Careers and Jobs

2008 Update – 132 people losing job on a daily basis

20,392 employees have been made redundant over the fist seven moths of 2008. This equates to a 36% increase on the same period last year. DETE figures released do not make happy reading for the government or workers in Ireland. More worrying was the fact that 3,914 of the redundancies came in July which is further proof that the job market is in freefall.

What surprised me was the breakdown of these figures. Much spin has been put on the fact that the construction sector has created most redundancies but 6,531 females have been laid of which was higher than I expected. 13,861 men were affected by redundancy.

So where are the redundancy black-spots?

It is no surprise that Dublin has suffered the greatest with 7,500 of the redundancies falling in this region. This was followed by Cork with 1,853 redundancies and in excess of 1,000 in Galway and Limerick. Other counties with significant redundancies included Louth with 698, Waterford with 844 and Kildare with 940. Further north Monaghan has suffer 403 redundancies so far this year.

There is much more to CV writing than simply listing everything you can about your work experience, education, skills and hobbies. It requires a focused approach putting more emphasis on the recruiter than you. 95% of all CV’s fail because they lack focus.

CV Format & CV Layout TIPS

You must avoid using the first person pronoun – Start sentences with action verbs or power verbs instead of first person pronoun. Examples of power verbs include; managed, developed, created and organised.

Keep your sentences short - CV’s need short, crisp statements and don’t get carried away. Remember that statements do not have to be complete sentences.

Use plain English – Don’t believe the urban myth that bigger words create a bigger impression. I saw a cover letter the other day with the word “sterling” and not used in the currency context.

Use bullet points – Bullet points make it easier for the reader. Paragraphs can be daunting. There are pro’s and con’s for both but my research with clients concludes that bullet points come out on top.

General to Specific – Organise you information that it flows from general to specific points.

This CV advice was provided by Measurability. Measurability writes CV’s for jobseekers at all levels of the organisation and across industry sector. Measurability write CV’s for clients nationwide Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Meath, Louth, Kildare, Wexford, Wicklow, Carlow, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Clare, Waterford, Galway, Sligo, Roscommon, Mayo, Leitrim, Kilkenny, Longford (and the other county I cannot seem to get – ha ha)

24 jobs are lost in Cavan Town due to the closure of Cavan and Monaghan Voice.