The Advice Zone

Writing Your CV

Please give your CV some thought and spend some time on getting it right – it may make all the difference in getting the job you really want.

Most importantly, always thoroughly proof-read your CV or ask someone to do it for you before sending it to either an agency or a potential employer.

>	Make sure your CV is well laid out so that it is immediately easy to read and understand.
>	Use concise, unambiguous sentences; avoid exaggerations and a flowery writing style.
>	Do not make false claims; honesty is always the best policy.
>	Bullet points are useful to highlight relevant skills and experience and help break up continuous text.
>	Depending on your experience, two – three pages is an ideal length.
>	Stress your past accomplishments and the skills you used to get the results you achieved.
>	Focus on information which is relevant to your own career goals.
>	If you are making a career change, stress what skills are transferable to support your new career objectives.
>	Put your highest level of education first.
>	Put your most recent job first and work backward chronologically in time.
>	Ensure all dates are accurate.
>	Explain any long career gaps (i.e. travelling, maternity leave etc.) these will only need to be explained to our clients.
>	Don’t change tenses back and forth.
>	Describe what you did 90% of the time, not 10% of the time.
>	Avoid references to hobbies, activities and memberships which are not business related or have no relevance to your current career goals or job objectives.
>	If you are preparing a CV for a specific vacancy, explain why you would be good at the position for which you are applying. This is a brief summary of your significant technical and managerial skills (where appropriate). Include accomplishments and soft skills such as team player, dependable and successfully meeting deadlines. E.g. – Achieved a fundraising target of £100,000 within one year. Provide details pertaining to your current salary, benefits and your salary expectation.

Interview Techniques

General hints and guidelines

Think about yourself

It is important before an interview to think about all the reasons why you are attending it and what you have to offer the organisation. Be ready to discuss both short and long term career goals in general terms.

Reasons for leaving

Prepare to discuss the reasons you left your previous jobs. If it was for a better opportunity, explain how it was an opportunity. If you left involuntarily, present the reason in the most positive light you can. Make sure your responses are honest and be positive.

Research the job

Before attending any interview it is a good idea to research the organisation and familiarise yourself with the following:

>	Size of organisation, number of employees.
>	History, how long have they been operating – do they have any affiliated organisations or belong to an umbrella group?
>	General information about their services/products/aims etc.
>	Major competitors or other organisations operating in the same field.
>	Job description – understand the skills required for the position.
>	Have some well thought-out questions that would help further your understanding of the organisation e.g. How do you see the organisation developing over the next year/three years?
>	Feedback to your consultant how you thought the interview went and tell us whether you would be interested in the job if it were to be offered to you.

Points to consider throughout the interview

>	Be prepared with answers to the traditional interview questions. Rehearse your answers with a friend who will give you honest feedback about the content of your answer and body language.
>	Give honest answers with a positive tone.
>	Concentrate on the employer’s needs, not yours.
>	Emphasise how you can help the organisation achieve its goals.
>	Describe your past responsibilities and accomplishments.
>	Explain why you approached projects in a certain ways.
>	Explain how the skills you bring will benefit the organisation.
>	Don’t downplay your accomplishments or attribute them to luck.
>	Be specific in your answers. Avoid rambling or getting off on a tangent.
>	Ask for clarification if you are unsure of the question.
>	Ask the employer if they think it would be helpful to add information about skills or experiences that you believe are relevant but which have not been covered during the interview. Take responsibility for communicating your strengths. Don’t rely on the interviewer to pull it out of you.
>	Consider the types of skills and characteristics you think the employer needs in the applicant to be successful in the job for which you are attending an interview, e.g. attention to detail, diplomacy, leadership, persistence, problem solving and planning, stress management, team building, technical.
>	Once you have determined what you think the employer will be looking for, write out examples of situations that showed your skills in those areas. Explain your past successes, the more you can clearly describe the experience, the people involved, the challenge and the solutions, the more you’ll stand out in the interviewer’s mind.

The traditional interview - sample questions

Sometimes interviews follow a more traditional format. The following is a list of typical interview questions which may arise in one form or another. It is a good idea to reflect on the sort of answer you might give before an interview but it is unwise to learn answers off pat as you risk coming across as unnatural and not genuine. It is a good idea to back your answers up with examples taken from your own work experience.

>	Why do you want this job?
>	What qualities do you think this job requires?
>	Why do you want to work for this organisation?
>	What have you got to contribute?
>	What can we offer you that your previous organisation cannot offer?
>	How long have you been looking for a new job?
>	What do you know about this organisation?
>	What interests you about this organisation?
>	What are you looking for in a new job?
>	What would be your ideal job?
>	What sorts of jobs are you considering at the moment?
>	What did you do on a day to day basis?
>	What do you not like about the job?
>	How did you make a difference to your last organisation?
>	How successful are you?
>	What was your greatest success and how did you achieve it?
>	What has been your biggest failure?
>	How could you improve yourself?
>	How did you progress in your last job?
>	How do you handle criticism?
>	Do you need other people around to stimulate you?
>	Are you accepted into a team quickly?
>	Give me an example of when you took initiative to solve a problem?
>	What motivates you?
>	What problems did you encounter and how did you overcome them?
>	Do you feel you are ready to take on greater responsibilities?
>	What are you like under pressure?
>	How many hours are you prepared to work?
>	What are your career goals?
>	How did you get on with your last manager/colleagues?
>	Are you competitive?
>	Are you competitive?
>	How do you work with others?

Questions from you

Try to think of some questions to ask at interview. If you have researched the company well, you will be able to come up with questions concerning the organisation. You may also like to find out more about your responsibilities in the role, the organisation’s long and short term aims, training opportunities, overall organisational structure and what they would hope you achieve in the first six months.

Graduate Advice

Now that you’ve said goodbye to the Student Union and you have your degree result maybe you have a clear idea of what you want to do for a graduate job. On the other hand maybe you don’t have a clue. Often the most difficult part of searching for a graduate job is actually knowing where to start.

If you are clear about what you want from a graduate job you’ll probably find it quite easy to decide which vacancies have your name on. Sometimes the choices and options you have available are so wide that they can seem impossible to make.

Here at Link Recruitment we provide career advice and assistance to Graduates for opportunities available within the area of finance.

It is important that you take a step back and don’t just start applying frantically for the first graduate jobs you see. Begin by evaluating your skills for the job market. Do you feel you have a lot to offer future employers? And what kind of graduate job will keep you satisfied?

Points you may want to consider about yourself

>	What kind of working environment do you enjoy?
>	What are you good at?
>	What are your priorities (work, life, money)?
>	How do you interact with other people?
>	What areas of employment may interest you?
>	Have you done your research into various graduate jobs?
>	What are your personal circumstances?
>	Are you making your own choices or just taking the advice of other people?

Review your career skills

>	Evaluate your skills and experiences – consider your non-academic achievements, such as computer skills and languages.
>	Take advantage of gaining experience by pursuing opportunities to increase your skills with additional courses, more extracurricular activities or work placements.
>	What career skills are you missing? These sorts of things look great on graduate-job applications.
>	Prepare examples – you need to make sure you can demonstrate your career skills. Write a list of solid examples of your experiences.

If you find yourself working in a mundane position following graduation it may be worth doing some relevant part-time work to improve your skills and make yourself as employable as possible. Perhaps you could do a summer placement with a company you are interested in.

How we can help

If you know what qualifications, skills and experiences you have to offer potential employers, your next step is to figure out what your options are. To assist you with that we are on hand to talk you through such matters and guide you into suitable employment.

Location:

Sector:

Contract Type:

Title : Company & Trust / New Business Administrator
Description :

Reporting to the Head of Corporate and Fiduciary (IOM and UK) the main purpose of this role will be to provide administrative services to Companies and Trusts managed by the group along with the development of existing and new business.

The candidate will be required to take on a portfolio of complex Company and Trust structures, working primarily without ongoing direct supervision.

Accountabilities will include:

Direct client and intermediary contact together with all responsibilities required within an administration role.

Experience & Skills Required:

Experience of the UKs regulatory regime and involvement with AIM or PLUS listed companies desirable but not essential.

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 10 years experience of multi jurisdictional Company and Trust work and will have completed or be working towards a recognised industry qualification.

Experience and understanding of ongoing compliance matters.

Ability to meet requisite deadlines as required.

Whilst not a prerequisite, a second language ability would be an advantage, especially Italian and/or Spanish.

Salary to be commensurate with experience and ability plus competitive package. This role is to be London based.
Salary :Negotiable
Location : UK
Vacancy Type :Permanent
Job Sector :CSP
Job Ref No*20564
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Writing Your CV

Interview Techniques

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Graduate Advice

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