Job seeking at 60+ 23 January at 4:21PM in Employment, jobseeking & training 11 replies 685 views

eamon

Hello Folks

I won't bore you all with the details as why I'm seeking work at 60+.

Anway I have now encountered Applicant Tracking Software (aka ATS, basically a tool for lazy employment agencies & HR people) and I need to understand & implement counter actions in my job search. I know about key words & phrases and really need to get my stuff together sooner rather than later.

I have found a couple of web sites that will compare my various CV's against a job description and they are scary in pointing out how poorly I measure up and right now that is stopping me applying. No point in applying if my CV can't get past the AI screening. The two sites that I used had basic free versions and they do work to an extent but a huge amount of info was hiding behind paywalls. As you can guess they are US based and charge in US$ and I'm not keen on doing that, yet!

Can anybody recommend a UK based site?

Look forward to replies

Eamon

tizerbelle

There is absolutely no need to spend money on this. 

Read the job advert - see how it is worded, what they are looking for.  Either tweak your CV to show how you meet the job description using phrases that they use e.g. you could have a skills section on the CV that bullets the skills you have that they are looking for e.g.customer service skills, advanced excel capabilities etc etc  or create a cover letter to go with it and just ensure you give examples of what they are looking for.  

tizerbelle

If you do want to spend some money - I can heartily recommend "The 7 Second CV: How to Land the Interview" by James Reed.  You can get it for £5-£10.  It is an easy read with lots of good advice and examples.  

Savvy_Sue

tizerbelle said:

If you do want to spend some money - I can heartily recommend "The 7 Second CV: How to Land the Interview" by James Reed.  You can get it for £5-£10.  It is an easy read with lots of good advice and examples.  

Or you can almost certainly order it from your local library, at least to start with!

MalMonroe

Hi, I just did a quick google of 'how to write a CV' and some helpful links popped up.

Here are just two of them -

https://career-advice.jobs.ac.uk/academic/how-to-write-a-good-cv/

https://jobs.theguardian.com/article/how-to-write-a-cv-video-

Also, it's becoming less and less of a 'thing' now for people over the age of 60 to be looking for jobs. If anyone does mention your age in connection with any employment, that's discrimination and it's not allowed. (acas can advise if that ever does happen).

I'm 72 and have just registered as self employed with HMRC and launched my own internet business.

The world is still your oyster! 

Good luck.  

breaking_free

A mate of mine applied for an IT job (years ago but still relevant) and the list of requirements was both wordy and lengthy. She  created a 2-column table in her cover letter with the requirements on one side and reasons why she met those requirements on the other.

She got the job. The feedback from HR was that they loved her table because it made it so easy for them to match up the job specs to her actual qualifications.

TELLIT01

I had contact from companies similar to those outline by the OP some years ago.  Cold called to say that my CV wasn't up to scratch and they could rewrite it.  They claimed that this would guarantee me job interviews!  I did decline their very kind, if potentially expensive offer.  Why?  Because my CV had been created by an organisation brought in by my employer when a number of redundancies were happening. 

The sites mentioned by the OP won't make any money if they say the CV is brilliant.

MikeJXE

I'm 82 and also looking for a job, nothing to do with money, more about self satisfaction. 

Nothing physical, driving etc

My CV is fit and healthy, never had an accident, done an advanced driver course 

What else is relevant 

I have not come across any payment but I wouldn't pay anyway 

I think maybe when they see date of birth 1940 it's a NO

ACG

You do not need to put your date of birth on a CV. They are also not allowed to ask your age, although if the job entails driving they probably will for insurance purposes. 

GhibliFan

MikeJXE said:

I'm 82 and also looking for a job, nothing to do with money, more about self satisfaction. 

Nothing physical, driving etc

My CV is fit and healthy, never had an accident, done an advanced driver course 

What else is relevant 

I have not come across any payment but I wouldn't pay anyway 

I think maybe when they see date of birth 1940 it's a NO

Best of luck!  If you don't find what you're looking for and you're not bothered about money, don't disregard the idea of local voluntary work, it can be very rewarding.  

pearl123

I'm a couple of years under 60's, but i haven't be in paid work for quite a while. I've been an at home carer.
I'm using this site to 'cherry pick' information. I'm not downloading their templates. 
https://standout-cv.com/pages/key-skills-for-cv
Don't put on your age, or your address on you cv.