I do a fair bit of recruiting - hiring interns two or three times a year, and occasional involvement in more senior hires - and a couple of thoughts came together for me this week ( Read more... )

Dear job hunter,

Thanks for dropping in with your CV earlier. I have a couple of suggestions as to how you might improve it: in particular, it may not be a great idea to list "women" as one of your hobbies...

Don't lie on your CV. Really ( Read more... )

The new job is going fine. Setting up a new office is hassle; planning a foreign trip for next week is hassle. But in a good way.

( However... )

1. Is this legal? Due to the large number of applications we are receiving and the particular nature of the position, please only apply if you hold a degree from any of the following institutions:
   • Oxford University
   • Cambridge University
   • University of Edinburgh
   • London School of Economics
     Although I clearly am qualified on that basis alone, I'm not sure I ( Read more... )

From rosefox, here

As some of you know, I like to give out free career advice from time to time. (Often unsolicited; I hope not too often unwelcome.) I'm also in the position where I get a fair few people just emailing me their CV's and asking if I had a suitable opening; to which the answer is usually no (literally once, in my almost four years here, has the right ( Read more... )

The next concours, ie the next round of recruitment for the EU's administrative machinery, has been announced. The job criteria are:

• A university degree of at least three years' duration
• Thorough knowledge of one of the following official languages of the EU (main language): Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, ( Read more... )

Just in case anyone is interested - I've been trying to persuade a friend to apply, but he enjoys his current job too much ("you only have that job until your next election!" I tell him, but to no avail). Will be happy to give feedback to anyone interested.

( Vacancy for a Secretary General )

I see that a new edition of What Color is your Parachute by Richard Nelson Bolles is coming out. I found this the best careers advice book I ever read, at the moment I last took a serious career shift, in late 1998. The summary of the advice is as follows:

1. Know your best and most fulfilling transferable skills.
2. Know what kind of work you want to do ( Read more... )