Youth Unemployment and the key role employers have.

The following is taken from an interesting piece of work that examines youth unemployment. Mainly within a UK context, (although other countries' approaches are discussed) some of the topics the piece looks include:

problems of youth transitions; the knowledge driven economy; the role of approaches to human resource management; employability; structural factors; careers advice and guidance; apprenticeships and the role of government. 

However, the following quote demonstrates one of the key conclusions of the report is that employers need to take a much more active role in addressing the question of youth unemployment.


"The role and actions of employers are also critical to successful transitions. This means that the shape and size of the youth labour market matters, as too do job quality and the willingness and capacity of employers to offer high quality opportunities for work experience, training and progression.  If employers simply act as more or less passive consumers of the outputs of the education system, then there will be problems.  Employers’ recruitment and selection methods and criteria also matter.  The labour market creates some of the most powerful Type 2 incentives to learn, so the pattern of job opportunities and how  these are accessed will have considerable consequences for patterns of participation and achievement inside the education and training system."


Source:  Keep, E., (2012), Youth Transitions, the Labour Market and Entry into Employment: Some Reflections and Questions  SKOPE Research Paper No.108, May 2012, SKOPE, Cardiff University

Link to the full report:  http://bit.ly/KKMoz9

How to optimise your CV for applicant tracking systems

"It is estimated that over 50% of companies use applicant tracking systems. These ATSs filter uploaded CVs and put them into 'buckets' for employers. If your CV gets into the right bucket a human will read it so it does ultimately need to satisfy the human reader, however, an incredible 72% of CVs are never read by a real person: you've got to get it past the machines first."

Source: Mashable; Interview Mastermind; Optimal Resume on 01 Jan 2012 08.57 am,  sent to me by Richard at Abintegro  - http://www.abintegro.com/public/home

Tricks and tips based on the article - good advice for any CV, whether electronically submitted or not:

1. Identify and use as many of the key words, terminology, buzzwords and jargon as possible - use the job advert, job description, personal specification, and company website to find these.
2. Follow instructions exactly, and complete requested information, regardless of whether it is included in your CV. Leaving information out will cause the filter to overlook your CV.
3. Don't use crazy fonts. Stick to standard fonts such as Arial, Georgia, Tahoma, Impact, Courier, Lucinda, Palatino, Tahoma, Trebuchet, Verdana, Sans Serif (the Optimal CV selected fonts).
4. Use generic file types such as .RTF or .DOC. Avoid PDF, DOCX, WPD, WPS or HTML. Sometimes if you use the latest version of Word, it is better to save document as an older version, as companies may not have adopted the new version of Office.
5. Keep it simple: remove graphics, borders, shading and symbols. Special characters used for bullets like arrows can cause problems.
6. Check for any spelling mistakes: the ATS will miss important keywords when they are misspelled.
7. Don't use white font to hide keywords. Employers are on to this trick and simply highlight the document to spot it - many consider it to be deceitful; some systems can tell if white font is used and eliminate CVs on that basis.
8. Spell out your skills or qualifications. Employers more often than not tend to search on a technical or specialised skill. It's advisable to spell these out as well as using acronyms and abbreviations as it's difficult to predict the exact search term that will be used. The more technical your profession, the more important keywords are.
9. Only include relevant skills and experiences. The rest is just taking up space on an otherwise concise and pertinent CV. However, always list work history date order starting with the most recent. 
10. If you are used to using a more traditional CV an example of a Skills CV can be found on the www.prospects.ac.uk -  see link below. http://www.prospects.ac.uk/assets/assets/documents/cv_skills_based.pdf

Being an 'early bird' does pay off!

A recent survey by the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) found that 70% of  students start looking for employment before they receive their degree, with only 3% still looking for a job 12 months after they leave.
"There is a clear message in this report for recruiters not to wait until the year's end when it comes to finding top talent. Not only are students pro-active in finding job opportunities for themselves, they also start making use of their contacts early," says Prof. dr Steef van de Velde, the Dean of RSM.

Source: Graduate Recruiter, Association of Graduate Recruiters, Issue 66, June/July 2012