There are three mistakes that candidates within the Automotive sector consistently make when applying for jobs, which prevents them from securing the interviews they deserve, writes Alistair Morris of The CV & Interview Advisors.
Having a generic CV
Most CVs we receive from candidates who are competing for the same type of job look incredibly similar to each other, making it very difficult for the recruiter or hiring manager to decide who to shortlist for interview. For example, if you are introducing yourself at the top of your CV as a ‘XYZ professional’ (where XYZ is a function such as Engineering, Servicing and Repairs or Sales) then you are already missing an opportunity to differentiate yourself from your competition.
Additionally, if you use the same version of your CV to apply for multiple jobs, you are also likely to be less successful than you deserve. Employers usually have a tightly defined set of role requirements and your CV has to match these requirements as closely as possible, which means that you must tailor your CV for each job application.
Not optimising your CV for Applicant Tracking Systems
If your CV hasn’t been written to pass through the Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that recruiters and employers now use to filter job applicants, it really doesn’t matter how good you are at your job because there’s a real risk that your CV will be rejected before a human gets to see it.
You may be surprised at what ATS look for; most people will know that key words and phrases are important but do you know which words and phrases to use? Most candidates in the Automotive sector get this spectacularly wrong! These days even the titles of the sections of your CV can influence whether ATS pick up the right content from your CV; yes, that’s right, the section headings on your CV actually matter! Think of them as digital signposts, pointing ATS in the right direction.
Not embracing LinkedIn
As well as job boards, recruiters and hiring managers use LinkedIn to source candidates and to perform due-diligence on individuals shortlisted for interview. Your profile must perform two key roles: firstly, it needs to reinforce any message that your CV has already presented to recruiters or hiring managers; secondly, it needs to attract the interest of recruiters or hiring managers that may be searching for someone like you right now! Many candidates remain invisible to recruiters and hiring managers because their LinkedIn profile content is weak and ineffective.
A poor LinkedIn profile often exhibits one or more of these attributes: no photo or a ‘bad’ photo; not having any recommendations; profile content that was largely copied and pasted from the individual’s CV. A well-written LinkedIn profile is quite different from a well-written CV!
If you would like to learn how to write a high-impact, interview winning LinkedIn profile that dovetails with your CV, you can register for our upcoming free webinar here:
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