Displaying items by tag: Yorkshire

Whilst this blog is aimed more towards Housing Site Managers it will still be worth a read for Commercial professionals also. Read on to find out how to create a CV that will you stand you out from the crowd and really impress employers.

1. Don’t forget... personal profile

Your personal profile should be a well written 'snapshot' of your career to date. Include in this your current role, the next steps you plan to take and how your previous experience makes you the right person for the job (if you’re not sure on this have a look at the Job Description or Advert – our site manager job adverts can be found here). It's worth investing time on this summary, because it could be your only chance to grab the employer's attention. Whether from agencies or employers, many recruiters won't necessarily use a CV management system that will display your covering letter - it's important, therefore, to say in your profile why you are applying for the role. If your specific objective is relocation, for example, but you don't mention this explicitly in your CV, you could be dismissed when they see your address is out of commuting range.

2. Show your strengths

It’s obviously important to highlight your strengths but what you need to do is leave the reader in no doubt that you are good at it. For example, rather than saying you have management experience give specific examples e.g. ‘I managed up to 50 trades with anything up to 15 plots in build phase whilst achieving 95%+ customer satisfaction and zero accidents on site proving a proficiency in health and safety.’ Demonstrating you have strong management experience is much better than just saying it.

3. Project Particulars

Include all the specifics of recent projects. The size of the site, from both a production and financial perspective, should be mentioned. For example, if the project consisted of 60 dwellings with a value of circa £5m and a completion programme of 18 months then say so. This information really helps an employer or recruiter to understand the type of environment you are used to, or, if you are adaptable to different build programmes.

4 Qualifications and awards

Your qualifications are hugely important. As a bare minimum, all Site Managers must have CSCS, SMSTS and First Aid. An HNC/HND or NVQs in site management can also give you an edge over other candidates. It’s also a good idea to note any awards and industry achievements that you have won or been shortlisted for, in particular NHBC awards such as pride in the job. Use your CV as a tool to both inform and impress.

5 Career highlights and challenging projects

It’s always good to shout about your greatest achievements, especially when it comes to challenging projects or delivering on a large scheme. For example, if you have worked on a pioneering contract, such as sustainable living eco-friendly housing, or just delivered a 200-plot site under programme make sure that it’s on there and not hidden away – remember the average reader scans a CV rather than read it fully in the first instance so make sure the juicy stuff is easy to find.

Still stuck?

Don't worry. The art of CV writing is a tricky one. Our specialist construction consultants are experts when it comes to writing a great CV, and we're just on the other end of the phone – you can phone us on 0113 234 6047. Alternatively email Jake Finch here and he will get in touch with you.

CIBSE Yorkshire Region Awards 2016

After many years of having a traditional annual dinner, CIBSE Yorkshire decided to give the region something which has been missing for too long; an awards ceremony to give recognition to the individuals, companies and the projects which the building services industry produces. The night was a huge success and Calibre Search were proud to play a part with our Director and CIBSE Yorkshire Chairman, Simon Owen, pulling the night together.

Calibre Search also sponsored the “Student of the Year” category of the first CIBSE Yorkshire Awards, with over 300 guests the Awards were a great celebration of the construction and building engineering industry as a whole.

Simon Owen said “CIBSE Yorkshire has always recognised the Student of the Year from each of our local Education establishments while Calibre Search has always recognised the importance of supporting people launching and developing their careers, there is natural synergy.”

The Awards were a big change to the traditional annual dinner, something that was reflected in the speakers having industry leaders Peter Hansford, the last Government Construction Advisor, Helen Vardy of King Ecgbert School who led the team which won the Class of Your Own (COYO) competition to design a school for Parabongo and Alison Watson, Director of COYO coupled with Chris Gorse from Leeds Sustainability Institute speaking. Adam Smith of The Real Junk Food Project was scheduled to speak, but unfortunately couldn’t do so on the night.

As well as celebrating the industry, the aim of the night was to put something back in to the community. While raising funds for CIBSE Almoner, there was also skills raising for The Real Junk Food Project and COYO, something Alison took further by launching her #BuildParabongo crowdfunding appeal where she is looking to raise £150k to build the school that the students from King Ecgbert’s had designed.

Calibre Search regularly contributes to community events through sponsorship and taking part” commented Matthew Finlay, Director, “It was a brilliant event to attend and reinforce our commitment to the industry”.

Full list of categories, winners and shortlisted plus sponsors:

Yorkshire Region - Student Award - Sponsored by Calibre Search

All our nominees for the Student Award received a prize for being the top student within their particular institution.

Matthew Biggs, Silcock Leedham Consulting Engineers - University of Northumbria
Richard Leese, Leeds College of Building - Leeds Beckett University
Ido Popper, Arup - University of Leeds
Calvin Sargeant, Ramboll - Leeds College of Building

Yorkshire Region Project of Outstanding Performance 2016 - sponsored by Silcock Leedham Consulting Engineers

LEDA - Keyes Building - Winner
Energy Jump Limited - Mulberry House

Yorkshire Region - Building Performance Training Programme of the Year - Sponsored by Hoare Lea

Waldeck – Pinnacle - Winner
Waldeck - BIM Academy

Yorkshire Region - Small Consultancy of the Year - Sponsored by Anderson Green

Silcock Leedham Consulting Engineers - Winner
Sutcliffe Consulting Engineers
LEDA

Yorkshire Region - Large Consultancy of the Year - Sponsored by Vexo International

Hoare Lea – Winner
Atkins

Yorkshire Region - Project of the Year Commercial and Industrial - Sponsored by SES

Waldeck Consulting - Bentley Works - Winner
Arup - No. 6 Wellington Place
Sutcliffe Consulting - United Biscuits, Glasgow
Silcock Leedham Consulting Engineers - Project Sirocco

Yorkshire Region - Project of the Year Public Use and Leisure - Sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric

Arup - The Diamond - Winner
University of Bradford - The Bright Building
Anderson Green - Lyceum Theatre

Yorkshire Region - Project of the Year Sports Buildings - Sponsored by MRB Consulting Engineers

Anderson Green - University of Derby - Winner
LEDA - The Keyes Building
CD International - Hawkchurch Resort & Spa by Darwin Escapes

The Chairman’s Choice Award - Sponsored by CIBSE Yorkshire

Energy Jump Limited - Mulberry House - Winner

Yorkshire Region - Collaborative Working Partnership – sponsored by Leeds Beckett University

SES - Sheffield Custody Suite - Winner
LEDA - The Keyes Building
Waterman Building Services - North Lindsey College

Yorkshire Region - Facilities and Energy Management Team Award - Sponsored by Asset Wisdom

University of Bradford - Winner
Buro Happold/Loughborough University

Yorkshire Region - Manufacturers Award - Sponsored by Arup

Goodwin Development Trust & 21c EcoEnergy Limited - The Oxypod - Winner
Vexo International - X-Pot Flushing Side Stream Filtering System
Mitsubishi Electric - Hybrid VRF Air Conditioning

Yorkshire Region - CPD Award - Sponsored by Toshiba Air Conditioning

Sharib Yousuf – Atkins - Winner
Paul Ingham - Dave Dickinson & Associates
Dina Alrifai - Hoare Lea
Juliette Scholes - Hoare Lea
James Sellers – Arup

A huge congratulations to all the nominees and winners and all the best for 2017.

Interview coming up for an SEO job? Here are 7 things the interviewer will be looking for.

I’ve deliberately left out technically-focussed questions and concentrated on softer attributes but feel free to drop me a line with any you think I’ve missed and I’ll include them in a future blog.

1. Adaptability. The world of SEO is forever changing; even in the last few years the industry has changed remarkably, so prove that you are able to adjust to whatever challenges are thrown your way.

2. A desire to improve. You will never reach a point where you know everything about SEO so why stop learning? What SEO blogs are you reading to improve your skillset? If you’re not improving you are falling behind.

3. People skills. There’s a good chance that you will be speaking to clients, but even if that’s not the case you will need to work well with colleagues. If you’re not a natural people person that doesn’t mean you can’t improve. Work on cultivating your rapport and developing relationships.

4. Evidence. You will be asked for examples of your work so make sure you can detail website names, keywords, starting ranks, issues, software used, closing ranks etc and be able to explain your thinking.

5. Detail. Detail. Detail. This is an obvious one but it’s important to show that you don’t make mistakes easily and that’s all the way through the process from writing your CV, emails to the client, and turning up for interview at the right time.

6. Willing to get your hands dirty. SEO isn’t always glamorous. Even if you are more senior you will need to get stuck in so prove this to the client.

7. Commercially focussed. This is more relevant the more senior you are but having an understanding of companies’ commercial needs is important whichever side of the agency/clientside fence you are on.

As I say there are other points to add but hey, 7 is my favourite number.

If you would like to discuss any of these points further or would like to see what positions we are looking to fill please call Matthew Finlay on 0113 234 6047, email matthew.finlay@calibresearch.co.uk or visit our jobs page at http://www.calibresearch.co.uk/job-search/browse/marketing/jobs

If you want to have a look at the questions I’m advising my clients to ask at interview why don’t you have a look at my previous blog here.