Be Professional - always.

We’re in a tough job market and it’s not likely to get much better any time soon. So I’m constantly amazed at how ‘amateurish’ many people are when they look for a job.Here’s one example of what I mean; a senior candidate applied for a job that I had advertised. His experience looked relevant so I called him for a chat. However, it turns out that his CV is about 12 months out of date. Apparently he’s been ‘so busy’ he hasn’t had a chance to update it. As I explained to him it just doesn’t create a very professional impression. You want a job with big responsibility and a big salary, but you can’t manage to send out an up-to-date CV. What does that say about you?The real problem is that this happens all the time; candidates sending applications telling me how brilliant they are and then attaching a CV that is clearly out of date. When I question them about this they will often ask me to update their CV for them!The bottom line is this – if you are going to apply for a job make sure you have a CV that is up-to-date. Some people seem to think a CV is a one-time deal that they don’t have to worry about once they’ve written it. The fact is that you should be reviewing your CV regularly, looking at ways in which you can improve it. Successful companies are constantly reviewing and updating and changing their marketing materials. They are never content because they know competition is fierce and if they are not always looking to improve they will lose out to a more dynamic competitor.In the current market you are in competition for that job that you are applying for with hundreds of other candidates. Your CV is your marketing brochure, so what is it saying about you?