CV Advice
A professional looking CV that clearly details your skills and experience can be a major part in whether or not you make it through to the interview stage.
Ideally your CV will be between two to three pages long and include the following sections:
- Personal Details
- Education and Qualifications
- Key Skills / Strengths
- Employment History
- Hobbies & Interests
- Referees
Your application should reflect your unique achievements, your particular combination of skills, expertise and experience. Customise your CV for each job by focusing on previous experience or skills that are particularly relevant to the advertised role. This can include, for instance, using similar terminology in your CV to what is used in the ad.
If you’re using a personal email address try and make sure its professional. I’ve had way too many weird and wonderful email addresses and no matter how good an accountant you are; dave007drinkstoomuch@******.com is the lasting impression I’m left with!
When listing your employment history, start with your most recent or current role and list down the page, making sure you include employer names, positions held and primary responsibilities. Ensure you mention precise facts such as “Managed a team of 10 people” or “Increased profit for the business area by 25% between Q1, 2008 and Q4, 2008″.
Do not leave unexplained gaps in your work experience history. If you have taken time out to go travelling for six months this should be clear on your CV. When listing your employment history make sure you provide the months as well as the years; don’t simply list 2007-2009.
Employers will often make up their mind about an applicant based on the key skills / strengths, so make sure you spend time on this section. It’s important to remember that you will probably skim over your skills and strengths as you have been living the role. Try to look from the outside in and get it all down, you can always cut down the content later.
Your CV should be an accurate reflection of your skills and experience. If you don’t have the relevant skills to do the job then don’t apply!!
Include contact details of at least two referees. At least one of these should be from your former employer. If you are a newly qualified graduate then you should list your lecturer as a reference.
Ensure that you spel chek and then proof read your CV thoroughly before submitting it to each role. Just one small typing error could potentially ruin your application. Remember that, dave007!
Use a common program such as Word to format. Ensure there is plenty of white space making it easier for the reader to scan the page. Use a standard font size that is easy to read on screen, such as Arial 10 point.
Finally keep it simple. The more graphics or design elements you incorporate into your resume, the more likely it is that the recipient will have trouble accessing or printing it, as they will be laughing too hard.
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