Many Job Candidates Chasing Far Fewer Job Vacancies

Too many job applicants for too few job vacancies; this is a scenario for disappointment. But the truth is that if a post is very popular because the basic entry requirements are not demanding and yet the starting salary is attractive, chances are high that application for the post will be oversubscribed.

According to the Feb. 21, 2008 online version of SCMP, "every year, thousands of young Hongkongers apply to the Fire Services Department and the Hong Kong Police Force" and although several thousands applied, only a handful were accepted! For example, the Fire Services Department wanted to hire 100 ambulancemen and women and received a total of 3,300 applications! Sometimes, despite the vast number of applicants, few people pass the final tests. In a 2007 report, the Civil Aviation Department introduced the post of student air-traffic control officer, with 20 vacancies available but received a total of 2,248 applications (SCMP, Feb. 21, 2008).

These examples illustrate the point of how competitive it can be in some chosen career fields. A candidate must understand the total requirements that the post demanded, and evaluate if he/she meets them all. The jobs mentioned above require that the candidate have mental and physical toughness, be team players and ready to accept strict discipline and training, have perfect vision without eyeglasses, possess integrity, courage, confidence and the commitment to serve the community. Academic qualifications alone is not sufficient!

Now assuming that one meets all the qualifications perfectly, has a strong interest in the post, and even has the right attitude and aptitude, these must still be communicated to the recruiters. How would you do that effectively?

One tip:
Be armed with a powerful resume/CV if you want to have a higher chance of getting your dream job. Make sure that you have several file format types of your CV (printed, scannable, ASCII text) because different recruiters may ask for different types of CV file format. But no matter how attractive a post may be, always be honest with yourself; what makes you think you will be the right and best person to do the job. Then your CV must reflect that. Let not attractive salaries and perks lure you into a job does not suit you.

Do I need to have the 'Objective' or 'Headline' section for my Résumé / CV?

The mechanics of reading an English document flows from left to right and then in the downward direction. And since a recruiter would probably spend only around 10 seconds to skim through your Résumé / CV, the top section of the document is the most precious 'real estate'. Logically you would want the essence of your resume to be there to inform the recruiter how well you and your skills (like a product's feature) would be able to fulfil the requirements of the company (like a product's benefits) and answer to its needs. Remember that if a company advertises for a position, it is looking for someone who can specifically help it solve a certain problem / or a range of problems and a candidate needs to be clear if he/she is qualified and possesses the ability to provide the solution.

For every one position, there may be many potential candidates who can do the job but how is the recruiter to know exactly "who" to call for an interview? A nicely written brand statement / objective helps the recruiter get a clearer impression of you and your ability and sustains interest in reading your whole Résumé. Many candidates have impressive achievements and career records but those strengths were not always highlighted to their advantage. So if I were to answer to a specific job advertisement, then a brand statement or headline would be appropriate - but if I were to "cold-call" by writing speculatively to enquire for a job opening, I would state my objective in the Résumé.