CV because I don't have Office on this computer and I'm in work, any suggestions?

LisaW123 wrote: »

Your letter looks fine to me. I would be very careful about posting CV's on a website. If you do, make sure you remove all personal information - DOB, address, contact numbers, email etc.

Far be it from me to come across as the grammar police or anything else - but it doesn't come across as fine to me, and maybe that is part of the reason? And OP - I have taken your name out, I suggest you do the same!

It should be "which you have recently discussed" or "which you recently discussed" (the latter is better), not "that". And "please do not hesitate to contact me on the details enclosed" is not really very good English "as per" instead of "on" would be better, or even just "contact me on the mobile number listed" (or whatever). It also contains no statement supporting your application - unless you added this to your CV then saying nothing about why you want the job or why you think you would be good at it would standardly be in the supporting statement in the covering letter. Just sending a CV can come across as "I am so utterly great that I don't need to sell myself".

As I said, I am not loving the grammar police and keyboard skills are not my forte, but I would guess that both are for a solicitor. I wouldn't discount suggestions others here have made - just adding my two pennies worth in the hope it helps next time.

athensgeorgia

Finally managed it, I've copied and pasted so it's not as neat as the actual CV:

Education

Egerton Park High School September 1992 - July 1997
Egerton Street
Denton

Hyde Clarendon College Basic Food Hygiene Certificate
Clarendon Road March 1998
Hyde


Tameside College ILEX Level 3 Legal Secretary Beaufort Road September 2011 - Present
Ashton-under-Lyne

Qualifications

G.C.S.E Maths Grade B

G.C.S.E English Literature Grade B

G.C.S.E English Language Grade B

G.C.S.E Geography Grade D

G.C.S.E Business Studies Grade C

Basic Food Hygiene Certificate

First Aid Certificate

ILEX Level 3 Legal Secretary Proofreading Certificate

Work History

April 2004 - Present

Supervisor/Trainee Manager
Duties include:

Answering the telephone
Entering the information into a PC
Handling money
Liaising with customers and drivers
General admin duties including filing and faxing
Supervising up to 7 staff members
Staff training
Addressing customer complaints
Reprogramming PDA’s

Personal Profile

I am an outgoing, happy and positive person. I am a hard worker, willing to get involved and get my hands dirty when necessary. I am also loyal and dedicated, especially to any tasks given to me. I am not satisfied until a task is completed to my best ability. I am eager to learn and wish to progress and improve to my utmost potential.

I can navigate the internet with ease and have extensive knowledge of Microsoft Office including creating databases and spreadsheets. I have some experience in audio typing.

Interests

I have recently joined a gym. In my spare time I like to spend time with my family and friends. I also enjoy swimming, reading and cooking.


And then references.

athensgeorgia

marybelle01 wrote: »

Far be it from me to come across as the grammar police or anything else - but it doesn't come across as fine to me, and maybe that is part of the reason? And OP - I have taken your name out, I suggest you do the same!

It should be "which you have recently discussed" or "which you recently discussed" (the latter is better), not "that". And "please do not hesitate to contact me on the details enclosed" is not really very good English "as per" instead of "on" would be better, or even just "contact me on the mobile number listed" (or whatever). It also contains no statement supporting your application - unless you added this to your CV then saying nothing about why you want the job or why you think you would be good at it would standardly be in the supporting statement in the covering letter. Just sending a CV can come across as "I am so utterly great that I don't need to sell myself".

As I said, I am not loving the grammar police and keyboard skills are not my forte, but I would guess that both are for a solicitor. I wouldn't discount suggestions others here have made - just adding my two pennies worth in the hope it helps next time.

It's fine, thanks for telling me. I actually sent it to my lecturer before I emailed it and she said it was perfectly fine.

I thought it was lacking and had no idea what to put or what is expected. I haven't job hunted for nearly a decade and certainly not jobs where you need to send a CV and covering letter they were always unskilled with a basic application form.

Acc72

athensgeorgia wrote: »

Everybody else on the course who applied has been called in for interview except me.

Although you don't say how many applied, if EVERY other person who applied got an interview then there is a problem - and you need to find out what it is.

If I were you, my first port of call would be to speak with your lecturer. They may even be able to speak with the firm on your behalf and you may get a more candid "off the record" response.

Eg. if the issue is age (yes, I know this shouldn't be an issue, but lets not be naive) - i.e. you are 35 and all the other students are 18 then at least you know (although you can't do much about it !).

If you speak to the firm direct, they may just give you a generic "other people fitted the profile" or whatever.


On second thoughts, the above is the second thing I would do - the first thing would be to remove all personal information from your earlier posts.

Sambucus_Nigra

Ok. I'm going to be honest. If that's what you want.

Don't take any of it the wrong way.

A - your intro email is boring - it doesn't tell me that you are in any way interested in the job but just that your tutor told you to apply.

B - your CV tells me nothing about what skills you actually have that are to do with the job. Where is the bit that matches and explains all the skills in the job description to the ones that you have?

marybelle01

athensgeorgia wrote: »

It's fine, thanks for telling me. I actually sent it to my lecturer before I emailed it and she said it was perfectly fine.

I thought it was lacking and had no idea what to put or what is expected. I haven't job hunted for nearly a decade and certainly not jobs where you need to send a CV and covering letter they were always unskilled with a basic application form.

I would lay bets your lecturer hasn't job hunted for a decade either! I obviously don't know what the others said or did that was better, and I recruit in social work, but quite a few admin/ secretarial roles at times and precision and accuracy is very important, so there must be some similarities. And this wouldn't have cut it for me if I am really honest. In our jobs we produce job specs that tell you what we are looking for and we expect you to give us examples of why you are our perfect candidate. I know not all employers do this, but many of them will expect a similar approach that tells them why you would be perfect for the job they have. The supporting statement is always a clincher. If two of you have similar qualifications it's going to come down to that to decide who gets the interview. Does your college offer any job search support or courses? Lots do. And you now have lots of questions to ask them for help with. So all isn't lost if it's getting you towards the next interview. Just don't give up. Good luck!

Kynthia

On your CV I would start with the personal profile as a way of introducing yourself. It might be good if you try to evidence your attributes a little more, eg I'm a hard worker and often stay late to ensure the work is finished on time. I would then have your work experience as it's what most employers want to see first. Try to tailor the activities you did to the role you are applying for and only include what is relevant or impressive.

Next is qualifications with most recent first, and then education. If it's still under 2 sides of A4 with clear headings and spacings then include the Interests. Look online for many sites giving advice and example CVs.

athensgeorgia

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Ok. I'm going to be honest. If that's what you want.

Don't take any of it the wrong way.

A - your intro email is boring - it doesn't tell me that you are in any way interested in the job but just that your tutor told you to apply.

B - your CV tells me nothing about what skills you actually have that are to do with the job. Where is the bit that matches and explains all the skills in the job description to the ones that you have?

I guess I have my answers now, everything needs tweaking.

Well at least I'll have all my qualifications to add on when I pass my course, plus I've got a few months to do the tweaking seeing as though I wasn't planning on real job hunting until after August.