Getting webby

I have a mult-media approach to job hunting.

I have my c.v. (resume for any Americans reading this), business cards and a web site.

The web site is quite professional. Using frames in a rather elegant way (I like to think) it displays the skills and experiences I can bring to organisations. It also has some neutral, nice photographs which I clipped from various web sites.

At the bottom of the home page is a little "do not enter here" sign. Putting the cursor over it reveals a "Do not click here" notice. Should one - and one will - click there, it goes to my page of writings and also links to blog sites like this one.

But I reckon people looking at my site for professional (i.e. recruitment) reasons won't notice this link. They'll go straight to the bigger links including one showing a PDF of my c.v.

This is very useful.

Sometimes email fails and when I phone a recruitment agency they haven't received my email. So - whilst still on the phone - I tell them my web site URL and from there they can quickly see an example of my c.v.

This happened today. I spoke with an agency but their system was down so they couldn't retrieve my c.v. from their email inbox. I gave them my web site's URL and they browsed to it and could see my c.v. This way, they could remind themselves of why I wasn't suitable for the role they were advertising.

Bother.

One of the problems was that I'd been out of work for about two years. I explained that I had had a serious accident (intensive care, two weeks in hospital, surgery etc). But the other problem was that my background in IT service management didn't fit their requirements anyway.

Anyway, they still thought my c.v. was good.

Today I applied for two jobs.

Total for this week: eight applications. This is good.

Sorry I didn't have time to be brief

I also completed yesterday's homework. This was to tailor my c.v. to match - as closely as possible - a three page job description I'd been sent for a role in Germany.

At first I found this quite difficult.

I limit my c.v. to two pages. Having been involved in the recruitment process myself as a manager I deplore three pages (or more) on c.v.s. I also know that the more senior you are the shorter your c.v. So I never, ever go over two pages.

This reminds me of the phrase "sorry this letter is so long, I didn't have time to write a short one". Can't remember who said this. Anyway, succinctness takes time.

Eventually I worked out how to fit my tailored "sales message" into the two pages. It's funny, writing a c.v. does require some feel for graphical layouts. Which isn't at all easy when you have double vision.

I then slept on it and got up relatively early (that is, late for most people) to check it again. Then sent it to the agency. An hour later I phone them. They'd received the c.v. and thought it looked fine. Hurrah.