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What employers look for

Employers are interested in you as an individual and in the respects of your character and experience that differentiate you from others. Experience that you have had in your spare time and through work will have developed skills that employers seek and given you the opportunity to demonstrate your own personal qualities

Employers are interested in 3 main areas:

  1. Your academic performance.
  2. Your abilities and interests.
  3. Your work experience (paid or voluntary).

Basics of writing a CV:

  1. Core elements include personal details, education and work experience.
  2. Most CV’s also have sections on interests and activities, skills and referees.
  3. Present your details in a systematic order, choosing a style that most appropriately reflects the emphasis you wish to give.
  4. Don’t leave any unexplained gaps in your experience.
  5. Try to let your personality shine through in your CV.
  6. Don’t produce a general purpose CV; tailor it for the type of job by making it relevant.
  7. Ask a Careers advisor to comment on your draft.

For an amusing list of things not to include in your CV, have a look at this page.

Covering Letters

An essential part of the CV package. The first thing the employer sees and it should give a flavour of the CV contents. Has to encourage the employer to continue reading and to persuade them you are a candidate worth considering.

Content

Should be in the style of a business letter, containing 4 or 5 paragraphs.

  1. Introduce yourself. State what type of job you are applying for and where you saw the advertisement.
  2. Explain why you are interested in the job and/or the organisation.
  3. Explain why your unique blend of knowledge, personal skills and experience make you a strong candidate. Point out what you have to offer the organisation.
  4. Indicate what you hope to gain and where it fits into your career plan.
  5. Conclude very positively. Tone is very important.

Usually it is better to word process covering letter unless the advertisement specifies that it is hand written.

Interviews

When you are invited to a first interview you have passed the biggest hurdle in your job search. The invitation to interview means that the recruiter is interested in employing you. You have been selected for this interview because the organisation believes that you have the potential to do the job. It’s up to you to convince them of this by virtue of your qualifications, skills, experience, personality and motivation to do the job.

Why are interviews used?

  1. Designed to access whether you measure up to the requirements of the job.
  2. Most employers want to meet the people they arte considering recruiting and with whom they may have to work with.
  3. Also an opportunity for you to decide whether you want to work for the organisation.

At the interview the interviewer will want to probe:

  1. Your interest in the job.
  2. Your suitability.
  3. Your knowledge of the organisation.

To help them do this they may want to know about:

  1. Your life so far and its main events
  2. Your contribution to activities listed in your CV and what you have learned from these experiences.
  3. Your strengths and weaknesses.
  4. Specific examples to back up your suitability
  5. What motivates you.

The Organisation

Find out about the organisation. Look in the press for any new developments affecting the organisation, find out who their competitors are, think about what challenges they face, what is their philosophy. Keep up to date with current affairs as most employers want recruits who know what is going on in the wider world. Scientists should be able to explain the current advancements in their field of study and the history of the subject.

Click here to have a look at what 3 of the main employers of chemistry graduates look for.

If you have any comments, questions or contributions that you feel would be helpful then please fill out feed back form

Designed by
Andrew Gray, Emma Downie,
Sarah Hardcastle, Scott Baxter, and James Duncan.
Thanks to; Prof Tasker, Prof Yellowlees, Dr. Paul Murray and all those members of staff that gave up time to assist us.
This website is an ongoing project, adapted from work by Alexander Delf, Louise Speedie and Stuart Tindal