The job market is competitive and it can be hard to know how to make your CV stand out from the pack.
In a session at our recent Building your governance career event, Connor Simms, Director – Governance Recruitment Specialist at Ingen partners, Natasha Twena, Partner, Entity Compliance & Governance at EY and Helen Mantle, Divisional Director and Head of the EMEA Entity Management Team at Macquarie Group, discussed what they look out for when recruiting new team members.
The personal statement
Feelings about the inclusion of a personal statement were mixed, but really it comes down to how this adds value to the application. Ideally, a personal statement should not just be tailored to the applicant, but also to the company and role you are applying for.
Make sure that each time you apply for a job, your CV, covering letter and personal statement reflect the specific role. While this approach will mean that each application will take more time, it also means it is more likely to lead to an interview. Plus, spending time really considering why you want to work for the organisation and what you have to offer will help to make sure that you’re only applying for positions that you really want.
Accuracy
This feels obvious but – especially in governance roles – attention to detail goes a long way. Typos and grammatical errors are likely to put potential employers off. Make sure to check applications meticulously and apply spelling and grammar checks. It is always helpful to have a second pair of eyes on a piece of work so, if possible, ask a friend or family member if they can proofread any application before you submit it.
Understand the role
Job descriptions can end up being a bit of a shopping list of everything that a company thinks they might need. Make your application stand out by really considering what’s required and how you can meet that based on your knowledge and experience. It’s very unlikely that any candidate will fulfil the whole criteria on any role description, so don’t be afraid to acknowledge developmental areas where the position will enable you to grow.
Some organisations will advertise required ‘years of experience’ for a position. This can be a helpful guide and, along with the associated salary, can give an indication of the level of responsibility associated with the position. However, these are guidelines. If, on consideration of the role description, you feel that you would be well-suited to a job even though you don’t quite meet the experience requirements, it is still worth applying.
Also, don’t get too bogged down in job titles. Different organisations use job titles differently so while a more senior title is always tempting, it is more important to look at what you’ll actually be doing. That’s what’s going to make up your day-to-day and that’s the experience that’s going to be on your future CV.
Reputation
Governance is a small community in the UK, and it’s likely that your reputation may precede you. With that in mind, it’s important to build and maintain good relationships with current and former colleagues – you never know when they may become future colleagues. In any role, make sure to build your personal brand as someone who does a good job, is reliable and is pleasant to work with. Stay in touch with people by attending events and through LinkedIn as industry connections can be helpful when it comes to finding out about new opportunities.
It's a two-way process
Remember that the application and interview process work both ways. While you may like the sound of a role or an organisation on paper, make sure to use the interview to find out more about the culture and ways of working to check that they match what you’re looking for.
It is also important to think about how the job role will meet your needs. Will it offer you the chance to build new skills, gain experience in a new industry or to take on more responsibility? Remember that each job you take is a step in your career, and while that doesn’t necessarily need to be up the ladder, each role should equip you with an additional ‘string to your bow’ so that you’re building up the portfolio of experience that you need to get to where you want to be in the long term.
When it doesn’t work out
Not every application will lead to an interview, not every interview will lead to a new job and not every new job will be what you expected. Remember that each experience can be a learning experience though, so don’t give yourself a hard time when things don’t work out.
If an interview didn’t go well, think about what went wrong and how you might do better next time around. Equally, if a job doesn’t suit you when you get there, there will still be opportunities to gain experience and make new connections which might open doors in the future. You can only make decisions based on the information that you have available to you at the time – that pool of information will grow with every experience, meaning you’ll become more equipped to make informed decisions next time.
What to do next
Wherever you are in your career, it is useful to have an idea of where you want to go next. The Discover Governance pages of the website have a wealth of information about different types of opportunities working in governance.
If you’re looking for a new job at the moment, why not visit our jobs site, or to evaluate your current skill set and identify gaps that you might be able to fill in either your current or future roles, have a look at our Competency Framework for Governance Professionals.
For those who are just starting out, find out more about governance careers in our previous blog.
