cvservices.net : a better career : is your script ready

What's so great about you? Is the case clear in your own mind and can you communicate it tomorrow if necessary? A clear and elegant script forms the basis for great letters to specific targets AND it boosts your confidence when speaking about yourself.

A great application letter, corroborated by a clear CV, can be worth several thousand pounds a year in additional salary when it is coupled with a daring, coherent and well-researched career change strategy. It might also come in handy for a quick follow-up when you meet the MD of a rival firm at a trade convention…

The content of this document would be much the same as you would say to a headhunter who suddenly called you. Being prepared for one communication gets you ready for any response and knowing that you have a message to deliver helps to boost your confidence.

Self-employed people, who rely on winning clients on a regular basis, are always prepared with a script of sorts. In a competitive world it pays for everyone to be that prepared.

Poor letters have usually have been badly cobbled together at the very last minute for a job advert where the main attraction was the salary on offer and the candidate has barely even bothered to research the company, study the job description and assess whether they have ALL the relevant skills (and something more to offer).

This is the problem that recruiters are referring to when they say you should create a different letter and CV for every application. You don't actually need to do that to satisfy them but you do need fabulous documents that you can easily and rapidly tweak so that they seem to hit the target when the recruiter first glances at them. The letter is the best place to achieve that level of targeting and the easiest area to rapidly adjust for different jobs. Rewriting your entire CV can be a nightmare.

Everyone has a legend they believe about the really cheeky approach that worked and some people actually blow their case by being arrogant, aggressive and demanding in their application style. Letter writing is an ancient art and it really does impress people if you have mastered that art by being polite and professional while still communicating rapidly.

Six steps to a great letter. . .

work at writing attractively to engage the reader (vital)
link carefully with their stated needs (vital)
don't be obvious or mechanical (summarise/prioritise/imply)
show understanding of the company and the role (impressive)
arouse expectation through what you can offer (clincher)
provide them (and yourself) with themes for the interview

Anything less than that is selling yourself short

Getting it right - insights

Recruiters are looking for the one best candidate, which is a challenging task. The minimum you need to give them is clear demonstration that you understand the role on offer and have a strong set of skills to match that role. What they hate is timewasting applications from people who lack qualities they specifically highlighted in the advertisement.

Imagine the moment when the recruiter picks up a great letter, superbly presented, polite and professional, every phrase totally on purpose, nothing superfluous and no nagging little ego problems showing through. Eureka! This is the person who gets the interview and that is where you need to be coming from if you are at all serious about effective career change.

Recruiters are in a hurry when they read your letter but you have plenty of time when you write it. This gives you leverage in terms of planting ideas and adding impact. When people ask me how to do that I always refer them to the qualities of great poetry to suggest additional meaning and carry the reader beyond the conscious mind with the rhythm and shape of what is written. I am serious: words are not like numbers in terms of precision; they are half way to music; so don't write like a badly translated Japanese hi fi manual! Brainstorm your ideas first and practice combining them until you have an elegant solution.

Being prepared - with a personal script

Only a very small minority of the population carry a perfectly prepared and totally focused CV in their briefcase. Even less people regularly network their key contacts with a positive personal "news" letter.

You may laugh, but these things work and they don't cause nearly the embarrassment you would imagine. Nor do subtle and speculative approaches to agencies, just to remind them that you exist.

A very high proportion of successful careers are boosted at some time by being proactive instead of waiting for opportunity to come along.

Your script: think about what you would say if someone asked you about yourself. Remember the mood, after the interview, when all the things you forgot start to haunt you? That can be avoided, if you prepare a script in advance. Creating a great letter is the perfect way to do that, even if you never use it, even if it's just a template that you later tweak for different jobs.

Don't leave it until they call you. Don't scramble to cobble together something half-baked when the right job advertisement finally hits you in the face. Be prepared, with both a decent CV that provides evidence of your achievement and a smashing script that can be tailored to whatever letter you suddenly need to write, or used for speculative approaches with minor changes, or splashed onto an email when they want instant information, or remembered in the heat of the moment when the call of destiny comes…

There is plenty of evidence that it works to know exactly where you are at. The traditional word for this quality is "maturity" and this has a presence that everyone respects, a feel that shines through from the very first moment they pick up your application letter.

Are you ready for opportunity?

to whom could you send a brief letter/CV every so oft?

are there any companies worth contacting speculatively?

any agencies/headhunters that might be helpful?

any contacts you could make more of?

are you absolutely clear about what level you could pitch yourself for?

would you know how to do that, right now, or is your application style legacy, last minute and amateurish?

Do you have a convincing script/letter/CV ready for action? I have created the CV Sage guide especially to assist with this process. . .

These topics are covered in greater depth in CV Sage with examples and exercises.
Take a look!