I presented at www.careerzoo.ie on Sunday 16th January. The event was extremely busy and my presentation was attended by about 150 people. My presentation was “How to get a job without a CV”.
The key objectives of the talk were:
To emphasis the importance of recording job search activity. This feedback is essential to help job seekers navigate to achieve career/job search goals.
To encourage job seekers to stop hiding behind their CVs. The CV still has an important role in job search BUT it doesn’t (or shouldn’t) always have to be the focal point. A CV only tells part of the information required to make a hiring decision.
To outline some strategies for targeting advertised jobs. Options outlined included audio tools, video tools, social media, creative use of cover letters, using your network, and a simple phone call.
To outline some strategies for targeting the hidden job market. Strategies included real world networking, social media networking, speculative applications, and voluntary assignments.
To communicate examples about how others successfully landed a job without using a CV. For many of us “seeing is believing”. I hope that the examples throughout the presentation help your believe that this is possible!!
8 Comments On Career Zoo – How to get a job without a CV
Denis Logan
January 17, 2011 at 8:42 pm
Paul Mullan gave a witty and informative seminar at Career Zoo yesterday 16.1.11 in the Mansion House, Dublin. He stimulated his audience to think of the various ways of getting noticed by employers. He also hammered home the fact that most jobs aren’t advertised at all. I felt better and more upbeat afer his talk. Does anyone know of someone looking for an accountant? !!
I attended Paul’s presentation at the Career Zoo yesterday where his innate knowledge and enthusiasm on the whole area of job hunting had the audience enthralled. It was the one and only seminar of the entire day where there wasn’t a constant stream of people filtering in and out of the room, as the crowd remained in attendance for the entirety of the presentation.
I found it to be an honest, refreshing and inspiring lecture on how best to illuminate your job applications from the crowd. It opened my eyes to the fact that there are more ways to getting a job than just the conventional routes and that the onus is now on the job-seeker to be creative and inventive in order to make an impression.
His talk on the Sunday afternoon of Career Zoo was entertaining, informative and inspirational in equal quantities. Thanks to the very practical information he imparted and advice he gave, I left the talk with a new determination and focus. A lot of what he said was common sense, for example that a company prefers to hire people they already know and trust, but his presentation style and accompanying information hit home the information in a new way. I have already put his advice into practice and have job interview lined up already that I got using his suggestions.
Sarah Buckley
January 18, 2011 at 10:47 am
An inspiring, positive and high energy talk by Paul on Sunday 16th January at Career Zoo. There’s great “get up and go” about this guy, and it’s infectious! Came away with an increased “can do” feeling, which is the start of achieving anything. Thanks Paul!
Thomas Allen
January 18, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Paul’s enthusiastic description of a wide range of job hunting techniques convinced me that there really are many more ways to get a job than just simply sending in a CV. His discussion of online networking really struck a chord with me. LinkedIn offers the potential to connect with hundreds (and even thousands!) of people and is a fantastic way to gain that all important “visibility” in the jobs market. Using online discussion forums is an excellent suggestion for demonstrating your knowledge of and expertise in your target area.
As a graduate looking for work as a HR Generalist/Administrator, I do not have the 1-2 years experience that is typically stated as being a minimum requirement in job adverts for such positions, and I will need to get a job without a CV. Paul’s talk left me much more optimistic that I could do so.
Gogogirl
January 19, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Would like to have attended this but was packed out and couldn’t get in.
admin
January 19, 2011 at 5:15 pm
Hello Paul, Marcus here,
I found your talk on sunday very interesting and educational. A lot of the points you made about going about getting jobs were very helpful. For example, ticking all the boxes and still don`t get interviews and hiding behind a cv, ie, just sending off an email for a job and hoping that you will be selected, which is something I would do most of the time if there is only one position available. Having listened to you and learned new ways to approach job applications, I hope to be more successful in the future.
Thanks,
Marcus.
Carmel Ni Luanai
January 20, 2011 at 8:39 am
I have been a fan of Paul’s approach for some time. His talk on Sunday at the CareerZoo made the long and expensive journey on Irish rail very worthwhile. He is the Duncan Stewart of the job hunthing world! Inspirational and innovative….it should be bottled!
8 Comments On Career Zoo – How to get a job without a CV
Paul Mullan gave a witty and informative seminar at Career Zoo yesterday 16.1.11 in the Mansion House, Dublin. He stimulated his audience to think of the various ways of getting noticed by employers. He also hammered home the fact that most jobs aren’t advertised at all. I felt better and more upbeat afer his talk. Does anyone know of someone looking for an accountant? !!
I attended Paul’s presentation at the Career Zoo yesterday where his innate knowledge and enthusiasm on the whole area of job hunting had the audience enthralled. It was the one and only seminar of the entire day where there wasn’t a constant stream of people filtering in and out of the room, as the crowd remained in attendance for the entirety of the presentation.
I found it to be an honest, refreshing and inspiring lecture on how best to illuminate your job applications from the crowd. It opened my eyes to the fact that there are more ways to getting a job than just the conventional routes and that the onus is now on the job-seeker to be creative and inventive in order to make an impression.
His talk on the Sunday afternoon of Career Zoo was entertaining, informative and inspirational in equal quantities. Thanks to the very practical information he imparted and advice he gave, I left the talk with a new determination and focus. A lot of what he said was common sense, for example that a company prefers to hire people they already know and trust, but his presentation style and accompanying information hit home the information in a new way. I have already put his advice into practice and have job interview lined up already that I got using his suggestions.
An inspiring, positive and high energy talk by Paul on Sunday 16th January at Career Zoo. There’s great “get up and go” about this guy, and it’s infectious! Came away with an increased “can do” feeling, which is the start of achieving anything. Thanks Paul!
Paul’s enthusiastic description of a wide range of job hunting techniques convinced me that there really are many more ways to get a job than just simply sending in a CV. His discussion of online networking really struck a chord with me. LinkedIn offers the potential to connect with hundreds (and even thousands!) of people and is a fantastic way to gain that all important “visibility” in the jobs market. Using online discussion forums is an excellent suggestion for demonstrating your knowledge of and expertise in your target area.
As a graduate looking for work as a HR Generalist/Administrator, I do not have the 1-2 years experience that is typically stated as being a minimum requirement in job adverts for such positions, and I will need to get a job without a CV. Paul’s talk left me much more optimistic that I could do so.
Would like to have attended this but was packed out and couldn’t get in.
Hello Paul, Marcus here,
I found your talk on sunday very interesting and educational. A lot of the points you made about going about getting jobs were very helpful. For example, ticking all the boxes and still don`t get interviews and hiding behind a cv, ie, just sending off an email for a job and hoping that you will be selected, which is something I would do most of the time if there is only one position available. Having listened to you and learned new ways to approach job applications, I hope to be more successful in the future.
Thanks,
Marcus.
I have been a fan of Paul’s approach for some time. His talk on Sunday at the CareerZoo made the long and expensive journey on Irish rail very worthwhile. He is the Duncan Stewart of the job hunthing world! Inspirational and innovative….it should be bottled!
Carmel