Wednesday 27 July 2011

Creating a winning CV that is instantly Noticeable by Employers


A lot of professionals do themselves the injustice of not spending enough time and committing enough effort to creating an excellent CV that will get them noticed by employers. Similarly, if you send your CV to recruitment agencies, the well written and well created CVs always go to the top of the pile and are always kept in mind when recruiters speak to their clients.
There are a number of items to take note of when creating a CV that will get you noticed, however the first and most important of these:
·         Is the nationality of their would be employer or recruitment agencies. The way CVs are normally done, usually follows local and industry trends thus it is important for candidates to ensure that they understand what the local (geographical) and Industry standards are.
·         Furthermore, candidates must always asses themselves in terms of value i.e. Understand what their professional value is, what value they will bring to their employer and what value they will bring to their would be colleagues
The competitiveness of the environment we work in demands that professionals take a few additional steps to ensure that they go the extra mile to meet employer’s needs and their CVs are a cut above the rest. To optimize your chances of getting employers to look at your CV and understand how valuable you may be to them, the following steps should be taken:
  • Always include an executive summary or cover letter with your CV, this will allow the would be employer to instantly get a view of your expertise and value without having to go through your entire CV and decide whether or not to go through it.
The executive summary should include:
    • An introduction to who you are (Name and Surname should suffice)
    • Clearly state exactly what your professional qualification and your occupation is
    • Your highest academic qualification obtained and the latest qualification obtained, academic or professional.
    • A brief statement about where you would like to go professionally and why you may be seeking a new challenge/to change jobs/employers
The executive summary should at a maximum be only 1 page, it is usually best if it is ¾  of a page or less.
Other changes to be made to your CV:
  • Please Indicate clearly what your profession is, qualifications in other countries may differ from those in yours, so clarity is always best
·         Please ensure that you attach any relevant certificates and or documents that may support your stated qualifications and or expertise, these must also be accompanied by contact details of the institutions from whence they were obtained.
  • Please indicate if you have ever managed or been in charge of a team of people, employers tend to lean toward candidates with managerial experience and or skills.

Please note: it is important to always answer the following questions in your CV
  • Do you have a valid passport?
  • Are you willing to relocate, where to and for how long?
  • Do you have a driver’s license?

Lastly, do state if you have access to an internet connection and or video conferencing facilities as some regional/multinational employers may like to have preliminary interviews with you before you come for the one on one interviews.

Friday 24 June 2011

Useful links to upcoming Insightful GIBS events

The Gordon Business Institute in Johannesburg South Africa often hosts very insightful and educational talks and conferences that give professionals the perfect opportunity to get some insight for their businesses and of course, provide great networking opportunities. We have posted a few links below to the GIBS webpages that have details of upcoming conferences that we are sure you would enjoy, so please do diarise and book your place.

http://www.gibs.co.za/default.aspx?pid=65&stepid=2899&oid=83&ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_ctrlMainPortletContainer=itemid*390816$stepid*2899$iddef*939$idlangver*938$idlayout*938$idmode*2804$languageid*1$previousitemid*390816$ignoreloadedcontrols*True&parentid=0

http://www.gibs.co.za/default.aspx?pid=65&stepid=2899&oid=83&ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_ctrlMainPortletContainer=itemid*387048$stepid*2899$iddef*939$idlangver*938$idlayout*938$idmode*2804$languageid*1$previousitemid*387048$ignoreloadedcontrols*True&parentid=0

http://www.gibs.co.za/default.aspx?pid=65&stepid=2900&oid=83&ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_ctrlMainPortletContainer=itemid*391384$stepid*2899

http://www.gibs.co.za/default.aspx?pid=110&stepid=2899&oid=128&ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_ctrlMainPortletContainer=itemid*391872$stepid*2899$iddef*939$idlangver*938$idlayout*938$idmode*2804$languageid*1$previousitemid*391872$ignoreloadedcontrols*True&parentid=0

http://www.gibs.co.za/default.aspx?pid=110&stepid=2899&oid=128&ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_ctrlMainPortletContainer=itemid*392282$stepid*2899$iddef*939$idlangver*938$idlayout*938$idmode*2804$languageid*1$previousitemid*392282$ignoreloadedcontrols*True&parentid=0

Sunday 19 June 2011

Book Drive

We are running a book drive to collect and or swap books to help Educate and broadedn the horizons of the new generation of Primary, High school and University Students. If you have any old books that you think will serve someone else well and don't mind sharing, please let us know, send your emails to Info@IndieConsultant.co.za
The Books can vary in subject matter, however the subject matter must be information that is not of a sexual nature nor should it encourage behaviour of a sexual nature i.e. Publications that are sex specific; "for men" or "for Women" magazines.
The Subject matter may include, but is not Limited to the following:
1. African Language Books (Very Important; not Limited to South African languages)
2. Politics
3. History
4. Economics
5. Finance
6. Philosophy
7. Psychology
8. Thoelogy/Religious Texts
10. Motivational Books
11. Techonology Publications
12. Science Publications

Please do feel free to share your treasures of knowledge, remember, you don't have to donate books through us, so please do find a local school or recreation centre that we are sure will appreciate the books.

Happy Sharing

Friday 17 June 2011

The New African Trade Agreement-What does it mean to you?

As an African Proffesional, worker or Entrepreneur, What does the New African Trade agreement mean to you now and in the Long term?
Are we ready to tackle the opportunities it presents?
Do we have or are we planning to have strategy sessions to address how we can leverage it to make inroads into the African ICT, Banking and Infrastructure Industries in our respective businesses?
What knowledge and Lessons can we leverage from Trade agreements else where in the world?

These are some of the many questions that we believe many business savvy Africans and Indeed people of other nations are asking themselves, The challenge however is to monitise the answers to these questions and create economic activity around these ideas if we are to truly take advantage of the this and other opportunities that exist.
Perhaps a more critical question for readers is: Have you thought about what difference this New Trade Agreement will make to your life as a professional African? and How do you suggest the signatory nations may take advantage of this new opportunitity? Considering that Legislation may be a potential stumbling block, are there opportunities for those in Foreign Relations and Legal Industries to help ease this burden and allow member nations to take full advantage of it? What other roles can African professionals play around the actual realisation of free trade?

Please feel free to engage us and share your views around the questions we have posed and others that you may have thought of around the New Free Trade agreement? Will it work? will it not work? Can
it be implementated successfully? How long will it take for Africa to realise the fruits of this agreement? And laslty, How much more work needs to be done to ensure that when a working framework is first implemeted, it runs smoothely?