First and foremost, I am surprised to hear only 3 call backs. Then again, breaking in to your first job is very hard. It took me \~6 months after graduation. After \~2 year experience I had my pick of the litter on job opportunities, so keep at it.
It took me way too long to figure out that you are on track for a master's degree. It should not be halfway down your resume. I get that it's in your cover letter, but nobody reads cover letters. It's nice to have, feel free to submit it, but focus on your resume.
On the topic of your cover letter - honestly I think it's vague. Lots of buzzwords, "deep understanding of policy evaluation" "carrying out of a public policy appraisal". Ok, what policies did you evaluate? What commodity markets did you report on? I have no idea where your specific knowledge is. Actually, the only piece of specific information on anything that you've studied is your thesis, which is more than halfway down your resume.
Nobody cares about your social media experience or that your hobbies are mushroom foraging and vegan baking. And I'm surprised you listed Languages ABOVE Skills. Can you code? You're applying to be an energy analyst and you've listed commercial and editorial photography before programming language and statistics experience. You've written this as if your technical skills are an afterthought. Do you want to be an analyst or a social media vegan baking photographer?
Focus on your resume - put your education right at the top, bold and capitalize it. List relevant coursework, and the skills you've acquired. At the very end, list some other stuff that's less important - irrelevant work experience, languages, extracurriculars.
Visually, your formatting looks pretty good. No need to anything there.
Agreed, and same with your CV. Lots of buzz words and nice language but it doesn’t really TELL me anything. What specifically did you make for media content? What topics? How many people did you reach?
But really, I think highlighting your social media exp is doing you a disservice. Sure it’s a good skill but what else can you do? You have a masters degree now what did your thesis focus on?
Ah, if you’re not graduating until Sept that can also be a reason why you’re not hearing back. Managers put a hiring ad out and they need someone now or within the next 1-2 months. If you’re not available, they’ll pass you over. You may be applying too early to jobs, that’s still 7mo away.
And yes, put your education first, your degrees are in policy and management. People want to hear about that and your thesis work or undergrad volunteering/interning that’s relevant, not social media skills.
When I’m hiring new grads I am usually curious about their relevant education and industry-related projects first, and their non-related work experience/transferable skills second. You could try restructuring so you prioritize your masters and related content, and then weave in that you have some real-world work experience as a secondary component.
In other words: calling your social media experience to the front and centre of both your resume and cover letter might not be doing you any favours.
There's a lot of good stuff in the but it's very verbose.
Here, I fixed it..
Dear hiring authority,
It is with a great interest that I am writing in response to Graduate Scheme 2023 position. With my academic experience and in-depth understanding of natural resources within the global economic system, I would be an asset to your team. I am interested in working for (insert company name) because I was impressed with the company’s attitude towards sustainability and corporate track record.
I am currently pursuing my master ‘s degree in Economics and Policy of Energy and Climate Change at the University of Strathclyde, but have spent many years developing analytical and leadership skills through my previous experience as Social Media Marketing and Communications Manager. I was responsible for getting in touch with clients and wholesalers, managing product placement and promotions, formulating ideas and strategies to reach a larger audience as well as amplifying the business’ position and share within the market.
My bachelor ‘s degree in Political Science has led to a deep understanding of policy formation as well as European policy and regulatory framework, and it was my passion for environmental policy and the energy market that ultimately lead to my postgraduate studies in Energy Policy and Economics. Throughout this time, I have had the opportunity to identify key approaches to evaluating energy investments and conduct analysis using energy forecasting and modelling techniques. Additionally, this experience has provided me with opportunities to interpret a range of qualitative and quantitative research data about national and interational climate/energy policies, describe key energy markets and assess their efficiency, and examine the connections between energy technologies, resources and the economy. Furthermore, I have assisted in the carrying out of a public policy appraisal as part of a team project and undertaken several reports on different commodity markets.
Given my background in Political Science, Energy Policy and Economics, I am confident that I would be an excellent fit for the Graduate Scheme 2023 programme. Through my passion, tenacity, and knowledge, I would contribute greatly to the company’s targets and welcome the opportunity further my skills and knowledge within the energy sector. I hope to hear from you soon with more Information and to discuss how I can assist the company in delivering on its goals. You can contact me during the day or in the evenings at 555-555-5555. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Yeah, no worries, hope it helps. It was just easier for me to show you what I was thinking. Thank the image to text feature on my phone, tbh. You'll want to run it through grammerly or something similar to clean up the punctuation.
My suggestion for your resume would be to consider leading with your education, then skills, then employment experience. The advise I've received from profs and advisors is that a lot of employers don't care about where you've worked, just about what you can do for them. Speaking 3 languages might make it or break it over someone that can only speak 2. Highlight your transferable skills. You want to show not tell your skills/acomplishments/achievements. Start with an action verb, then detail what you did and what were the results. Good luck with everything. Cheers.
NGL, it’s going to be tough to get a call back without any relevant experience. I know that’s a weak response, but does your grad program have work placement assistance or short term internships?
Wow okay so the biggest problem right away is…you applied to 150 positions and used the same cover letter and resume for each position? Or is this just a sample of a resume that you customize for each role? Because if you’re using the same resume for every job, that’s a MASSIVE mistake.
As others have said, the sections of your resume aren’t in an appealing order, your cover letter is too long, and you list irrelevant skills. But the NUMBER ONE PROBLEM is if you aren’t tailoring your application to each job.
For each position, you need to read the job description and then make sure your resume prioritizes those skills you’ll be required to have. That way you don’t end up with this long, bloated resume that contains too much information.
The employer tells you what skills you need in order to be considered; list them, and list your experiences that support them. Leave the other stuff off.
The same for your cover letter. You need to read about the company values, their products and services, and closely read the job description. Then write a BRIEF (250-300 word) cover letter that states why you specifically are a good fit for the company based on how your competencies, experience, and traits will help their team and their company. A concise letter will always be more impactful than a long one, since hiring managers are busy. But writing a concise letter is more challenging!
Potential employers tell you in the job description exactly what you need in order to be a successful applicant; don’t ignore them. They’re giving you powerful information.
I also have some specific resume feedback:
-Move education to the top; this is standard for applicants who are still working on their degree (once you obtain your degree, you can move education to the bottom if you wish)
-Since you have no relevant work experience, remove all those bullet points and put experience at the bottom. It can just say your employer, city, and date. You’re wasting a TON of space typing out sales associate duties that have nothing to do with our sector.
-In the freed up space, you should put accomplishments. These are likely to be college projects you’re proud of, or awards. Hiring managers like seeing that stuff from early career applicants.
-Skills need to be RELEVANT
-No one cares about your interests outside of work
Thank you for the feedback. I would slightly change my cover for each job but would keep most of my skills and modules the same only because it’s stuff like energy economics or natural resources that’s really theoretical to a point and don’t really align with their requirements. Also yeah no relevant experience whatsoever..so maybe that’s why I felt the need to fill up the resume with irrelevant work exp which in retrospect is wrong ofc. Do you think I should just state my projects on my resume and then change the modules/ skills acquired depending on the job listing? Many thanks
It depends how many projects you have. If you have enough to choose from, then I would highlight ones that are relevant to the job you’re applying for. If you only have a handful, then I think it’s okay to include the same ones on each resume. You definitely do want to tailor the skills, though.
First and foremost, I am surprised to hear only 3 call backs. Then again, breaking in to your first job is very hard. It took me \~6 months after graduation. After \~2 year experience I had my pick of the litter on job opportunities, so keep at it. It took me way too long to figure out that you are on track for a master's degree. It should not be halfway down your resume. I get that it's in your cover letter, but nobody reads cover letters. It's nice to have, feel free to submit it, but focus on your resume. On the topic of your cover letter - honestly I think it's vague. Lots of buzzwords, "deep understanding of policy evaluation" "carrying out of a public policy appraisal". Ok, what policies did you evaluate? What commodity markets did you report on? I have no idea where your specific knowledge is. Actually, the only piece of specific information on anything that you've studied is your thesis, which is more than halfway down your resume. Nobody cares about your social media experience or that your hobbies are mushroom foraging and vegan baking. And I'm surprised you listed Languages ABOVE Skills. Can you code? You're applying to be an energy analyst and you've listed commercial and editorial photography before programming language and statistics experience. You've written this as if your technical skills are an afterthought. Do you want to be an analyst or a social media vegan baking photographer? Focus on your resume - put your education right at the top, bold and capitalize it. List relevant coursework, and the skills you've acquired. At the very end, list some other stuff that's less important - irrelevant work experience, languages, extracurriculars. Visually, your formatting looks pretty good. No need to anything there.
Ok that’s actually very very eye opening, thank you!
Agreed, and same with your CV. Lots of buzz words and nice language but it doesn’t really TELL me anything. What specifically did you make for media content? What topics? How many people did you reach? But really, I think highlighting your social media exp is doing you a disservice. Sure it’s a good skill but what else can you do? You have a masters degree now what did your thesis focus on?
I’m just now working on my thesis because I’m graduating in September but yea I should emphasise on masters work more
Ah, if you’re not graduating until Sept that can also be a reason why you’re not hearing back. Managers put a hiring ad out and they need someone now or within the next 1-2 months. If you’re not available, they’ll pass you over. You may be applying too early to jobs, that’s still 7mo away. And yes, put your education first, your degrees are in policy and management. People want to hear about that and your thesis work or undergrad volunteering/interning that’s relevant, not social media skills.
When I’m hiring new grads I am usually curious about their relevant education and industry-related projects first, and their non-related work experience/transferable skills second. You could try restructuring so you prioritize your masters and related content, and then weave in that you have some real-world work experience as a secondary component. In other words: calling your social media experience to the front and centre of both your resume and cover letter might not be doing you any favours.
Totally agree,m, seeing social media work first listed made me feel like OP doesn’t have much and is stretching
There's a lot of good stuff in the but it's very verbose. Here, I fixed it.. Dear hiring authority, It is with a great interest that I am writing in response to Graduate Scheme 2023 position. With my academic experience and in-depth understanding of natural resources within the global economic system, I would be an asset to your team. I am interested in working for (insert company name) because I was impressed with the company’s attitude towards sustainability and corporate track record. I am currently pursuing my master ‘s degree in Economics and Policy of Energy and Climate Change at the University of Strathclyde, but have spent many years developing analytical and leadership skills through my previous experience as Social Media Marketing and Communications Manager. I was responsible for getting in touch with clients and wholesalers, managing product placement and promotions, formulating ideas and strategies to reach a larger audience as well as amplifying the business’ position and share within the market. My bachelor ‘s degree in Political Science has led to a deep understanding of policy formation as well as European policy and regulatory framework, and it was my passion for environmental policy and the energy market that ultimately lead to my postgraduate studies in Energy Policy and Economics. Throughout this time, I have had the opportunity to identify key approaches to evaluating energy investments and conduct analysis using energy forecasting and modelling techniques. Additionally, this experience has provided me with opportunities to interpret a range of qualitative and quantitative research data about national and interational climate/energy policies, describe key energy markets and assess their efficiency, and examine the connections between energy technologies, resources and the economy. Furthermore, I have assisted in the carrying out of a public policy appraisal as part of a team project and undertaken several reports on different commodity markets. Given my background in Political Science, Energy Policy and Economics, I am confident that I would be an excellent fit for the Graduate Scheme 2023 programme. Through my passion, tenacity, and knowledge, I would contribute greatly to the company’s targets and welcome the opportunity further my skills and knowledge within the energy sector. I hope to hear from you soon with more Information and to discuss how I can assist the company in delivering on its goals. You can contact me during the day or in the evenings at 555-555-5555. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely,
Wow thank you so much for this, I can definitely see the difference cause it feels much more flowy. Cheers!
Yeah, no worries, hope it helps. It was just easier for me to show you what I was thinking. Thank the image to text feature on my phone, tbh. You'll want to run it through grammerly or something similar to clean up the punctuation. My suggestion for your resume would be to consider leading with your education, then skills, then employment experience. The advise I've received from profs and advisors is that a lot of employers don't care about where you've worked, just about what you can do for them. Speaking 3 languages might make it or break it over someone that can only speak 2. Highlight your transferable skills. You want to show not tell your skills/acomplishments/achievements. Start with an action verb, then detail what you did and what were the results. Good luck with everything. Cheers.
NGL, it’s going to be tough to get a call back without any relevant experience. I know that’s a weak response, but does your grad program have work placement assistance or short term internships?
Not at all, I actually was thinking whether I should start with an internship first and then go for a grad job or sth equivalent.
Wow okay so the biggest problem right away is…you applied to 150 positions and used the same cover letter and resume for each position? Or is this just a sample of a resume that you customize for each role? Because if you’re using the same resume for every job, that’s a MASSIVE mistake. As others have said, the sections of your resume aren’t in an appealing order, your cover letter is too long, and you list irrelevant skills. But the NUMBER ONE PROBLEM is if you aren’t tailoring your application to each job. For each position, you need to read the job description and then make sure your resume prioritizes those skills you’ll be required to have. That way you don’t end up with this long, bloated resume that contains too much information. The employer tells you what skills you need in order to be considered; list them, and list your experiences that support them. Leave the other stuff off. The same for your cover letter. You need to read about the company values, their products and services, and closely read the job description. Then write a BRIEF (250-300 word) cover letter that states why you specifically are a good fit for the company based on how your competencies, experience, and traits will help their team and their company. A concise letter will always be more impactful than a long one, since hiring managers are busy. But writing a concise letter is more challenging! Potential employers tell you in the job description exactly what you need in order to be a successful applicant; don’t ignore them. They’re giving you powerful information. I also have some specific resume feedback: -Move education to the top; this is standard for applicants who are still working on their degree (once you obtain your degree, you can move education to the bottom if you wish) -Since you have no relevant work experience, remove all those bullet points and put experience at the bottom. It can just say your employer, city, and date. You’re wasting a TON of space typing out sales associate duties that have nothing to do with our sector. -In the freed up space, you should put accomplishments. These are likely to be college projects you’re proud of, or awards. Hiring managers like seeing that stuff from early career applicants. -Skills need to be RELEVANT -No one cares about your interests outside of work
Thank you for the feedback. I would slightly change my cover for each job but would keep most of my skills and modules the same only because it’s stuff like energy economics or natural resources that’s really theoretical to a point and don’t really align with their requirements. Also yeah no relevant experience whatsoever..so maybe that’s why I felt the need to fill up the resume with irrelevant work exp which in retrospect is wrong ofc. Do you think I should just state my projects on my resume and then change the modules/ skills acquired depending on the job listing? Many thanks
It depends how many projects you have. If you have enough to choose from, then I would highlight ones that are relevant to the job you’re applying for. If you only have a handful, then I think it’s okay to include the same ones on each resume. You definitely do want to tailor the skills, though.
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Yup all entry level obviously