Kate Southam, Editor
Ask Kate Column: Three topics this week. First, Barbara wants to know: “When employers ask for a ‘written’ application do they mean hand written?” No. They are really saying “don’t phone us to apply”. A formal typed application will suffice. Perhaps there are jobs out there that require a sample of hand writing but I don’t know what they are. If you do, let me know.
Next, Phil is puzzled by the abbreviations FMCG and FMCV that he has seen in job ads. FMCG stands for Fast Moving Consumer Goods, which are products with a rapid turnover like snack food, soft drink, toothpaste, paper towels, batteries and so on. FMCV stands for Fully Maintained Company Vehicle and is usually included in a job ad as part of a salary package.
Third: Volunteering and Resumes. I wrote a column about this recently that you can find in the Career Advice section of CareerOne.com.au. However, I’m still getting emails so I’ve also created a Blog on the topic to host your comments. You will find it at www.blogs.news.com.au/cubefarmer - Cube Farmer is the name of my Blog.
There are quite a few issues involved in this topic including how employers react to seeing voluntary work on a resume; whether employers could discriminate against a candidate if list voluntary work because they fearing the candidate would want unpaid leave to volunteer.
There is not enough room to explore all the issues again here. Suffice to say that in the wake of the Victorian fires and the Queensland floods I think most reasonable people would agree that we are lucky to live in a country where so many Australians want to give up their time to help others.