Intro + current concerns + your feedback
Hi CUK (great community of people + killer content) -
After 6+ years in Retail, ranging from Enterprise BA, Architect, Governance/Strategy, Digital Media, and recently as Sr. Data Consultant; spread across US and now London (2.5 yrs). I've done prior contract work in the US and once in the UK (direct). I should mention that I have UK+US passports.
I left my permie role and went on holiday for a month and have been on the market now for 5 days. On average, I'm applying for 10-15 roles a day, only ones that are relevant. In this time, I've been contacted by 5x agents representing the role (6-8% hit). 3 of the times my CV has been forwarded to the client - no interviews yet!
My "5 pillar strategy" to-date has comprised-of:
1. get my CV on many relevant job boards and LinkedIn up-to-date,
2. CV + alerts on pertinent agency sites,
3. religiously monitor JobServe/agency sites daily from 8 AM - 3 PM and hit apply on applicable roles w/in 10 min. of a posting (I keep track to NOT double submit on a role),
4. call the agent on submissions, when the job spec. aligns perfect to my xp+skills+rate, and
5. network with 2x contractors on the bench, sharing info. about the market, agents, clients.
At this point, you might be wondering - right, it all sounds "reasonable-ish" progress. Personally, I'm getting really concerned at the low % hit-rate from agents, the bench is hot with seasoned contract vets, and November / December-Christmas is encroaching, rapidly.
Most of the roles are available in Finance/Banking and my experience is 6 mo. from the US in 2010. Breaking into Finance might mean I will need to lower day rate and/or donkey-plebe work, which I'm happy to explore if the going gets tough (I understand it's not ideal to lower standards and definitely does NOT guarantee any greater chance of success in obtaining a role). I should mention, I'm not exclusively looking at single sectors - rather all, but worth mentioning the majority of roles are in Finance/Banking, where they want prior experience.
I'm at an impasse and I think the root cause of this has to be down to my CV not effectively showcasing my experiences + skills. I've seen the posts on tailored vs. generic CV for a role; but think my CV needs a re-think and I don't know where / how to make it "complete," so that I can tailor it in the future.
I'm running out of ideas and I might be addressing my own concerns here, with the CV being at the root cause. Is there anybody that could help offer advice on my CV and/or my approaches taken to-date?
Many thanks,
HPsauce
After 6+ years in Retail, ranging from Enterprise BA, Architect, Governance/Strategy, Digital Media, and recently as Sr. Data Consultant; spread across US and now London (2.5 yrs). I've done prior contract work in the US and once in the UK (direct). I should mention that I have UK+US passports.
I left my permie role and went on holiday for a month and have been on the market now for 5 days. On average, I'm applying for 10-15 roles a day, only ones that are relevant. In this time, I've been contacted by 5x agents representing the role (6-8% hit). 3 of the times my CV has been forwarded to the client - no interviews yet!
My "5 pillar strategy" to-date has comprised-of:
1. get my CV on many relevant job boards and LinkedIn up-to-date,
2. CV + alerts on pertinent agency sites,
3. religiously monitor JobServe/agency sites daily from 8 AM - 3 PM and hit apply on applicable roles w/in 10 min. of a posting (I keep track to NOT double submit on a role),
4. call the agent on submissions, when the job spec. aligns perfect to my xp+skills+rate, and
5. network with 2x contractors on the bench, sharing info. about the market, agents, clients.
At this point, you might be wondering - right, it all sounds "reasonable-ish" progress. Personally, I'm getting really concerned at the low % hit-rate from agents, the bench is hot with seasoned contract vets, and November / December-Christmas is encroaching, rapidly.
Most of the roles are available in Finance/Banking and my experience is 6 mo. from the US in 2010. Breaking into Finance might mean I will need to lower day rate and/or donkey-plebe work, which I'm happy to explore if the going gets tough (I understand it's not ideal to lower standards and definitely does NOT guarantee any greater chance of success in obtaining a role). I should mention, I'm not exclusively looking at single sectors - rather all, but worth mentioning the majority of roles are in Finance/Banking, where they want prior experience.
I'm at an impasse and I think the root cause of this has to be down to my CV not effectively showcasing my experiences + skills. I've seen the posts on tailored vs. generic CV for a role; but think my CV needs a re-think and I don't know where / how to make it "complete," so that I can tailor it in the future.
I'm running out of ideas and I might be addressing my own concerns here, with the CV being at the root cause. Is there anybody that could help offer advice on my CV and/or my approaches taken to-date?
Many thanks,
HPsauce
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