It’s Not About Technical Skills Anymore! – 5 Tips on Job Hunting with Patrick Phillips
The pandemic has revolutionized our lives, forcing us to change the way we act and see the world. We had to say goodbye to old habits and embrace new ones. We had to adjust, keep up with numbers, colors, and restriction levels. Some of us have been lucky enough to keep our jobs but many are still suffering the economic downturn.
This year EPALE has encouraged a conversation among adult educators and practitioners on the work skills required by the current labor market. For this reason, EPALE Ireland wants to bring 5 tips that our newest ambassador, Patrick Phillips, shared during a radio interview with NearFM.
Patrick brings extensive experience on career guidance and recruitment to the EPALE community. He is currently working as Student Counselor at Trinity Business School and enjoys writing about how psychology applies to career development.
5 Useful Tips
- What is the best length for a CV?
Less is more. Did you know that recruiters spend on average 15 to 20 seconds when scanning a CV? Technology has made it easier and quicker to apply for jobs. In fact, with a simple click we can apply for as many jobs as we want. Now, put yourself in recruiters’ shoes, how many CVs do they receive per job offering? Hundreds. Keep your CV as short as possible, maximum 2 pages Patrick suggests.
- How to capture recruiters’ attention in 2 pages CV?
Write a summary. When publishing a vacant position, companies set a list of requirements. Patrick advises to highlight those we consider the most important and answer to those specific qualifications. The first 2 sentences of the summary will capture recruiters’ attention and make them want to know more. Write in plain English.
- What is the best CV design?
Company’s use Applicant Tracking System, a software that reads CV’s. Sometimes the software might not recognize the layout of your CV. For this reason, Patrick recommends designing CV’s in a word document.
- How does LinkedIn help job seekers?
According to Patrick, LinkedIn is the perfect tool for reaching out to people. When you find a job offer that interests you, reach out to the staff of the company or the recruiter via LinkedIn. Ask questions about the company and suggestions on the role, this will help in designing an impactful CV!
- What is the ‘WANTED’ skill employers look for?
Emotional Intelligence. During interviews employers ask questions like: How do you deal with a difficult customer? Or tell me what your strengths and weaknesses are. These are called ‘soft skills’. For instance, a customer enters the shop to complain about the product purchased. It is not IQ, Patrick says, that is going to help in this moment. It is the way we stay calm and pay attention to the customer’s frustration. Once the customer is finished explaining their frustrations, a solution can be proposed. The way we respond demonstrates our emotional intelligence. Employers want to know this aspect of a candidate’s personality because if we have soft skills it means we will likely be an employee that can handle pressure, knows about their strengths and weaknesses, and embraces challenges. The good news is emotional intelligence can be learned!
The pandemic has had major consequences on the economic stability of many countries, resulting in many losing their jobs. EPALE’s thematic focus on ‘work skills for empowering adults to learn and participate’ stresses on the need of addressing this topic in the adult learning community.
In this radio interview, Patrick shares 5 tips we can all use to optimize the job hunt. The first four can be implemented/practiced in a fairly straight forward way. But have we thought enough about emotional intelligence? This particular skill opens a door to a world of emotionally intelligent possibilities.
Stay tuned for more on emotional intelligence!
To listen to the full interview, click HERE.
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