Your application must emphasise what you achieved, not what you did, writes Jim Bright.
Peter has been let down by the broken promises of his employer. He writes: "They tempted me across from a competitor with better pay and promises. When I got there, I found the promises were lies, they seemed to expect me to bring clients across and when I didn't give pricing details (which had actually been kept secret from me in my last role, which I'm glad of), I was sacked."
"What should I say about this at interviews? I'm in my early 50s but companies seem to only hire people in their 20s or 30s. How can I use my greater experience to get a job?"
When moving jobs, it is a good idea to research the new employer as extensively as possible. However, if the new employer flagrantly breaks its promises, there is not much one can do unless those promises were in writing and you are prepared to seek legal redress.
In many cases, it is simply easier and less costly to move on and chalk it up to experience. For Peter, moving on to the next role can be enhanced with some attention to the basics of his application.
Peter's cover letter needs work. It is good because it is very succinct, about four paragraphs. However, some of his phraseology could be sharpened.
For instance, instead of writing, "I am looking forward to hearing from you about an interview for this position where I could explain how I could help you in this position and can be contacted as detailed in the attached CV." Peter can state more simply, "I look forward to meeting you for an interview at your convenience."
Peter's CV commits the most common job-hunter mistake of including far more job duties than job achievements. Indeed, in Peter's case, I was unable to find a single achievement listed anywhere on his application. So, he needs to think hard about his work achievements, put aside modesty and include a lot more on his CV in the work history section.
He has also included a summary list of his past positions at the beginning. This can sometimes be a useful way of orienting the recruiter to your career path. However, Peter has had periods of doing temporary and low-skilled work that is not matched to his graduate credentials. The summary list draws attention to this and raises questions about the reasons for Peter doing such work.
Good CVs provide answers to recruiters' questions. Bad CVs raise questions. My advice is to drop this section and go straight into the more conventional work history. This section needs attention, too. Peter might consider grouping together those roles that are similar in nature.
He could match his qualifications using a date range covering when he first started doing such work, up to to his last such role. In Peter's case, the range would be from his first job in 1981 to his most recent in 2011.
Then he could describe the range of employers, his duties (briefly) and importantly, he can list his achievements in these roles.
Such an approach might not "fool" a recruiter but does at least highlight his achievements and minimises the negative impact of presenting some of the low-skill roles he has undertaken.
Finally, Peter needs to rewrite his career summary. It is distinctly odd, given it describes in some detail the tasks he undertook in his first job after graduating in 1981 and that is really all that is described. The only thing relevant about 1981 today is Charles and Diana's wedding!
Peter needs to write a more comprehensive summary that focuses on his achievements and is written in a way that addresses the competency requirements for the role he is applying for.
In this way, his career summary highlights the fit between him and the possible role. That is the aim of a good application.
Jim Bright is professor of career education and development at ACU and a partner at Bright and Associates, a career management consultancy. Email marked clearly "FOR PUBLICATION" to brightside@jimbright.com.