How to Write an Effective Job Description Putting some time and thought into your job description is an essential part of your recruitment process. Not only is this one of the first things a potential candidate will see about your business, it’s also your new starter’s guide to succeeding in their new role. So it's a pretty important document. However, we’ve tried to make this process as easy as possible by outlining exactly what your job description needs to contain in an easy to follow guide.What a job description should include:An overview of the job in a few sentences, summarising the main responsibilities.An overview of the company, which sells your business as much as possible (half a page of text here is good!), you can include things like values, turnover, growth, culture etc. Organisational structure for the team or business (depending how big you are).Key activities - you can split this down under different headings if you wish i.e. if it were a Supply Planning Manager you could split the role into “planning activities”, “management activities” and “wider supply chain activities” for example.Measures of success in the role i.e. what KPIs will this person be responsible for delivering, examples would include forecast accuracy at XX%, On Time In Full at XX% etc. Required/desirable experience, skills and education – again you can break this down until each heading with a few bullet points.You can break this list down into “required” and “desirable” as well, as you probably won’t get 100% of this list from one candidate.Desired competencies and behaviours – this should be an explanation of softer skills you need in the role and an explanation of what you are looking for, examples would be stakeholder management, planning and organisation, resilience, creativity, strategic, hands on etc. Interview process – a short overview of how stages and what to expect, include things like testing and presentations etc. if they are likely to happen.What we offer – you don’t necessarily need to include salary information here, but you can do! List your benefits and reasons to be interested in your business here.Progression – remember this is a sales document, if you can, try and give an overview of what typical progression could look like from this role, be it a step up or a move to a different team or office. How to use the job descriptionYou’ve created a brilliant job description, great! Now it’s time to make use of it. Create a job advert that you can advertise on you company website and job boards using the ‘overview of the job’, ‘company information’ (a shortened version), ‘key activities’, ‘required experience’, ‘skills and education’, ‘desired competencies and behaviours’ and ‘what we offer’ sections. You should also share the job description with your HR/Talent team and everyone else involved in the process (including recruitment partners if you are using them). Lastly, you should use the job description to create the interview process – you have a list of required and desired experience plus competencies and skills, how are you going to test for those at interview? Create some interview questions and distribute those and the plan to everyone involved. That’s it! If you’d like any more support with writing great job description or other aspects of the recruitment process, I would be more than happy to help! You can reach me on lucy.morgan@pod-talent.com and 0203 627 2420. ​​

​Optimise your LinkedIn profile with these 10 tipsSo, you’re looking for a new role and you’ve probably updated your CV, shared it on job boards, contacted recruiters and started applying to roles. However, you may have missed an important step in your job search? Reviewing your LinkedIn profile! Recruiters and internal talent teams spend a lot of time actively sourcing candidates on LinkedIn, so you are missing a trick if you profile isn't up to date and optimised. So here's a guide to help you.​Here’s how: Open your settings so potential employers can see your name on search results - Go to ‘me’ - settings & privacy - Edit your public profile - on the right panel tick the ‘Your profile’s public visibility’ button and choose from the options below. The more visible your profile is the more likely you are to stand out. Optimise your profile for search - Put yourself in the frame of mind of a hiring manager or recruiter, what keywords would they be searching for to find the ideal person for that job? Include these in your job title and all over your profile (but still so it makes sense of course!) and make sure you include all your relevant work experience and employment datesFollow companies you are interested in and also follow recruitment companies who advertise in your space and who have a good reputation in the industry. You'll also get to see the roles they post in your feed as well. Don't forget to sign up for job alerts too!Use a professional image that you would want your future employer to see (it also increases search results!). It’s an obvious one, but nevertheless worth mentioning; don’t use a selfie from a drunken night out. Also, make sure the photo looks like you and not what you looked like 10 years ago!Include education and languages - If you speak a second language (or maybe even more than that) make sure you include it, employers are impressed with bilingual candidates. And who knows, they might just need someone who speaks fluently Swedish! Make sure your contact details are visible if you are actively looking. Add your CV onto your profile – you can add documents in the “about” section. Of course, only do this if you are happy for a range of people to see your CV and if people know you are actively looking. Build your network - Connecting with industry peers will not only increase the amount of content you receive in your newsfeed, but mean you also have access to news and updates relevant to the roles you’re interested in. Participating in discussions and commenting on relevant posts is a great way for you to build your network and form relationships. Check your profile regularly - Don’t let a message from a recruiter or potential employer sit in your inbox for days! It might be worth downloading the LinkedIn app so you get notifications straight away.Ask your boss (or ex-boss!) or other important stakeholders to give you recommendations on LinkedIn - It’s also okay to ask your friends, however, from a hiring manager’s/recruiter’s perspective, think about the credibility of the people you are asking. ​Follow these tips and you will quickly see improvements in how often your profile is viewed, which should ultimately help in your job search. Good luck! ​

A guide to help you improve your chances of a successful interview​Interviews can be nerve wracking, and they aren’t an everyday activity. Remembering what you do in your role day to day can be more challenging than you think when put on the spot, so preparing well is important. In fact, the number one reason people are rejected at interview stage is for reasons relating to being under prepared! ​This guide will cover:Step 1 – ResearchStep 2 – JD & CV comparisonStep 3 - Preparing for a competency based interviewStep 4 – Tests and presentationsStep 5 – Questions you can askStep 6 – Tips on managing nerves ​Step 1 – ResearchResearch your interviewers – check out their LinkedIn profiles, it’ll give you some insight into their remit and their background.Check your journey – make sure you know where you’re going and how you’re getting there and plan your leaving time, leaving room for error – being late for an interview is unprofessional and will make you more nervous and stressed before it starts.Research the company – visit their website, read the ‘About Us’, ‘Careers’ and recent news pages in detail until you become familiar with them (also google recent news stories). If the business sells a product or is a retailer, try and get out and see them in real life in store. Try and find out what type of interview it’s going to be and how you should prepare. Ask your recruiter or whoever has contacted you to arrange the interview for this information.Dress code – find out what it is before you go, you don’t want to over/under-dress for an interview as it’ll make you more nervous, so it’s best to ask. Ask if you need to bring anything to your interview – some people like you to bring a CV or sometimes security gates will need your ID, so it’s best to ask just in case. ​Step 2 – JD & CV comparisonRead your CV and make sure you know exactly what is on there! You are likely to be asked questions relating to your achievements and responsibilities. Start to think about your day-to-day responsibilities in each role, your achievements, things you are proud of, projects you’ve worked on etc. This will bring these things to the forefront of your memory, helping you to recall them on demand. Read the JD in detail. From this, you can compare your CV and experience to the job description. You should try and think of tangible examples of where your experience matches the job description i.e. if the JD says “responsible for a 3PL tender process” and you have done this, go through the process you went through, steps you took, what went well, what the outcome was. Again, to bring this information to the forefront of your memory.If you don’t have experience of any of the responsibilities, don’t panic! Instead, think of transferable skills you have or similar projects you’ve worked on. ​Step 3 – Preparing for a competency-based interview​A competency-based interview will ask for specific examples of your experience or will challenge you to consider how you would approach a task. This may seem simple, but if you’re not prepared (and the interview has made you slightly nervous) you are likely to get a blank mind! To start, you want to think of some examples of the following things:Your greatest achievement Projects you’ve worked onChanges you’ve implementedProcesses you’ve implementedManagement successes Challenges you’ve overcomeThings about yourself you’ve improved Cost savings you’ve made ​Next, you want to use a structure to put these examples together. We recommend using the STAR technique:S = situation – give a short overview of the background of the situation you were inT = task – give an overview of your task within the situation. What did you have to achieve? A = action – talk through what you did within this situation. The interviewer will be looking for information about you and what you did and why, so remember to talk about yourself in the first personR = result – what was the outcome of your actions relating to this task? Use tangible, measurable results to give this part of the answer.Your answer should take around a few minutes to give, so it’s not too long but also isn’t too short. Quite often in competency-based interviews, the feedback is that someone didn’t give enough depth, so make sure you follow this process to give a thorough yet succinct overview. Also, it may feel silly, but practise this out loud if you can. ​Step 4 – Tests or presentations​Testing​Verbal, numerical and logical reasoning tests are increasingly common at interviews and can in some cases be a pass/fail consideration in the recruitment process. Below is some advice to help you out:Practise is essential! Most of us haven’t done a test since school so we see a dramatic difference in pass rates between candidates who practise and take tests seriously and those who dive straight in Remember to do tests in a quiet location where you won’t be disturbed. Most tests are timed, and you can’t start and stop them Work methodically through questions, again most are timed so figure out how much time you have per question and try and stick to thatAccuracy is often measured, so if you don’t know an answer, or you are running out of time, it wont necessarily benefit you just to guess! Here are some helpful links to practise tests:Numericalhttps://www.graduatesfirst.com/numerical-reasoning/http://www.cebglobal.com/shldirect/en/assessment-advice/example-questions/numerical-reasoninghttp://www.practiceaptitudetests.com/numerical-reasoning-tests/?utm_expid=16273815-19.kVPGtK53T3q0uJSYeI7C_w.0&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.practiceaptitudetests.com%2Fnumerical-reasoning-tests%2Fhttps://www.assessmentday.co.uk/aptitudetests_numerical.htm#freeVerbalhttps://www.graduatesfirst.com/verbal-reasoning/http://www.cebglobal.com/shldirect/en/assessment-advice/example-questions/verbal-reasoninghttps://assess.shlonline.eu/default?action=url&key=fb5e9d5bbf4e0ahttps://www.assessmentday.co.uk/aptitudetests_verbal.htmhttps://www.practiceaptitudetests.com/verbal-reasoning-tests/Logical reasoninghttps://www.assessmentday.co.uk/logic/free/LogicalReasoningTest1/https://www.shldirect.com/en/assessment-advice/example-questions/inductive-reasoninghttps://www.graduatesfirst.com/logical-reasoning/​Presentations​Presentations are often used in recruitment processes, so here are some top tips:Read the question and review all data given, you need to make sure you answer the topic fully and that you don’t fail to use any helpful info you’ve been givenFind out HOW you should present your presentation at interview – can you email it beforehand? Should you bring a laptop or a USB? Should you print it?Get someone to review your presentation for you – spelling mistakes, incorrect numbers, misplaced animations or general issues with the look of the presentation can work against you Don’t create slides full of text! Use words, images and graphics on a slide and have notes to talk around them If you have relevant experience in tackling something you are presenting on, don’t forget to use the opportunity to sell your skills for the role Practise presenting before you go – make sure your presentation takes as long as you have been given, try not to be short of time and don’t go over time​Step 5 – Asking questionsDuring your interview you will get an opportunity to ask questions, so you should have some prepared. Rather than asking the basics (salary range, benefits, working hours etc.) you can use this opportunity to ask some great questions that will help you learn more about the company and the opportunity.Great questions will be about the culture, the people, management, processes and things they want to improve, here are some examples:​If I was hired into this role, what would success look like in my first 6-12 months?What are your current challenges as a (supply chain/marketing/finance/logistics etc.) division? (make this relevant to the role of course!)If you could make one major improvement to your business, what would it be?What characteristics make someone a good cultural fit to the business?What are your company (or team) goals for the next 12 months?​Step 6 - Managing nerves​Getting nervous about an interview is totally normal, so don’t worry too much! Most people get nervous and in some cases, can help you perform better. However, here are some top tips for overcoming nerves so you don’t lose focus:Make sure you are prepared – the more prepared you are the better you will feel about the interviewPrep in plenty of time for the interview – finish prepping the night before and don’t do anything more on the day of the interview or leave it all to the last minuteArrive on time – running late or rushing will only make you more nervous. Arrive early so you can have some time to collect your thoughts in a nearby coffee shop or in the carpark! Make small talk – when you’re collected from reception, you’ll have the time to chat with your interviewer, this is a great time to break the ice and warm you up for your interviewWaffling – often happens when you’re nervous! Do not fear silence in interviews, if you need a second to think, do that, don’t speak to think. Also, if you find you’ve been waffling on for a while just stop and say, “so to answer your question” and wrap up your answerMind blank – again, this will happen when you’re nervous. But don’t panic! Pause and take a breath to gather your thoughts or ask for clarification on a question if you don’t fully understand it. ​That’s it – best of luck with your interview! ​

How to write a CV Nobody likes writing their CV. Well not many people do anyway. It’s difficult, time consuming and requires some serious thought. You must recall your old work experiences, some of which are good memories, some of which are bad and some you will really struggle to remember! As a result, we think everyone could do with some help, but not everyone has access to an expert. You can use this section as your sounding board. We hope it will help you think about how best to represent yourself on paper and ease the pain of writing your CV.First things first, get in the right frame of mind. This is going to take some time, don’t try and rush your CV. Treat it like an important piece of work and lock yourself away in a quiet place with enough time to dedicate to it. Before you start, you can also download a useful template hereHow to structure a CV:Ok… This is the hard part. Let’s work through putting this together:1. Firstly, you’ll need your name and contact details at the top of a CV, include your address (or location i.e. Kings Cross, London), your mobile number and your email address2. Then you should open with a summary, a few punchy bullet points to engage the reader immediately including:Summary of your experience i.e. 5 years’ experience in FMCG procurement across both direct and indirect category procurement covering HR, Marketing, Food Ingredients and Logistics across both the UK and Europe.Specific skills i.e. experience using SAP and Ariba software and fluent in English and French Education or relevant qualifications i.e. Masters’ degree in Supply Chain from Cranfield UniversitySummary of an achievement i.e. Delivered savings of £5m during 2018 through strategic redesign of Food ingredient category plan across EMEAAnother achievement if possible, i.e. completed Kraft Heinz’s graduate scheme in 2012 and was promoted twice in the three years followingA summary of your career aspirations i.e. specifically interested in a packaging category management role in a business which values sustainable procurement solutions 3. Next, work experience:Work in reverse chronological order, your most recent role should be topList your employer, dates of employment (month/year) and job titleIf the business you worked for may not be well known, you could include a quick summary of the business and what they do under thisNext, list your achievements for this role, keep it to 3-4 bullet pointsAchievements need to be tangible i.e. “delivered £5m in savings through a redesign of UK warehouse networks” Then, list your responsibilities, again keep this to 3-4 bullet points and keep them short i.e. “Managing a team of 5 transport planners, responsible for primary distribution across the UK network” 4. Up next is Education and Training, list your qualifications, institute and grades5. Lastly, list additional information you think are important such as:LanguagesIT skills/systems experienceInterests (if you want to)That’s all folks, you have a first draft of a CV! Some useful dos and don’ts for CV writing:DO get someone to proof-read your CV – grammatical and spelling errors don’t land well with potential employersDO make sure your CV is aesthetically pleasing. It should be easy to read and flow well. Don’t use random fonts (or fonts that are too small or too large), colours or images, it’s unnecessary and sometimes makes a CV harder to navigateDO make sure you haven’t left someone else’s edits, notes or tracked changes in your document.DO have a professional email address, something related to your name or similar. itsbritneybitch@hotmail.com doesn’t look great to a potential new employer (and yes, that is a similar version of a real email address we’ve seen). DON’T lie. There’s no need to cover up gaps in employment or to make changes to dates of employment etc. Honesty is always the best policy.DON’T waffle on. CV sentences should be short and snappy and avoid paragraphs of information. Also, don’t fall into the trap of using a tiny font so you can write more. A CV is a short summary designed to sell your experience; we don’t need a full biography! DON’T have a photo, unless you’re sure it’s a good one. Most people look a bit scary doing their “business face” whilst equally a photo of you drunk in the pub isn’t ideal either. Photos on CVs aren’t necessary so it’s easier not to have one. DON’T include references on your CV, if someone needs them they will ask for them and you don’t want to publicise someone’s contact details unnecessarily ​​

A survival guide for networking eventsFor whatever sins we committed (probably global warming) we’ve all been subjected to networking events. As a professional in the business world, they’re just something you have to endure. You may get lucky and attend these events with a group of colleagues, but realistically, you’re on your own because budgets and sign off rarely let five people attend the same event. So, if you find yourself hurled into a networking event and riding solo, consider us your Robin, your Samwise Gamgee and your Avengers. In other words, here’s a guide to get you through it and 10 tips on how to survive: 1.Look for the other awkward person The truth is that everyone feels awkward and if you see someone hovering about the food table, standing alone, looking uncomfortable or scrolling on their phone because they’re not sure what else to do, then go and talk to them. You’re both feeling as awkward as each other and you can buddy up. 2.Don’t drink the coffee We repeat, DO NOT drink the coffee. It always tastes like dishwater that’s been left in the sun for approximately 243 days before being filtered through, what tastes like, a garden hose. This is not how you want to start your day and it will put you in a terrible mood. Grab a coffee from your favourite bougie barista on the way to the event and save yourself the heartache. 3.Always includeIf you’ve found someone to chat to, or you’ve formed a group of you all chatting and laughing thinking, ‘yes we’ve totally conquered this’, don’t exclude anyone who might want to join your group. If someone is alone and slides up to you, be the first to step back and open the circle. Also resist the temptation to whip out your phone and scroll. That can exclude people from approaching you and starting a conversation. 4.Know where the exit points are When you arrive do a quick scan and find your exit points. That might be the toilet, the food table or maybe even a spare room. If you get stuck in a terrible conversation, or are just feeling overwhelmed and need a minute, you’re going to need valid excuses and a quick route out. 5.Take some chewing gum with youWe don’t need to explain this point. You know what we’re talking about and you never want to be that person. Especially if desperation drove you to drink the coffee. 6.Don’t drink all the alcohol We know we know, sometimes it’s the best bit about these events. However, no one likes a sloppy drunk at their networking event and that’s not why you want people to remember you. You can drink as much as you like later with your friends, but limit your booze now, stay sharp, stay alert. Constant vigilance is necessary at all times. This is war my friends and no-one has ever won a war drunk. (At least we don’t think they have, but we cannot fully speak for Churchill). 7.Make them feel special When you’re talking to someone the goal is to make them feel special, adored and noticed. This means listen more than you talk. Ask questions. Be interested. Don’t keep checking your phone at the same time. Stay present. The basic psychology of humans essentially means we all love to talk about ourselves. It does wonderful things for our ego. It also means that person remembers you and thinks you’re great. When you take an interest in someone, they tend to think you’re a great conversationalist and a wonderful person. (This tip can also be applied to first dates. You’re welcome). 8.Be youIt’s all very well trying to be professional and not get drunk, but don’t forget to bring your whole self to this event. Chat the way you normally would. Don’t try to be what you think they want. Let your personality come out. No one remembers boring people anyway. 9.Research the guests Take a look at the attendee list before you get there and do a bit of research on the people that look interesting. You might be drawn to their job title or company. Find out what their business does and what they’re up to. Connecting with attendees on LinkedIn before the event and arranging to meet up is also a great way of ensuring you have someone to talk to when you arrive. 10.Have some lines ready These might be ‘get out of jail’ lines or ‘join the conversation’ lines. Below are some examples to put in your arsenal, just in case.•‘God the coffee is awful isn’t it. What do you think they did to it?’•‘Hey do you mind if I join you guys, you look like you’re having an interesting conversation’•‘I’m never sure what’s the appropriate way to start a conversation out of thin air, but hi’•‘Do you think these events are awkward for everyone and actually we’re all in the same boat?’•‘Do you fancy standing awkwardly together?’•‘Hey, how you finding the event so far?’•‘That’s really interesting. I hope I get to catch up some more with you, but for now if you’ll excuse me, I just need to make a quick call’•‘No way, how funny. Listen I’ll catch up with you shortly, I’m just going to say hello to a few people I need to introduce myself to’•‘Great talking to you. I’m going to grab some food but chat shortly’ Remember, everyone feels awkward at some point and everything starts with a conversation. YOU’VE. GOT. THIS. We all believe in you. Just don’t drink the coffee.

Relocating for work - what to consider​If you’re considering relocating for a job, then the first thing we want to say is congrats on getting to a stage where you’re thinking of making an exciting move for your career and future. But (there’s always a but), you probably have a million thoughts and worries going through your head right now. Where am I going to live? How will I get to work? Will my family cope with the new surroundings? Can I bring my cat? And so on. We have a lot of experience with managing candidates through relocation and even though we can’t give you an exhaustive list of dos and don’ts, if you are considering moving or have an offer on the table which requires a move, consider these things: Location, location, location…This might seem obvious but if you’re considering a new location, you need to decide what works for you. Consider things such as:City life – if you live in a big city now, are you willing to work somewhere quieter in your new role? And vice versa, if you like somewhere quiet now, could you relocate happily to a big city? Friends and family – if you are moving to be closer to these people, where do they live and what sort of locations could you live to be close to them?Costs and commuting – have you considered how much it’ll cost to live in your new location? Have you considered reasonable commutes from your new office and how much it will cost to get to work? e.g. if you get a new job in central London but decide to commute from Kent, rent might be less but how much time and money will you spend commuting every day? Local communities – you can ask your new employer to connect you with people who have relocated to work for them. It’ll be a great place to go for advice or support,Ensure that your family and friends are on-board The most common reason for somebody pulling out of a job move that requires relocation, is that the candidate’s family does not want to go. So, make sure to include your partner (if you have one) in the process right from the beginning and give them a chance to tell you how they feel about the idea. Also, this may seem random, but we have seen it become an issue before. So, if you have pets and they need to move with you, you should look into how you can go about doing this as from country to country there are different quarantine rules and regulations. Consider your new cost of livingThe cost of living can vary greatly from country to country. You may need to consider the following: Tax systems: Make sure that this covers not just income tax but other elements such as local taxes, national insurance and how tax works on things like pensions and other benefits. Try to get a breakdown showing what your net pay would be. Housing costs: Whether buying or renting, you will need to understand the cost implications. When buying, is there any support that your new employer will be able to offer you? Also, what is the cost of buying a property (such as agency fees etc.) ?Benefits and taxes: These differ from country to country so don’t forget to ask how systems and taxes work for things like pensions, healthcare, schooling allowances, company cars etc. Relocating your belongings: If your new company aren’t organising this for you, you should investigate how much it’ll cost you to move belongings to a new home, especially if you have lots of furniture as international shipping can be expensive! Healthcare – many places may have a different healthcare system to what you’re used to. You should research this before you make a move, especially if you have any ongoing conditions which require treatment and/or medication. For differences in costs in general, from rental to restaurants to public transport and more, you can use this helpful website to compare costs of living from city to city: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jspTransferring properties There are lots of things to consider relating to where you are going to live in order to do your new role, think about:Renting: can you exit your current rental agreement and are there any financial penalties for leaving early? What is the notice period? If you can’t exit it, when does it end?Home ownership: are you going to sell your house? Are you going to rent it out? Are family going to continue living in it? The implications of any of these options will implicate whether you buy or rent in your new country (or a combination of both!), so it’s worth considering all options and figure out what is best for you.Finding a new place to live: speak to your new employer, their relocation team (if they have one) or friends and family you know in your new country that can help you understand more about the property market and how you can go about finding a new place to call home. If you don’t have any of these things available to you, there’s a wealth of information available online too.SchoolingIf you are relocating with children you will need to consider their educational needs, think about:Availability of schools in the area you plan to move to and whether or not that have space for your children in their respective school classes. You should start this process early on in your considerations to make sure you can find a school place somewhere you and your children are happy with for when they moveTimescales for starting in a new school – these can vary, and some schools only have an intake once or twice a year. If this is the case, you may need to consider relocating at the right time of year (which will impact your start date) or relocating without your whole family first and your children transferring schools at the right timeInternational schools: these aren’t available everywhere so if you want your children to go to an international school you should check the availability of these, whether or not they have space and when your children can start. You should also make sure you build the cost of these into your plans if you aren’t offered this as part of your package. Your new employer or their relocation team should be able to offer you advice, or ask them to introduce you to another parent in the business that can advise you.​If you would like any more advice on relocation please feel free to drop us an email to info@pod-talent.com and we’ll help if we can. ​

​How to Improve Your Job Search – Using Job BoardsIf you’re keen to progress in your job search and don’t mind being contacted by recruiters, we recommend submitting your CV and completing the profile section on job boards such as Reed, Indeed, CV library etc. Recruitment consultants and hiring companies regularly search these job boards for profiles that fit their requirements. ​When submitting your CV to these job boards, there are some things to keep in mind: DO make sure that all your profile information is accurate and up to date.DO make sure you categorise yourself properly by sector and skills according to how the site works.DO focus just as much on populating all the fields that the job board requires – it’s not just about your CV.DO put in salary expectations and keep them realistic. If left blank, you will not appear in over 50% of search results.DO be specific about location. Include your postcode so you come up in searches as well as locations you'd be willing to work when prompted to do so. Make sure your location is on your CV too. If your address is different to the locations you are looking in, because you're relocating for example, we'd recommend stating this or using an address in the area you want to move to. DO make sure you are available to respond to interest in your profile once it’s properly posted, otherwise you will miss out on job opportunities. Keep an eye on your emails as well. DO be careful about putting your profile on a job board if you aren’t really open to new opportunities. You could end up wasting not only your own time but the time of potential future employers and recruiters.DO get someone to proof-read your CV – grammatical and spelling errors don’t land well with potential employers.DO have a professional email address, something related to your name or similar. itsbritneybitch@hotmail.com doesn’t look great to a potential new employer (and yes, that is a similar version of a real email address we’ve seen). ​Simultaneously, there are some things we recommend you DON’T do:DON’T just upload your CV and ignore building your profileDON’T lie. There’s no need to cover up gaps in employment or to make changes to dates of employment etc. Honesty is always the best policy.DON’T waffle on. CV sentences should be short and snappy and avoid paragraphs of information. Also, don’t fall into the trap of using a tiny font so you can write more. A CV is a short summary designed to sell your experience; we don’t need a full biography! DON’T have a photo, unless you’re sure it’s a good one. Most people look a bit scary doing their “business face” whilst equally a photo of you drunk in the pub isn’t ideal either. Photos on CVs aren’t necessary so it’s easier not to have one. DON’T include references on your CV, if someone needs them, they will ask and you don’t want to publicise someone’s contact details unnecessarily​If you put a bit of time into building your CV and profile on the right job boards for your potential next role, you will see results a lot quicker than merely applying for jobs one at the time. Good luck!​