The job market can be tricky to navigate and with every passing year it is more and more challenging for candidates and employers alike.
Recruiters spend an average of 6-8 seconds looking at a resume before keeping it for the ‘Yes’ pile or casting it off to the bottom the ‘No’ pile.
With this in mind, it is important that the information your CV conveys is clear, to the point and sells your best professional attributes. To help with this, we have compiled a short list of 7 things to leave off your resume. Here goes………
Personal information
What! I hear you say…..aside from your name, email address and phone number; information such as your marital status, religion/spiritual beliefs or even sexual orientation have no place on your CV and are completely irrelevant as they do not demonstrate your professional abilities in any way.
2. Unprofessional sounding email
No explanation needed there and where possible, it is always best to create an email account which you can use for job hunting only.
3. Headshot
Your photo will likely reveal your nationality, gender, or age — among other factors and this could inadvertently lead to discrimination. There’s no need to provide an employer/recruiter with those details until they’ve considered your application based solely on your qualifications.
4. Elaborate formats, designs, charts or images
When it comes to selecting a design for your resume, less is more. Keep it simple and stick to a clean resume design with a clear hierarchy. Overly complicated designs and formats confuse most applicant tracking systems, but they also annoy recruiters who are used to quickly scanning a resume for specific information they expect to find in particular spots within the document. Don’t make recruiters hunt for the information they need.
5. Unprofessional fonts and spelling/grammatical errors
Not all of us are gifted spellers and most of us are prone to make grammatical errors, but with software available today, this can easily be avoided. Another way to ensure your CV not only reads well but is also free of spelling mistakes is to have someone else read it over and check.
6. Too many buzzwords
Make sure you incorporate keywords in a way that sounds natural when you read your resume out loud. Using too many words such as team player, hardworking, punctual or diligent will only result in your CV not making the ‘Yes’ pile. All employers/recruiters expect the people they are going to employ to be all these things.
7. And finally……this line: Reference available on request
We’ve all done it, me included but at this point on your job-hunting journey recruiters won’t need references and it is a given that they should be made available when requested.
If you’d like to read more about CV writing, you can also check on these other couple of blogs on our site:
Contract work is often misunderstood and used to be perceived as less valuable work. The reality is that while full-time roles work for some people, they don’t work for everyone.
If you have ever wondered what the benefits of contract work may be then read on…..
Six advantages to contract work:
High demand – Companies have short-term projects and specialised jobs they need completed that don’t require them to hire a full-time resource. Because of this, there are a wealth of opportunities available that fit your skills, experience and interest.
Less competition – Depending on the type of work you are interested in, there can be a lot less competition for contract work than permanent positions. This allows you to get work experience in a specific industry. Once you are in a contract role, you also have the opportunity to work with hiring managers and prove your worth. You never know what permanent roles they may be hiring for, and your current position allows them to see all the skills you could bring to a role.
Higher pay – People often associate contract work with a lower rate of pay. While this may be true for entry-level roles, it is not the case for skilled employees. Contract placements can often provide an opportunity for a higher rate of pay than a full-time salary. Contract work and freelancing allows you to take on as many jobs as you can handle, and for you to charge by the hour or by the project.
Flexibility – Unlike full-time work, contract work allows for great flexibility. Depending on the role, you will have greater control over hours worked, and the duties performed. You may even have the opportunity to subcontract work, where full-time employees aren’t able to. You can pursue work that doesn’t take over your whole life, while supplementing your income without the commitment required of a full-time job. You are able to take work when it is most convenient for you.
Test the water -You get to test and experience the company culture and see if they will be the right long-term fit without a long-term commitment. It may also allow you to work in different industries, trying various roles out until you find the perfect fit.
Networking – Working several contract positions will help you build a larger professional network.
Sounds interesting?
At Intersect Global Ltd, we have experience in placing both permanent and contract employees. Our recruitment consultants are available on discuss these options with you.
We currently have a selection of contract roles available, so check out our Job Board or get in touch.
Costain will use its environmental expertise to work on 16 sites for Severn Trent as the water company steps up investment plans.
The work, worth £80m, is within the previously announced framework agreement and part of Severn Trent’s Capital Delivery Framework.
It will be delivered over the next four years, straddling both the existing AMP7 and the new AMP8 regulatory periods.
A dozen of the sites will involve Costain working to improve the quality of wastewater, for example by removing phosphorus as part of the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP).
Three of the sites will involve work to protect elvers (juvenile eels) from entering river water intake pipes as part of compliance with The Eels Regulations.
The final project is the design and construction of a new disinfection contact tank at the Frankley Water Treatment works which serves Birmingham and secures the resilience of this water supply.
Sam White, Costain’s managing director of its natural resources division, said: “We’re delighted to be helping Severn Trent with their sustainability improvements.
“It’s hugely important to both companies that we do everything we can to protect the environment, as well as offering reliable and secure water supplies to customers.”
Article by Aaron Morby for www.constructionenquirer.com
An investment of more than £4.8m will see a new project design and develop the use of hydrogen as an alternative to diesel on construction sites.
A new cross-industry initiative, led by BAM, has received a grant of £4,872,653 from the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security & Net Zero.
The ‘Element One’ project will adapt and develop dual-fuel technology, converting a range of construction plant to be operated using a hydrogen fuelled generator.
The project will also develop a hydrogen manufacturing and supply chain, including off-site and on-site production, off-grid compression, and innovative storage and distribution solutions.
Colin Evison, innovation technical lead for BAM said ‘Element One’ was bringing together a range of experts across the construction, plant and energy sectors, to drive forward this “transformational vision for the industry”.
“The collaboration demonstrated between all project partners to date has been inspirational and we were absolutely delighted to be awarded the grant by Phase 2 of the Red Diesel Replacement Programme, funded through the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio,” he said.
“As well as the technical ambition, the Element One project aims to address barriers to hydrogen production, supply and use including skills and training needs, health and safety and regulatory issues.
“The demonstration will support market assessment and business cases for investment and will measure and assess impacts on site productivity and emissions compared to conventional diesel plant.
“Ultimately, our aim is to shift hydrogen-powered plant use from being an experimental concept to creating practical solutions that allow implementation on busy construction sites. Importantly, all of our learnings will also be disseminated to wider industry.”
Starting this month and running for around two years, the project will provide practical solutions which can be demonstrated on an operational construction site for at least a month.
The project aims to reduce the construction industry’s reliance of fossil fuels and has brought together a variety of contractors and suppliers from across the sector.
BAM and Skanska will provide operating construction sites to demonstrate the solution, with GeoPura supplying hydrogen and a hydrogen powered generator.
Reynolds Logistics will address hydrogen transport/logistics, NanoSUN will develop storage and onsite distribution capabilities while ULEMCo will adapt their dual fuel technology to convert plant provided by Flannery and Plantforce.
Article by Sarah Walker – www.infrastructureintelligence.com
The advancement of Artificial Intelligence has been a hot topic in recent years which is now gaining even more momentum.
AI powered algorithms and software are becoming an increasing presence within most industries and recruitment is no different. From automatically generated emails, CV screening to chatbots FAQ’s, the idea is that AI help with reducing the amount of time a recruitment consultant spends on manual admin tasks and frees time for them to focus on client/candidate experience.
Below are some areas where AI has made an impact in the recruitment process:
Candidate Sourcing: AI-powered tools search on various platforms, including social media, to identify potential candidates who align with specific job criteria.
CV Screening: AI algorithms can efficiently scan and analyse CV’s, matching qualifications and skills to job requirements. This automated process helps recruiters handle large volumes of applications swiftly whilst minimising bias and increasing the likelihood of identifying suitable candidates.
Great for maintaining Equality, Diversity and Inclusion but also saves time on the manual admin tasks for recruiters.
Chatbot Interviews and FAQ’s: Virtual assistants and chatbots equipped with natural language processing capabilities can conduct initial interviews, posing pre-determined questions and assessing candidate responses.
But whilst all this is great, the reality that AI cannot fully replace human involvement.
Here’s why humans are indispensable in recruitment:
Complex Decision-making: Humans possess the cognitive abilities necessary to consider intangibles such as culture fit, soft skills, and emotional intelligence during the hiring process.
Ethical Considerations: Human intervention is crucial to ensure fairness, eliminate bias, and guarantee that the hiring process is inclusive and representative of diverse talent pools.
Personalised Candidate Experience: Building strong rapport with candidates is a hallmark of successful recruitment. Human recruiters can provide a personalised touch, empathetic communication, and valuable feedback that candidates appreciate. These human interactions create a positive employer brand and enhance the overall candidate experience.
Adaptability and Flexibility: Humans possess the adaptability and flexibility to modify strategies, adjust requirements, and assess candidates on all their attributes, keeping in mind that businesses have evolving goals and objectives as well as cultural shifts.
Emotional Intelligence and Gut Feel: Human recruiters bring emotional intelligence to the hiring process, allowing them to gauge non-verbal cues, assess candidate motivation, and intuitively understand team dynamics.
At Intersect Global, we are always keeping abreast of the lates technology and how this can improve our offering for both our clients and our candidates. We hope that by using AI powered technology/software alongside the human judgement of our experienced recruiters we can produce great outcomes for our clients and our candidates.
Do you have vacancies that need to be filled or are you a candidate looking for your next career move? We can help……simply connect with us on LinkedIn, reach out via our contact form or give us a call.
Whether you’re thinking about going into civil engineering or you’re already working in the industry, these are the reasons why civil engineering is, without a doubt, the greatest job in the world.
One thing that civil engineers seem to have in common is an innate love for their job.
They seem to all have such a high level of job satisfaction from their work, which not only gets them out of bed every morning but motivates them in their day-to-day activities.
We asked some civil engineers what they love about the profession, and why they believe it’s the king of careers.
1. Civil engineering is SO varied
Civil engineering is a term that covers so many job roles, sectors, skills and people.
“There’s more to it than muddy boots and concrete,” says Blessing Danha.
She finds the application of big data and technology on ageing infrastructure an interesting area of work, for example.
Mimi Nwosu, a civil engineer for Heathrow Airport, likes how diverse the industry is.
“I like how easy it is to change sectors. I have worked in highways engineering for a consultant, materials engineering for a contractor, and now in aviation for a client.
“You can truly make your career your own and work on a variety of projects,” says Mimi.
“You get to work with a ton of new people on new tasks every day! I have written legal documents, made announcements on the trains, repaired Santander bikes and explored underground stations,” he says.
Meanwhile, Tara Fraser’s civil engineering career has included abseiling off bridges and mast structures, inspecting Ministry of Defence facilities, and working on airports and laboratories.
“There’s so much variety,” says Fraser. “Where else can you be working inside an office and out on site, all in the same day?”
2. Civil engineering is a creative career
If you think that creativity can only be found in an arts career, you’d be wrong.
The vast number of different designs for buildings, bridges and other structures shows how civil engineers have to think outside the box to solve a wide range of challenges.
“I had no idea how creative civil engineering was until I got to university and my first project was to build a pasta bridge,” says Cat Salvini.
“It’s creative. Whether it’s bringing a drawing on paper to life to working out how to thread a tunnel through the congested ground below the feet of Londoners,” adds Sakthy Selvakumaran.
3. Civil engineering is a real team effort
Engineers work in teams to solve real-world problems, so if you’re a team player, it’s the perfect career for you.
“The civil engineering industry is built on team spirit and collaboration,” says Kishore Ramdeen.
“We encourage each other to achieve more and challenge ourselves. And when we work together well, we get things done safer, faster and cheaper.”
Natalie Cheung is one civil engineer who’s motivated by working with other people.
“It’s great to come together with people with different expertise to deliver one collaborative design,” she says.
“A civil engineer isn’t just a person who sits behind a PC doing calculations or designing all day, but a person who forges relationships, motivates others and talks openly about worldly issues,” adds Ashkan Amiri.
4. Civil engineering takes you around the world
Many people want jobs that involve travel, and if you’re a civil engineer, you’ve hit the jackpot.
“I knew before that you could move to a different country to work,” says Bianca Wheeler. “But never quite understood the large scale of opportunities and project roles that exist, particularly in the civil engineering industry.”
And it’s not all work and no play.
“You get to work with a diverse range of people from all over the world, and before you know it, you have a contact list of international friends that can offer you technical engineering advice, but also help you plan your next holiday if you plan to visit their home country,” says Ramdeen.
5. Civil engineering needs and thrives on diversity
It’s not just an engineer’s work that’s always different from one day to another.
Engineers come from all backgrounds, and the work they produce is richer for it.
“The varied nature of the profession means that it requires people with different skillsets and experiences to work together,” says Jamie Arnott, graduate engineer working in marine and floating structures at consultancy Wallace Stone LLP.
“This variety and demand for varying skillsets means that civil engineering can be accessible for all.”
6. Civil engineers help fight climate change
If you want a job where you can play a tangible role in fighting climate change, then civil engineering is for you.
Historically, the industry has been a great producer of carbon, and many in the industry are now working to reverse this.
For example, Skye Dick, senior structural engineer at Mott MacDonald, focuses her work on lowering carbon emissions through building designs.
“As an engineer, the carbon savings which can be made are significant compared to any personal differences that I can make,” says Skye Dick, senior structural engineer at Mott MacDonald.
“Over the next 27 years, civil engineers will help to overcome the challenge of building and maintaining the infrastructure required for an increasing population with no negative environmental effects.
“I love that I can contribute to achieving the global net zero carbon goals through my work.”
7. Civil engineering makes a tangible difference to people’s lives
This has to be the number one reason why civil engineers believe their chosen career is the best.
Many of the projects they work on are for the benefit of the general public and local communities.
“You’ll make a huge, positive difference to the world,” says David Waboso.
Major Rob Ridley agrees: “There are as many different types of engineer as you can imagine, but they’re all solving people’s problems. From ensuring the basics, like plenty of clean water in our taps to designing and building the places we live, work and play in, all over the world.”
With sustainability high on everyone’s agenda, Ashkan Amiri points out how civil engineering is the “most active way to help the environment, with a constant push to be more sustainable and to think of solutions to climate issues, to then building those solutions”.
“Most structures today are designed to last more than 100 years,” says Emma Watkins.
“Knowing that I’ve helped build something that my children and grandchildren may use is a real source of pride for me.”
Article by Anh Nguyen for the Institute of Civil Engineering
We are very proud to announce that we have become one of the latest business to join Surfers Against Sewage’s Ocean Network.
The Ocean Network is a national movement with over 300 businesses supporting environmental solutions.
From the safety of our swimming beaches to the health of our river systems, the UK’s waterways are in a bad way. With over 370 000 discharges of raw sewage into UK rivers in 2021 as well as sewage dumps on our coastlines which have been reported recently; 75% of UK rivers pose a serious risk to human health. 39% reports of sickness after bathing linked to sewage discharge in the area. (https://www.sas.org.uk/water-quality/water-quality-facts-and-figures/)
It’s estimated that over 12 million tonnes of plastic is dumped into the ocean every single year. Countless fish, birds, turtle, whales and marine creatures are killed each year by mistaking plastics for food or getting entangled in discarded fishing gear across the world.
Plastics don’t disappear over time. Instead, the break down into smaller and smaller pieces. These tiny plastics enter the ocean food chain and have been found inside humans, with as yet unknown effects on our health.
Plastic production is also increasing oil extraction, even as demand falls from transport and energy. Over 90% of plastic is made from chemicals sourced from fossil fuels – an industry still subsidised by the UK Government.
From its production to its slow breakdown in the ocean, plastic-related emissions hit the equivalent of 1.0 gigatonnes of CO2 in 2016, and could rise to 2.1 gigatonnes by 2040 – that’s 19% of the world’s emissions if we limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
By joining the Ocean Network, Intersect Global Ltd is helping with Surfers Against Sewage’s education project reaching over 1.4 million young people all over the country, inspiring them to take action on plastic waste in their schools. Their support of over 800 towns and cities on their journey to becoming Plastic Free Communities. Supporting them in putting pressure on the Government to outlaw non-recyclable plastics, and on industry to take full responsibility for their plastic waste.
And also, support the UK’s largest network of over 140,000+ volunteers, empowering people to reduce their plastic use, clean up plastic pollution, and galvanise their communities to protect the marine environment.
Considering joining the Ocean Network or simply make a one-off donation to Surfers Against Sewage? Follow this link for full details.
Spring is really when a lot of us start to think about the year ahead. The winter months are behind us, Spring has sprung and we’re all looking forward to the warmer months.
Spring is a good time to take stock and ask ourselves what should be a simple question but often is far from easy to answer.
Am I happy in my current job?
If you are, then you probably answered with a firm yes and the rest of this article, while still being of interest is only going to re-affirm that yes.
If the answer you gave was ‘sort of’ then the five suggestions below may help you reach a firmer answer. An undefined answer could well be a sign that you need to either count your blessings and remember that you do like your employment or take stock and think about moving on to greener pastures.
Of course, if you answered no, then this article is for you.
So, here is a list of questions to ask yourself:
Get yourself a pen and paper and answer these five questions twice. Go through the list once and write a yes or no answer only. Then go back and write a couple of lines to explain why you answered with yes or no.
Do you look forward to going to work in the morning?
Do you feel your work is recognised?
Do your managers lead and inspire you?
Can you see where you will be in five years?
Do you have regular reviews that are useful in planning your career?
So, if you have answered yes to most of them then congratulations, you love your job, and you have clearly defined what it is you like in the additional answers.
If you answered with more than one or two ‘no’ responses or you hesitated about answering yes to a lot of them, then you clearly have doubts about your role and your career. More to the point, the reasons you put down will tell you why.
All these are indicators that you are not experiencing job satisfaction.
A time for change? Spring is a time for growth and change, and if your answers point to you needing to do just that in your work life, why not connect with us on LinkedIn or contact us to have a discussion with one of our consultants.
Alternatively, you can check out our Job Board for a selection of our latest vacancies.
One of the key elements to CV writing is to demonstrate the impact of your achievement in previous roles you have held.
Unfortunately, not all of us have work in environments where we can provide percentages or hard figures showing how our efforts have contributed to the success of the department or business we have worked for.
So how can you demonstrate our achievements without actual data?
The first thing is to divide the work experience sections into ‘responsibilities’ and ‘achievements’ and build your sentences to read such as:
‘I was employed by……….to………….….’
‘Whilst in this role, I met the team’s goals/company’s objective by…………..’
Additionally, using power verbs and adverbs is an easy way to get your CV noticed. Using verbs like ‘negotiated’ and ‘initiated’ along with ‘confidently’ and ‘resourcefully’ just make your achievements sound better. It brings out your qualities that employers are looking for, gives an insight to the way you work and how you will fit into the team.
Take care when using adverbs however as overuse can make your CV noticeable for the wrong reasons.
You can also add a section on your own personal development. This section can include data such as the number of training courses you’ve attended (in-person or online), new qualifications you’ve gained, new skills you’ve learnt, number of awards you have received as well as the number of team members you’ve trained, coached or mentored and the number of times you’ve been promoted.
Remember, employers may ask you to elaborate on these examples!
To read our other CV writing blog, follow this link. You can also see a selection of jobs currently available by heading over to our Job Board.
Did you know, you can also request for one of our consultants to ring you back to discuss your next career move. We advertise a selection of our live vacancies on our website and we usually have a number of unadvertised vacancies. Our consultants are experts and will help you make an informed decision when it is time for you to secure your next role.
