Perspective is a wonderful thing and adopting a positive one can often make the difference between an individual coming out on top or sinking into complacency. The current economic troubles that have emerged in recent months have, unfortunately, left many either redundant or furloughed by their employers.
A negative perspective in this scenario, is easy to adopt. However, if you pick a positive one, you could set yourself up well to landing a dream health and safety job role when the economy kicks back into gear again. Here are some of our tips on how you can get your CV ready before your next health and safety job interview.
Tips on how to be CV ready for your next health and safety career move
1. Create a bulleted list of all the new skills you have gained in recent employments
Given the pressures that come with being a health and safety professional, it is easy to get caught up in forward motion without ever taking time to stop and reflect on the new experience and skills you have gained. This period of stillness, whether you are in isolation or not, is a fantastic time to perform a ‘brain-dump’ of everything new that you are good at. This can relate to soft skills you feel you have gained through certain health and safety experience, or perhaps an increase in qualifications and certifications through the likes of NEBOSH and IOSH.
The wide scope of need for quality health and safety professionals also means you may have worked on a range of impressive projects over the years. Getting these downs on paper can be a positive way of evaluating your ability as a health and safety professional. After this, you can take the next step of creating your health and safety tailored CV.
2. Create A CV that’s designed for the HSE job you want
Too many would-be health and safety candidates make the mistake of using a generic ‘fits-all’ CV rather than picking one tailored to the specific EHS role. This is a mistake. Not only will it appear unprofessional, but you are also missing out on the opportunity to find out what your new employer may want in the job description.
Tailoring your CV will help you evaluate whether you would be a good fit with your new employer. Taking time to properly browse through the job’s description, (and the company’s website) will give you some insight that you can use to create a powerful cover letter.
Key Tip: Research suggests that some of the key skills health and safety employers look for are:
- Problem-solving skills
- Organisation
- Time management
- Forward Planning
- Good communication
- Attention to detail
These are just some of the skills that you should be highlighting with relevant experience and examples in your CV. Also, when applying for a new health and safety job role, make sure you highlight any EHS specific qualifications that you may have picked up during your career. These are sometimes used as bench markers for organisations looking for the right talent.
This, however, does not mean you should take your membership of a safety organisation as a given that you will be accepted for the job. Indeed, the second question from the HSE UK Challenger Panel, the importance of coming across well in an interview was discussed, in addition to the importance of having ‘academic rigour’ behind the health and safety profession.
3. Give yourself the best possible chance in the HSE job interview
Leading on from the previous point, you must come across well in the interview. Be prepared with prior knowledge of the company and any key facts. Not only will this keep you prepped for any potential questions, but it will also show that you are passionate about the health and safety job you are applying for.
All the usual best practice applies here as it does in other industries, dress appropriately, turn up on time, and be prepared to justify and gives examples for any of the skills that you have included on your CV.
Find the next Health and Safety job opportunity for you
Performing the above steps will give you a head start and give you the self-confidence and knowledge that you are a health and safety professional who can add value and help save lives in many different industries. The Health and Safety Jobs Board from HSE Network lets you browse roles that have come from many different positions in different health and safety companies and departments.
