With Woolworths going into administration it is a difficult time for their staff, wondering for how long they will have a job. If a buyer is found they are highly likely to close some stores.
But Woolworths have looked in difficulty for a while. With so much competition, how did Woolies respond – by increasing their product lines and so selling lots of different things but not enough of anything?
So you could buy DVDs and CDs but their line wasn’t as comprehensive as in HMV.
So many other products, like children’s clothes could be bought cheaper in the major supermarkets.
Then they diversified into selling mobile phones, a highly competitive market and I wouldn’t have though they had a big enough market share to buy as cheap as the major phone companies.
So how does this help you, the job searcher?
Have a good look at your CV. Are you a bit like Woolies, showing how much you can do but not enough depth on anything?
I’m working with a client at the moment who has a background in catering management, retrained to become a legal executive and is now, following redundancy, looking for a new career. Her CV was a combination of the catering and legal work, and neither really focused on the new area she wants to move into.
So we are now focusing all her work experience onto the new career path, and emphasising the education that supports this, and deemphasising her hotel and catering qualifications. It’s not just about discounting this though. Her HND covered a lot of business topics, so we’ve listed them. All is looking so much better.
So you may be thinking of a number of different jobs to apply for, but do make sure that each application is clearly focused on one specific job.
Want some help? Do get in touch.
