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First impressions count! Your resume is often the first opportunity you have to showcase who you are, what you have achieved and what you are capable of – so make it shine.
Review the front page of your resumeIn a competitive job market, people reviewing applications, hiring managers and recruiters, will have multiple to plough through. You need to get as much relevant information as possible on the front page of our resume to capture their attention. We believe that the best way you can do this is to have a concise career objective, a career summary table showcasing your experience and your most recent role, responsibilities and achievements all on page 1. Don’t treat the first page of your resume like a cover on a novel, get straight to the pitch on why you are a good hire!
Did you know that some senior Executive don’t have any responsibilities listed on their resumes, only bullet points with major achievements? As an office support professional we don’t suggest you go this far, but we do advise that you bundle up responsibilities in to short & concise bullet points showcasing the more responsible tasks first. Under responsibilities have a section titled achievements, add your best 2 or 3 including promotions, projects, cost saving initiatives, awards etc.
Update the formatting, make it look modern and freshWhen you go to an interview you present yourself in your best suit, generally the one that you have purchased more recently, not one that is in the back of the cupboard and a little dated. Your resume needs a fresh and modern look too – and the best part is it doesn’t cost money like a new suit, just some research online and your time!
Make sure Linked In and other social profiles are aligned with your CVWe see this time and time again. It says one thing on your resume – and another on Linked In. It may just be an innocent mistake, or the fact that you haven’t even thought to go in and update your social profiles. But it sparks questions and puts you on the back foot immediately.
Last time you worked on your resume you were a PA. You are now an EA, your responsibilities have expanded and the Exec that you support is more senior. Highlight the promotion and upgrade the responsibilities that you are now responsible for. However, if you find yourself once again applying at Personal Assistant level, review the tasks on the position description and make sure that these are still highlighted on your resume. Review and showcase relevant experience with each application!
Don’t include referee details, but testimonials can helpIf you have a powerful statement about your performance from a credible referee it can have great impact if you include that rather than a list of names and numbers. Eg.“We could not have been more delighted with the input Rachel had in relation to the recent systems upgrade project we completed. Her ability to manage key elements of this project was invaluable” – Practice Manager, ABC Company
Ensure you have a current and relevant career objectiveBold or change the colour of your career objective and make sure it is read! In a competitive market people hiring can pick and choose and you need to make sure you are in the running. Your most recent role may be Personal Assistant, but you have many years experience as a Corporate Receptionist. If you are applying for a Corporate Reception role your summary should read:
“With 10 years experience in corporate reception roles, within well regarded professional service firms, I am now looking for a long term role as a Corporate Receptionist. With recent experience as a Personal Assistant I am able to add value at Reception with advanced computer & organisational skills.”
In a competitive job market it is important that you identify the job roles & organisations that you could potentially add value to, these are the ones that are going to have more interest in you.
Think about the industry you have worked in and the knowledge you have gained. Eg. working in the Engineering industry you are going to be most valuable to other engineering firms of course, but also potentially with building & construction, architects, in project management, even in government roles possibly. It could then broaden out to electrical, telecommunications, IT and others depending upon the work, partners and clients you have been exposed to. One way to assess where you might add value is to look at where Managers you have supported previously have moved on to, or colleagues – check them out on Linked In!
In terms of job roles, you may have been an Executive Assistant in your last role, with 75% of that role having you function as a Project Coordinator. So you could look at Project Coordinator roles as well as EA roles. These roles are often contract opportunities, so you could be attractive as a perm or contract option. You may have worked in a role that had you supporting a HR Manager, so you could look at HR administration roles etc. Think laterally and highlight the diversified experience on your resume!
Even though it pains us to say, in a competitive job market it can often be wise for job seekers to proactively go about approaching organisations themselves. Many younger job seekers will not see this as new advice at all – as online platforms like Linked In took off, so did the confidence to make these approaches, often quite successfully.
So once you have identified your worth, industry and job role wise, do some research on the top 20 companies that you think you could add value to. Prepare your resume accordingly with relevant key experiences and approach them directly, even if they are not advertising. Who knows what is going on behind the scenes – now or in the future! Before social distancing rules were in, we previously saw many candidates successfully obtain work in a competitive job market by knocking on doors and dropping resumes into key people – its doesn’t work just at McDonalds!
A word of advice though – if you have already been presented by a recruitment firm, don’t then go knocking on the door yourself, your best foot has already been put forward as you have been sold in as a stand out option already!
At this time, please reach out if you need any advice, support or assistance when making direct applications. It is likely we may have had some dealings or gained some market insight in relation to the organisation. Either way we will be able to help you navigate the best way to go about making an introduction for yourself.
Best wishes with the job search. Contact the MJD Recruitment team on 02 8042 1840 with any questions you may have.
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MJD Recruitment is a specialist recruitment agency renowned for offering valuable market insight and job seeking assistance to the legal support market across Australia.
Our team have over 45 years of experience within the recruitment industry and have seen many many changes over this time. One thing is for sure, the change will continue to happen and “the secret to change is to focus your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Socrates
Team Assistants are highly unique office support professionals who possess exceptional skills in working with multiple management styles, juggling and prioritising’s tasks, working as part of a team, multi-tasking, anticipating needs, time management, detail orientation and so much more.
Finding a new job in a tough market can take months. In fact, according to Indeed Australia, the average time it takes for a job seeker to find a job is 82 days. Therefore, it’s crucial for candidates to maximise their resources to find the best career opportunities and land a good job as quickly as possible.
PA’s act as your first point of contact, while dealing with correspondence, phone calls and matters of administration and coordination. Take a moment to think about the kinds of Personal Assistant’s & which one is right for you.
Want to know our top 5 recruiting tips for improving the effectiveness of the interview process? Interviewing candidates to find the perfect person for any given job is never an easy task. With more companies now needing to conduct the process remotely via video, a new layer of complication has been added to the mix.
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First impressions count, this will always be a true statement! It takes months to find a customer and only seconds to lose one – also very true! Make every interaction count, even the small ones, they are all relevant – We absolutely agree! Which is why hiring the right Receptionist can make a huge difference to your organisation’s success.
Martin challenged himself to discuss mental health openly and share his personal challenge in this current climate.
First impressions count! Your resume is often the first opportunity you have to showcase who you are, what you have achieved and what you are capable of – so make it shine.
First impressions count, this will always be a true statement! It takes months to find a customer and only seconds to lose one – also very true! Make every interaction count, even the small ones, they are all relevant – We absolutely agree! Which is why hiring the right Receptionist can make a huge difference to your organisation’s success.
Executive Assistants are well known for being resourceful – they are excellent networkers who liaise with the ‘best of the best’ to get things done efficiently and effectively.
Thinking of applying for a job you’ve been yearning for; you’ll need to have a good resume! This document is the first thing your potential employer gets to see about you, their first judgement.
Put a plan in place to ensure that you participate in appropriate career development
At MJD Recruitment, a recruitment agency in Sydney, we are strong advocates for having a mentor! Many of us have more than one ourselves and like to think that we act as mentors in one way or another to many of our clients and candidates.
Have you been given a job description for an Executive Assistant role that barely scrapes the sides when it comes to detail? As the role is all about the relationship you have with the Executive/s and often develops as you get to know each other’s strengths
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Being a specialist Recruitment Agency, we deal with Personal Assistants and Executive Assistants on a daily basis. Based on our experience here are some key factors that you should be considering when it comes to selecting the right Personal Assistant/Executive Assistant