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

athensgeorgia

Acc72 wrote: »

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 !).

Unfortunately no, it's a mixture of ages and I didn't have my DOB on there but I guess you can work it out from when I left school.

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.

I've already started re-jigging after everybody's input.

Sambucus_Nigra

athensgeorgia wrote: »

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.

You need to rewrite your CV each and every time you apply for the job. There needs to be a section that says 'Skills/experience' where you list line by line each skill or experience required in the job, and you write a sentence about how and why you meet that.

Such as:
Teamwork. I have worked in teams for x years, in several roles [name one if possible] and usually actively take the role of completer finisher/plant/[refer to one or two Belbin Team roles] and enjoy working as part of a team whenever I can.

Save them all into a word document and you can cut and paste them back in whenever you need them.

athensgeorgia

All this advice is much appreciated, keep it coming.

DOB - put it on or leave it off?

At the moment I have marital status on there, leave it on or take it off?

anamenottaken

athensgeorgia wrote: »

All this advice is much appreciated, keep it coming.

DOB - put it on or leave it off?

At the moment I have marital status on there, leave it on or take it off?

The qualification towards which you are working suggests you want to work in a legal office. They above all should know that discrimination on the grounds of age or being married is not legal.

Leave off both - there must be better use for the space you save.

LisaW123

A couple of things. Maybe this is on the unedited version of your CV but, if not, I think you should state the nature of the business of your last or current employer. On your list of duties, I'd put dealing with telephone enquiries (elaborate by saying from customers and business associates/contacts if this is appropriate to your role) rather than just answering the telephone. I would clarify what PDA's are (ie, put the full description, not the abbreviation). I've no idea what a PDA is so I'm sure other people wont know either.

With regard to your personal profile. First and foremost, I think you need to say a lot more about the skills you have acquired during your working life and your legal secretary course, rather than just focussing on the type of person you are. For example, I have dealt with customer complaints over many years and believe I can confidently handle and diffuse potentially confrontational situations (a skill like this may well be useful in a criminal solicitor’s office).

I would refer to your training, indicate what interests you about this kind of work, what you have learned on your course and what aspects of it you particularly enjoyed, and how you think the skills you have acquired can contribute to the company you are applying to.

A bit of research into the company should tell you more about the main focus of their work and tweak your CV to reflect an interest in this. You should do this for every job you apply for. Eg, I am aware that Joe Bloggs and Partners specialise in conveyancing and I found this a particularly interesting aspect of my course.

Always say something like "I think I would enjoy the challenges and variety of working in a busy legal department”. Instead of just saying, I am hardworking, you could say, “I thrive in a busy environment and am used to working to tight deadlines”.

With regard to the actual personal profile, I would rewrite what you have written’ perhaps something along the following lines:

I believe I have all the necessary skills to fulfill the role of ?legal secretary. Say what these skills are.

I have learned a great deal in my (however long it was) course and I am now eager to put this knowledge into practice.

I am conversant with all aspects of IT, including web based services. I have extensive knowledge of Microsoft Office, including creating databases using (state the name of the product) and spreadsheets (again, name the product ?Excel I would imagine), and am an experienced audio typist (state your speed).

I consider myself to be an optimistic, easygoing individual who gets on well with people from all walks of life. I am confident in my ability to work on my own, but equally enjoy being part of a team.

I hope this makes sense (it's quite hard sticking to a train of thought typing into these little boxes).

anamenottaken

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.

Nothing wrong with using "that" in the OP's sentence.
Nothing wrong with using "which".
Take your pick.

WestonDave

Don't know if this is helpful but last time I recruited someone I was approached by a training company to see if I would accept CV's from their course students. I eventually got about 5 or 6 and quickly decided that they probably weren't up to it given that I had applicants with longer experience. However I did interview one of them for two reasons. Firstly he'd managed to get a few hours work per week (literally 2 or 3!) in a loosely related field, and secondly instead of 2 line (or non existant) covering letters, he sent in a full page and a bit of A4 explaining his background and why he wanted to work for us. He didn't get the job because he was up against someone with 30 years experience having been made redundant but he got a lot nearer than all the others with very similar CV's. In short your covering letter is not just a "compliments slip" to go with the CV, its a free format opportunity to sell yourself - use it!

FBaby

I think you biggest error was not to make your application personal to the job. You could have been using your cover letter and CV to any applications. Employers, especially when they are likely to receive many applications, want to feel you are prepared to make the extra effort to adapt yours to the job/company you are applying to.

I feel this is especially relevant in this exemple in that your CV doesn't seem to show any direct relevant experience to the job you are applying to. Your letter is your opportunity to sell yourself, to gather what experience they are looking for and justifying how you've gained it in ways that might not be obvious. It is your chance to show your motivation, by informing them of the sacrifices you've made to do this course because you are determined to become a legal secretary.

It is hard work adapting your CV letter to each job, especially when you are still not guaranteed an interview. It can be even more disheartning, but one thing to be sure of, with the current competition for each job, if you do not make that extra step to show them your utter dedication and hard-working approach, your chances of making it to interview is bound to be almost non existant.

Good luck for the future, and don't give up, it is those who keep going who get there in the end, gathering experience with the whole application process along the way.

FBaby

ha ha, two very similar messages posted at the exact same minute!

WestonDave

anamenottaken wrote: »

The qualification towards which you are working suggests you want to work in a legal office. They above all should know that discrimination on the grounds of age or being married is not legal.

Leave off both - there must be better use for the space you save.

And in the real world, employers will find ways to avoid employing women who they think are about to disappear off on maternity leave! In a small organisation without regimented recruitment scoring systems, choices of interview candidates or actual employees comes down to gut feel of the person recruiting so proving discrimination is very difficult - although if you were the only 35 year old married female on your course and all the others got interviews.....