Recent research, by major online job boards, such as Jobsite, Monster and Reed, showed that a sizable proportion of CVs contain a number of obvious mistakes.

When you consider that a role will frequently have well over 70 applicants, and as such a recruitment consultant can only spend up to a minute assessing your details, it shows how essential it is to double check everything.

Some of the most frequent CV mistakes we have encountered within Jenrick Commercial are highlighted below. We would urge you to spend a couple of minutes referencing them against your current CV:

Spelling and grammar
Over 20% of CVs have obvious and multiple spelling mistakes. A spellcheck on a PC is a good start, but please check it yourself - or, even better, have someone with fresh eyes look through it.

Concise and to the point
You have a limited window of opportunity, so keep it to the point and ensure your core messages come across with strength - and do not make your CV too long.

Lack of tailoring
Each employer is looking for a CV and cover letter that applies to their role and as all roles are different, you should make small adaptations so that it matches their specific requirements. Show that you understand what it is they want you to do.

Information Gaps
Whether it’s by choice or just forgetfulness, some people leave previous jobs off their CV meaning a gap in employment. Even if you were not working, state what you were doing.

Keep the design simple
Unless you’re going for a design role, layout should always be second stage to the content of your CV. One standard font in a Word Document is perfect - please do not send PDFs.

Incorrect personal details
It is amazing how many people write the wrong telephone number on their CV, or misspell their email address - please test them. Also, if you are applying for jobs, ensure your voicemail is not too personalised or your email address is not inappropriate - it may put off potential employers.

If you are currently considering a career move and would like our consultants to review your CV, please call any of the Jenrick Offices and we will be more than happy to help.

Janos Meszaros, Recruitment Consultant at Jenrick IT recently provided the following report on his job market predcitions for 2012 within the security and defence sector:

2012 is going to be a busy year for consultancy companies within the defence and security sector. Their priority will be to continue the battle against Cyber Crime.

As an answer to recent (various organization hacked by the Anonymous Group) and not so recent (Stuxnet attack against an Iranian nuclear reactor) Cyber attacks, the British Government announced last year that they will allocate £650 million of funding to set up a National Cyber Security Programme. Government Agencies will also take a central role to organise the ongoing battle and work closely with commercial organisations.

This busy market has opened up many opportunity’s for jobseekers with strong technical knowledge. The most sought after candidates have strong development experience with C++ in an embedded and/or real-time context in either Linux or Windows environment; also having strong experience in developing multi-threaded applications.

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Now we’ve entered 2012, the year of the London Olympics, many people are asking the question as to whether London 2012 will help provide the boost that the UK economy so desperately needs?

The following article discusses the opinions and results from a number of London business surveys:

Olympics infrastructure provider Cisco found 40% of employees think the London Olympic Games will build a ‘better Britain’, although the survey also found the mood was still ‘negative’ for 51%.

But a separate survey from the CBI and KPMG found 92% of London businesses think the Games will benefit the capital internationally. With opinion divided - especially over the £41 million ‘extra’ being invested in the opening ceremony - can the Olympics provide the boost the UK economy needs? (more…)

The car manufacturing employment enters the new year with positive news that Jaguar Land Rover is to expand its Merseyside plant to create 1,500 jobs, as a recent report reveals:

Jaguar Land Rover is planning to double the size of its Merseyside factory and create 1,500 new jobs in a major boost to the Coalition’s drive to rebalance the economy.

An expansion of the plant - one of the biggest car manufacturing facilities in the UK - comes amid growing worries over a slowdown in UK industry and the prospects of a double dip recession in the wider economy.

JLR’s Land Rover plant in Halewood is at full capacity producing the new Range Rover Evoque and growing the factory will allow the company to keep up with surging demand for its products.

Sources familiar with the situation say the company is exploring plans to double the size of the plant by developing on surrounding land. This will represent an investment of around £100m, although the proposals are thought to be at a relatively early stage.
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According to Jenrick IT (Specialist IT recruiter), 2012 will be a very exciting year in technology development.

Philip Fanthom, Managing Director, commented:

“We will see a continuing trend in technology towards easier to manage and easier to access technology.

Some new releases to look out for will be Tango (Smartphone OS) and Windows 8 from Microsoft, and Android update, Hybrid Cloud services from social media hubs, Ultrabooks from all the main players, a battle of the tablets and of course the much anticipated Apple iTV with AI built in (based on IVR) to replace a remote control.

IVR (interactive voice recognition) will take centre stage with a number of technology devices after the successful launch of iPhone’s Siri.”

Here are the general top technology predictions for 2012:

• Apple iTV
• Smarter TV’s
• Social enterprise and B2B
• Windows 8
• Ultrabooks
• Tablets
• Smartphones
• Smart Wallet
• Hybrid Cloud
• BYOD
• e-government
• Open data

For more detail on technology predictions for 2012, please click on the link below:

• Click here for more detail from leading experts on technology predictions for 2012