Many recruiters, while making the initial cut of CVs, spend just seconds looking at them. For that reason, it is important to include our main selling points at the top.
Treat your profile as your sales pitch
Use this space as your advertisement of yourself. If you were a product, what would be the key selling points for your audience?
Prove that you have what it takes to do this role
Think about what the key qualities, hard skills, soft skills, experience and education that you have that match this role and use this to prove to the employer that you can ably fill this role.
Tailor your profile to this particular role
Search through the advertisement to see key points that the employer is looking for. This is a wish list and your profile should be a direct response to this. Include key words from the advertisement in your profile.
Creating a Personal Profile:
Step 1 – Underline or highlight the most important items in the advertisement.
Step 2 – Outline the experience, education, hard and soft skills / qualities you have that match the role requirements. Look through your CV and pick out the most relevant experience, education, hard and soft skills that match this role.
Step 3 – Use all this information to write your profile.
Adapting your skills and experiences to different roles:
Limited Work Experience in the area
If you don’t have work experience yet, focus your profile on your education, qualities and interests that match the position. Discuss any volunteering or training courses you have completed and the skills you have gained. Add other relevant skills too i.e. communication skills, interpersonal / presentation skills and IT and language skills.
‘Jack of all Trades’
Having diverse experience is a positive, although all profiles should focus on only what is relevant to avoid confusion about the role you are looking for and show you are focussed. Show common links or threads from your CV, e.g. working with people/ technology or in creative / hands-on work environments and highlight your transferable skills.
If you are looking for a role within a specific company, emphasise that in the profile too eg..… is looking for a role as a customer service representative in Accenture.
Personal Profile Examples
Here are some samples of personal profiles
Events Manager
A professional event manager with a certificate in event management and 2 years’ experience in organising a wide variety of events i.e. art exhibitions, fashion shows and job fairs. A creative individual with expertise in securing venues, managing logistics and marketing these events is looking for an events management role.
Customer Service with Languages
A fluent English and Spanish speaker with 4 years’ experience in a fast-paced customer service role and experience providing IT support over the phone, via e-mail and face-to-face, is looking for a Customer Service role with Spanish.’
HR
A recent HR Management Graduate with a BSc in Economics and an MSc in Strategic People Management, and 5 years’ experience in HR dealing with various processes i.e. talent acquisition, training and development, induction training, performance evaluations, compensation and benefits, managing payroll and administration is looking for a role in HR / Recruitment
Administration
A qualified Administrative officer with 4 years’ experience, a degree in Business Administration and experience in dealing with customers and clients via phone, e-mail and face to face. A proficient Windows, Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint user, is looking for a role in administration support.
Pharmacy Sales Assistant.
A qualified Pharmacy Sales Assistant (QQI level 4) with over 8 months’ experience as an OTC Pharmacy Sales Assistant and over 12 years’ experience as a beautician is looking for a role as a Pharmacy Sales Assistant.
Graphic Design.
A Qualified Graphic Designer with 3 years’ experience in Graphic Design, Branding, Web Design, with good working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite( Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop) and print production process. A creative team player with the ability to learn quickly is looking for a role in Graphic Design.
Part qualified accountant
A part qualified accountant with a degree in accounting and over 3 years’ experience in companies including KPMG, Grant Thornton and BDO; carrying out reconciliations of bank statements, processing and analysing accounts and creating cash flow reports, currently pursuing an ACCA qualification is looking for a position in accounting.
Architect
An Architect with a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Urban Planning with 5 years’ experience tailoring client briefs and skilled in creating detailed plans using AutoCad 2D, Sketchup, Revit, Photoshop and Autodesk 3ds Max is looking for a role as an architect.
Software Test Engineer
A Software Test Engineer with a degree in Electronic Engineering, having over one year of experience in Test Automation using Selenium and testNG. An accurate and flexible individual with experience of working closely with development teams to define test strategies, document detailed test cases, scripts and scenarios, implement test plans and create, design and execute test cases using SDLCs to ensure quality coverage is seeking a role as a Software Test Engineer
Breda Hegarty is a career counsellor with the EPIC Programme run by Business in the Community Ireland. EPIC is a free programme supporting people from migrant backgrounds to gain employment. If you are interested in participating in one of the free programmes contact Livia Bartolomé on 01 8743842 or epic@bitc.ie
You can contact Breda Hegarty directly on bhegarty@bitc.ie.
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Breda Hegarty - Career Counsellor 