Maritime students get CV writing and interview skills |15 November 2013

Barclays Bank continued with its series of career talks for young people with another workshop yesterday on CV preparation and interview skills with students of the Maritime Training Centre (MTC) at the school’s premises at Providence.

The bank has previously been running career talks in secondary schools on Mahé under the theme ‘Empower Youths to Make Informed Career Choices’. These talks form part of the bank’s  2013 ‘Make a Difference Day’ (MADD) activities in Seychelles which started earlier this month.

During the workshop led by the human resources division of the bank, the students learned the ‘do’s and don’ts when writing a curriculum vitae (CV); how to apply for jobs; learning about the company they are interested in working for; type of, preparing for and attending an interview.

Concerning CV preparation, some of the topics covered were how to tailor the CV to the position a person is applying for: how to make it brief and to the point and to use concise, informative sentences, short paragraphs and standard English in it. The HR representatives also advised the students not to go into much details when writing their CVs as employers are too busy to read rambling or unfocused CVs or résumés.

The need to analyse the job posting and to make a list of the skills, knowledge, professional and personal qualities that are required by the employer were also explained as these are most important for success in the job.

On the topic of preparing for an interview and skills needed, the students were advised to be sure they were well informed on the company they want to work for by doing research and getting inside scoop of it.

“Taking time to review typical interview questions you will probably be asked during a job interview in advance will help give you a framework for your responses and will help reduce stress, because you won’t be scrambling for an answer during the interview,” advised the human resources officials of the bank to the students.

They also explained that a job interview gives a person the chance to shine because the first impression one makes on a potential employer can make a big difference. That’s why it is always important to dress appropriately for such occasions.

As in previous talks held by Barclays Bank, there was much interaction from the students themselves.