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How to Write a CV
I Have an Interview, What do I do?
I've got the Job, how to resign the right way
The Right Way to Start

Timesheets
Points About Your Pay
Tax Questions

Send Your CV To Big Fish Recruitment

 

Timesheets

There's virtually nothing more important to you (or us) than getting your timesheet on time…simply because we can't pay you promptly if we don't have details of the hours you have worked!

Deadline for timesheets: 9 am Monday at the very latest.

If you lose your timesheet you can download a copy here. We can't stress how crucial the Timesheet procedure is: We want you to be paid in full and on time, so please remember to double-check the details and hit that deadline!

Points About Your Pay

All Temporary Workers are paid a week in arrears, with your Tax and National Insurance deducted at the source. Please ensure you have issued us with either a P45, P46 or P38 so we can administer the correct tax coding. Payment will be made to your bank account on the subsequent Friday.

Tax Questions

If you’re an employee, your employer must give you certain documents - forms P45 and P60 - about the tax you pay on your wages. If you receive benefits or expenses your employer sends a form P11D to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). You get a copy of that information.

You get a P45 from your employer when you stop working for them. It's a record of your pay and the tax that's been deducted from it so far in the tax year. It shows:

• your tax code, tax reference number and Tax Office
• your National Insurance number
• when you were last paid
• your earnings in the tax year from all your jobs
• how much tax was deducted from your earnings

A P45 has four parts - Part 1, Part 1A, Part 2 and Part 3. Your employer sends Part 1 to the Tax Office and gives you the other three. When you start a new job, or claim Jobseeker's Allowance, you give Part 2 and Part 3 to your new employer or to the Jobcentre. You keep the remaining one (Part 1A) for your own records.

Your employer should automatically give you a P45 when you stop working for them. If not, ask for it - you're entitled to it by law.

Your P60 is the summary of your pay and the tax that’s been deducted from it in the tax year. Your employer should give you a P60 to keep as a record at the end of every tax year (which runs from 6 April to 5 April the next year). If your employer doesn't give you a P60 at the end of the tax year, ask for it - you're entitled to it by law. You might need it:

• to complete a tax return, if this applies to you
• to claim back any tax you’ve overpaid
• to apply for tax credits

You may also need it as proof of your income if you apply for a loan or a mortgage – so it’s important to keep all your P60s safely.

Your employer uses form P11D to tell HMRC about the value of any ‘benefits in kind’ they’ve given you during the tax year. This means benefits or expenses that effectively increase your income, like:

• a company car
• private medical insurance
• interest-free loans

Your employer will only declare them if you’ve earned at least £8,500 in the year, including the value of the benefits. They will work out how much each benefit is worth, record it on the form and send it to HMRC. They’ll also give you a copy, which you’ll need for your records or if you complete a tax return. If you apply for a loan or mortgage, banks and building societies will accept form P11D as proof of extra income.

If you've lost your P60 your employer can issue you with a duplicate - but this must be clearly marked as being so.

If you've lost your P45, you won't be able to get a replacement. Your new employer will give you a form P46 to complete so that HMRC can give you a code number for your new employment.

Useful Tax Links

Contact details for all Tax Offices (opens new window)
P46: Employee without a form P45 (PDF)
Your tax code explained
Tax for the self-employed
Tax for the employed
Work out if you're employed or self-employed
Tax on casual, part-time or temporary work
Starting your first job: what to do about tax
Tax on company cars and other benefits
Tax on tips and bonuses
Tax on employee share schemes
Tax when employing people in your home

CV tips

What information will you need?

You should gather together all of the information required below. You will probably not use all of this information in your CV but it will provide you with useful reference material when it comes to preparing for interviews.

Personal Details
Your full name, address, home telephone number and mobile phone number. You don't need to include date of birth or marital status. You may want to include nationality if you are applying for jobs abroad or if you are a British/EU national and your name does not sound like other names in the country you are applying to work in. Do you have a full driving licence? Is it clean?

Education / Qualifications
List your qualifications and education history, for example:
BSc (Hons) 2.2 in Biochemistry at the University of Warwick, 1980 - 1983.
GCE A Levels: Maths [C], Biology [B], Chemistry [C] at Farnham School, 1978 - 1980.
GCE O Levels (or GCSEs if you did them): Maths [B], English Language [C], History [C], Geography [C], French [C], Chemistry [C], Biology [C] at Farnham School, 1973 - 1978.
If you have a degree you probably will not need to list all your O Levels/GCSEs; just listing the number is probably sufficient.

Professional Qualifications
List your professional qualifications, membership of professional associations and professional ID numbers. If you recently completed a college or university degree or HND or Diploma, etc, then you may want to list the courses you studied if the subject you studied was relevant to your target job.

Training Courses
List any work related training courses which you attended, including company courses and any you attended on your own initiative. If you obtained a qualification on any course please list it. You only need to list the important courses you attended; no one really cares if you went on a time management course as everyone gets sent on these courses!

Work Experience
If you have been working for a number of years you probably do not need to include any part-time jobs, vacation jobs, voluntary work or unpaid work experience. Charity work could be included in your interests. However you might want to include these jobs if they covered a period of unemployment, or a time when you were not working for any other reason, or you feel that some of the experience you gained will be useful in your next job. You should normally concentrate on your two most recent jobs (unless you were only there for a short time), because employers are usually most interested in these.

Start with your most recent or last job and work backwards. For each position (treat internal promotion as a new job and record the dates separately) list your job title (e.g. Manager, Supervisor, etc), the job title of the person you reported to (e.g. Director, Manager, etc) and when you started and finished in each job. Give the name of the company and include a brief description of the service they provide (using the terms they would use to describe themselves). Set out your main responsibilities, achievements, duties, and skills that could be transferred to another employer. Be specific and positive about your skills, e.g. 'good written skills' may be a better description of your abilities rather than 'good communication skills'.

Include your level of responsibility if any, e.g. 'responsibility for departmental budget of £100K and managed 10 staff'. In particular list any achievements you had in each position, including increases in sales/productivity and cost savings made. Quantify your achievements if possible. 'Increased sales by £100K' is more interesting and positive than just saying 'Increased sales'. You should try to include some achievements such as meeting deadlines, budgets, etc, and any information that may be relevant to your next job.

Major Achievements
When you are listing your achievements in this section, only list 3 to 6 of your most important work achievements; your other achievements can be described under the work experience section. You should only list achievements which are relevant to your next job and indicate how you achieved them.

This section is very important as an employer will only invite you for an interview if they can see a benefit in doing so. Your achievements may sell you to an employer and make them choose you for an interview rather than someone else. For this reason it is vital that you think carefully about your achievements.

Other Experience
List any computer skills you have, including the make and type of equipment you are familiar with, the software and operating system used, e.g. IBM compatible PC, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Office 97.

If you have foreign language skills which may be relevant for any jobs which you are applying for, please list them and indicate whether your skills are spoken, written, business or technical. Please also indicate your level of fluency: fluent, good working knowledge, etc. You should only list these skills if they are relevant to the jobs you are applying for as no one really wants to hear about a French language course you did at school a long time ago. If relevant to your next job please include your typing or shorthand speeds.

Interests / Hobbies
List your interests, hobbies and any sports you play. List any positions of responsibility you hold or have held in any club or organisation, and say what your responsibilities and achievements were.

References
You do not normally need to list referees on a CV, but it is a good idea to think about whom you could ask now. For some professions however it is normal to list referees; these include the teaching and health service (NHS) professions - your referees in these professions are often asked to provide you with a reference before you are even asked to an interview.

Summary
List your major skills, strengths, personal qualities and achievements. Be specific, e.g. good team player, excellent written skills, versatile, able to motivate others, etc. Look at your staff appraisals or at your references.

What should you leave out of your CV?
Photos - the only people who need to include these are models, actors, actresses and possibly air cabin crew.

Any sort of failure - exams, marriages, businesses, etc.

Reasons for leaving each job.

CV Format

To get yourself noticed it is important to use a CV format which will best represent you in the jobs market. There are any number of ways of laying out a CV, but these can in fact be reduced to 5 basic examples: Chronological CV (traditional approach - superseded by the Performance CV), Functional CV, Performance CV (an updated form of the Chronological CV), Targeted CV and Alternative CV. Each of these formats has its advantages and disadvantages (see below).

In general the Performance CV works best for most people, assuming that you are staying in the same field. If this format is unsuitable for you then you could try either the Functional or Targeted CV formats and see which reads/looks better for you. Even if you create a Performance CV for yourself, there are times when a Functional/Targeted CV may help you secure an interview when a Performance CV would fail.

Performance CV
In a Performance CV your employment history is shown in reverse chronological order, with your most recent job first. Job titles and company names are strongly emphasised and duties and achievements are described under each job title. You should use a Performance CV when you are seeking a job which is directly in line with your past experiences or your last employer was a household name. The only difference between a Chronological CV and a Performance CV is that the Performance CV highlights a list of your major achievements near the start of your CV.

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

Functional CV
This type of CV highlights the main functions/achievements of your whole career and it can therefore be very useful if you have had a varied career or you are seeking a change of career direction. In this format, job titles and company names are given less dominance or even omitted in some cases.

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

Targeted CV
This type of CV emphasises your abilities and achievements which are directly relevant to a specific job target. It is best used when you are planning a change of career direction.

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

Alternative CV
This sort of CV is suitable for creative careers in, for example, writing, public relations and fashion designers. It is not suitable for senior managers/executives who would be better advised to use the Performance CV.

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

General CV tips
These days you can write your CV in the first person (i.e. I have) or the third person (i.e. he/she has). However, you do not need to use 'I', 'he' or 'she' in a CV because its use is implied.

Preparing for Your Interview

Before the Interview

It sounds obvious but planning is absolutely crucial. You must plan what you are going to say and what qualities you will emphasise. In many ways this is not as hard as it might first appear because interviews are, in part at least, predictable. If you think about it, every employer is looking for evidence of qualities such as:

• A ‘can do’ attitude
• Communications skills
• A real interest in the company and the position
• High standards of performance
• A stable work history

Demonstrate these, and you are already half way towards winning the interview!
Most interviews boil down to a few key questions that essentially have to be asked (although they may be dressed up in slightly different forms). These are:

1. Why did you leave your last job / why are you thinking about leaving your present employer?
2. Why do you want to work for this company /why do you want this job?
3. What can you do for us / how will you do it?

Prepare straightforward answers to give in response to these questions (see below) and practice what you will say, again and again. The best way to do this is to practise in the mirror, or in front of friends or by recording yourself. Listen to your voice and watch your body language. Your words need to sound lively and animated rather than monotonic and flat. Learn to adopt an open posture: sit up comfortably and look alert and attentive by leaning slightly forward.

Always always look at the employer’s website and gather as much info or industry knowledge as you can, employers are interested in people who are interested in their business.

Remind yourself that you are going to a two way interview. In fact a meeting with another Manager broadly on the same level as you. You are there in your own right. He/she wants to know about you; you need information out of whomever it is that you meet.

Plan your route to the venue for the interview and allow plenty of time. For every interview we arrange, we’ll give you full information so you’ll always know where you’re going.

On arrival be nice to everyone you meet. Especially secretaries and receptionists.
Don’t forget the fresh breath mints!

During the Interview

Your approach will be relevant to your personal circumstances, but guideline responses to the ‘inevitable’ questions are:

1. Why did you leave your last job / why are you thinking about leaving your present employer? The basic rule of thumb here is don’t lie. Have your (well rehearsed) version of events ready if you have not worked for a while. Never be embarrassed about redundancy. Your position was made redundant, not you. Be positive about ‘new doors opening’ and never be rude about your last employer or bitter about your personal circumstances. If there was a clash of personalities, say so.

If you are in work, be clear as to why you are/may be looking to leave your current employer. There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious and it’s generally accepted that, given the demise of the ‘job for life’ culture, employees these days are less faithful than they perhaps were and are more inclined to be mercenary. It cuts both ways.

2. Why do you want to work for this company / why do you want this job? Describe what you know about the business (research beforehand) and the position. Give basic information as to why you appear suitable, but ask for more details on the role. For example, you could ask, ‘Are there any particular requirements of the job it’s worth talking about now?’ You need to gather as much information about what problems this employer may have and what sort of person they are looking for so you can tailor your responses and feed back what it is they want to hear - demonstrating relevant skills, abilities and achievements in the process.

3. What can you do for us / how will you do it? Here your answers will depend on the seniority of the position applied for and your personal circumstances. Central to your responses, however, should be an ‘on tap’ verbal list of your main skills, your management style and how you manage. Use your achievements and commercial success as evidence of what you can do - ideally quantified.

Ask as many intelligent questions as possible. Encourage the interviewer to talk. You may not always get a straight answer to the rather obvious question ‘so, what sort of person are you looking for to do this job?’ but simple requests for more information about the position, responsibilities, criteria for success and so on will usually enable you to build up enough of a picture for you to frame your answers and statements in the most effective and positive way.

Remember that an interview, by definition, is a two way conversation. Seize some control and ask questions of your own. A great question to ask at or towards the end of the interview is ‘do you have any doubts about my ability to do this job?’ You can then head off any objections before the end of the interview, or finish on a really positive note with you looking forward to the next step – and of course finding out what this is.

After the Interview

Immediately after your interview please telephone your consultant at Bigfish Recruitment for an interview debrief. This is a vital part of the placement process so that we can go back the client with your views and find out theirs.

On your way home, think objectively about the interview. Did you actually prepare as thoroughly as possible. Was there anything you could have done differently or better? Treat every interview as experience – practice makes perfect!

Do not forget, there are always more candidates than jobs, so you have done well to get that far. Keep trying and stay positive!

Resignation the Right Way

Resigning the “right way” is just as important as getting a new job because any negative feelings or recriminations can have a lasting effect. The golden rule is to be polite and non-confrontational.

Once you have received your Letter of Employment, you need to prepare your resignation. Try not to feel guilty about resigning - remember the reasons why you decided to leave. It is unlikely that those reasons are not going to change.
Arrange a meeting with your boss immediately. Don't let time drag as your new company is keen for you to join them. You may feel more comfortable discussing your resignation in a less formal environment, so you may like to suggest going for a coffee or meeting after hours.

No gloating, no settling of scores, no telling the boss what you really think. No matter how much you want to, and no matter why you are leaving. It’s absolutely not worth it. It’s a small world and people move around a lot. Think before you act. A sensible, straightforwardly worded, unemotional resignation letter is required along with a sincere offer to work out your notice period.

However, you must always be prepared for, and beware certain ‘tactics’:

The "Counter Offer" - Some companies have been known to respond to resignations by providing a more competitive salary package. If you have gone through the recruitment process in the hope that you may get a counter offer you are playing a VERY RISKY game. The company is now aware of your dishonesty in attending interviews and whilst the offer may be attractive, it will affect any future pay rises, promotional prospects and training opportunities.

Defamatory Information / Remarks - Some companies are desperate not to lose staff. If you hear of a worrying piece of information about your new company, PLEASE call your new company or Bigfish Recruitment so we can clarify the situation.

Emotional Blackmail - A great deal of pressure can be placed upon individuals. Occasionally employers may threaten to withhold wages or payment of a bonus, to provide a bad reference, or generally hinder your transition to your new role. Try to recognise these threats for what they are - just threats. However always seek advice as there are employment laws protecting your rights.

Magic Promotion - As your company may not want to lose you they may produce a promotion ‘out of thin air’. Although the promotion may be sincere, do you really have to hand in you notice before your efforts are recognised? In this case it may be best to graciously turn down the opportunity.

Shown the Door - This can often happen where there is a high level of confidentiality entrusted. Some companies feel that making an employee work their notice can upset the rest of the workforce, as he/she may be less motivated and productive. The upside is you can now join your new company much sooner or put your feet up for a week or so, on full pay.

If you have any concerns please call Bigfish as we are here to help.

The right way to start

Now that you're on your way to a new and challenging career, just remember that first impressions count. Get a good night's sleep the night before.

1. Dress smart: Choose what you're going to wear the night before. Ensure that your clothes are clean and freshly ironed, your shoes are polished and your hair is tidy. Just like your interview, first impressions count; you will be meeting a lot of your new colleagues for the first time, so feeling confident is very important.

2. Arrive early: Start as you mean to go on. Arriving early will also help you to settle into your new environment and may provide the opportunity for informal chats with other members of staff.

3. Do your homework: Before you start, revise any information you already have about the organisation. Consider phoning your new boss to ask for any additional material that might help during your first days.

4. Build relationships: In the early days concentrate on building good relationships within your team. These are the people who can help you establish yourself, alert you to pitfalls and provide you with a useful pool of experience. Don't forget that this is a two-way process, so be on the lookout for ways that you can provide some support to others. Your early network may prove to be invaluable as you move up the career ladder.

Know your job requirements: Make sure that you know what is expected of you. Clarify your targets early on to ensure your work priorities are managed effectively. Keep the lines of communication open with your boss - it is often easier to sort out potential problems at an early stage, rather than waiting until there is a real crisis.
If there is anything you are concerned about give us a call first, we will be liaising with you and your new employer regularly over the next 3 months.

GOOD LUCK and WELL DONE

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