Improve your CV and increase your chances

21 Jul

3 mins read

Job Seeker candidates cv resources tips Tips & Advice

As a Senior Consultant at Madison recruitment, I see a lot of CV’s in a number of different formats. It seems that everyone is giving out different advice on the best way to format a CV. At Madison we have a specific template that we use when sending your information to clients and it has proven successful over and over again. Below are some tried and tested tips on CV writing, which I’ve acquired over my 15 years of experience as a recruiter.

Purpose

Before you can even begin to put together a good CV you need to understand its purpose.

A CV is a snapshot of your career history
It is used to evaluate your suitability for a specific role that you have applied for
A manager or recruiter will be comparing CV’s and will select those that most closely demonstrate the candidate’s ability to effectively perform the task required

Structure

With the purpose in mind, your CV should be structured in a way that is logical to the reader, and specifically highlights the evidence that demonstrates your ability to do the task.

You can use the SMART principles for this.

Specific: What did you actually physically do specifically, how did you manage/coordinate/lead?
Measurable: If you had KPI’s, what where they; what volume did you work with? Processing 10 invoices per day is not the same as processing 150 invoices per day.
Achievements: what did you accomplish in your role? What was your proudest moment in that role?
Reasonable: Assume the person reading your CV has no idea what your job is.
Timely: The most recent and relevant experience should be at the top and should be specifically tailored to reflect the skills required for the particular role that you are applying to. An easy way to do this is to use the advert/job description as a basis for the skills you want to highlight first under each job. If you have roles that are not relevant to the job you are applying for (you are a lawyer but worked in a cafe through Uni), then do not put down any tasks as they are irrelevant.

Bullet Points

I have heard conflicting advice on bullet points, but I can tell you, when you have 100 CV’s to screen and you have to scan over a story style CV, there is a good chance that even the best recruiters will miss important information about your experience. Bullet points control the eye of the reader and ensure that they are reading the most important information first. This will increase your chances of being selected for the next stage of the process.

E.g: Bullet points

Control the eye of the reader
Highlight the most important information first
Increase your chances of being selected

If you think your resume needs some work, and would like to see an example of our Madison Template, please feel free to contact me– sarah.tasker@madison.co.nz

Sarah Tasker

Manager - Business Support Auckland

A bit about me I joined the Madison family in September 2013, after working in healthcare recruitment for 13 years. I specialise in Administration, Reception, Sales & Marketing, Finance and Executive roles. I…

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Market trends in the accounting & finance industry

Madison Recruitment

17 Jul

4 mins read

Recruitment Industry Accounting Accounting & Finance jobs contracting employment finance market market report

Observing the landscape as we sit more than midway through 2016, it’s very safe to say that the accounting & finance market continues to flourish. There is a big appetite to hire all-round, but the largest demand comes from organisations seeking positions in a mid-tier, $80 to $100k bracket. Madison has seen a 20% increase in roles at this level in the last 12 months. When you take a look at what’s happening on job boards, it echoes our experience, with the majority of advertised Accounting & Finance positions sitting within this band.

There are many interrelated factors contributing to this high demand, here are just a few:

We still see the traditional drop-off when Grads with a couple of years of experience depart our shores for their OE, leaving open roles behind them (whether or not this will change given recent Brexit results is definitely deserving of its own post!).
Generational differences play a part as Gen Y professionals, who have high skill levels and expectations to match, seek to change jobs more frequently than their predecessors.
Generalised growth in other industries has had a knock-on effect, meaning simply more positions are available.

With unemployment rates at their lowest in six years, it’s certainly not plain sailing for those businesses looking to secure future talent. At Madison, our focus in the mid-range is on mapping talent location in the market and building our pipeline. If you are an employer recruiting in this space our recommendation would be to do the same – or take advantage of ours, of course!

If you are a Financial Accountant, Management Accountant, Commercial or Financial Analyst or other industry professional job hunting in the $80 to $100k space, or you are looking for Accounting or Finance work within the construction industry, then you’ll have it easier than most, and chances are you’ll have a number of opportunities available to you. In contrast however, if you are at the more experienced end of the spectrum, looking for a role at $120k plus, you’ll be faced with much more competition, and will have to work that bit harder to secure a new position. The number of opportunities in this space has been increasing but at a much slower pace than the mid-range.

A recent conversation with an experienced CFO seeking contracting opportunities at the high end of the market, gave us some insight into the experiences of senior candidates:

For each role I have applied to, there’s been at least 20 other applicants, all of which have incredible pedigrees and experience. On many occasions I have found myself having to be incredibly competitive in terms of hourly rate. Gone are the days when technical capability went all the way, now it’s just as important to have the right attitude and culture fit for the environment. With all this in mind though, the general feel out there is pretty good. I have had some really meaty projects to get my teeth stuck into in the last 12 months. I really love being able to make a strategic difference in an organisation; and I’ve had some real opportunities to do this. Organisations really didn’t want to pay for this level of effort a few years ago.

If you are a candidate operating in this space, you will need to ensure you are marketing yourself effectively, and of course networking with professionals in your field. In a relatively small market such as Auckland, it’s particularly important to forge strong, enduring relationships with a handful of recruiters that you know and trust, and have relationships with the organisations you are interested in working for. When you interview with a recruiter, remember it is a two-way street and don’t be afraid to quiz the recruiter about their tenure in the industry, who they work with and how they will go about assisting you with your job search.

Whether you are a candidate or an employer, the good news is that the generally positive outlook in the market means we should continue to see growth in all areas. The bad news is the continued pressure that this growth will put on an already shrinking pool of skilled candidates in the mid-range bracket.

Market trends in the accounting & finance industry, in Auckland, and throughout the country, form one section of Madison’s inaugural Employment Market report, now released in digital format. Click here to access Madison’s NZ Employment Market 2016 report, to obtain your exclusive copy and read more.

Madison Recruitment

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