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There are
many sources of advice about how best to prepare a CV and much
is written about the 'rules' involved but really there are only
guidelines as to what makes a good document. The key to remember
is that no matter what field you work in your CV is a sales
document and must maximise the impact of your profile both visually
and in terms of content.
You can
look at examples of CV templates but this is not always the
best way to approach the process as it may limit your creative
input. There is strong evidence that the most effective CVs
are those that are tailored or customised to a specific occupation
or job. You need to think of creating several CVs rather than
a single document.
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In
beginning the process of constructing a CV, there are
two things you should consider carefully:
Yourself
- the skills, knowledge, experience and attributes you
have to offer and your evidence of them.
The
requirements of the occupation, employer, and position
you are aiming for.
Within
your CV you need to try to show how your skills and knowledge
fit the requirements of the employer.
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The following
categories are typical ways of organising the content:
| 1. |
Personal
Information |
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Biographical
Information: Name and Address, telephone number. Other information
may be added but only if it is relevant to your ability
to perform the job. |
| 2.
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Career
Aims or Personal Profile (Optional): |
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This
should be a short concise summary of you as an individual.
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| 3. |
Education
and Qualifications |
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This
provides details of your educational achievements to date,
giving particular prominence to those most recent and/or
relevant. It is often best to list your education and qualifications
in reverse chronological order, and good practice to provide
some details of your degree. |
| 4. |
Employment
/ Work Experience |
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This
includes details of work, voluntary work, weekend or evening
jobs. |
| 5.
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Achievements |
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This
section provides an opportunity for you to sell yourself
pointing out: key activities, strengths, interpersonal skills,
related activities / achievements. |
| 6. |
Interests and Leisure Activities |
| 7. |
Referees |
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It
is normal to list two, ideally one from University and the
other from an employer. |
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General
Advice
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It
is important to give a good presentation of yourself,
since the CV is often the first impression you give to
the employer. Your CV is more likely to make a good impression
if it is:
- Printed
rather than photocopied.
- On
paper of reasonable quality.
-
If possible use e-mail rather than post or fax.
- In
MS Word format. DO NOT prepare your CV in MS Excel -
it is not designed for this purpose and makes searching
and formatting information difficult for recruitment
consultancies.
- Spelt
correctly - there are no excuses for spelling mistakes
when you can use the spell check function.
- Particularly
when sending a CV to recruitment consultancies try to
ensure that the first page shows your most recent experience.
- The
layout needs to enable the reader to find the information
they need quickly and without difficulty.
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When deciding
on layout, try to stick to the following rules:
- Give
priority to your strongest selling points.
- Use headings
and sections to signpost your reader to the information they
are seeking.
- Be consistent
in how you organise information.
- Avoid
either dense blocks of text or large blank areas.
- Do not
let your CV be longer than two sides of A4 if possible - three
at the most. Some employers (particularly US style companies)
prefer CVs to be a single side of A4.
When deciding
upon a style for a CV it is important to consider the nature
of the career, its environment and the type of documents they
will be used to working with. Your CV may be more effective
if it is presented in a style that is in keeping with that environment
e.g. a formal, traditional CV for a Law firm or a creative,
colourful CV for an advertising agency.
DO
NOT
Recruitment
agencies see hundreds of CVs a week - here is a guide to the
things you should definitely not include:
- Life
philosophies or phrases that you think sound good - other
people probably wont agree so just stick to the facts.
- Over
personalisation - e.g. names of children/partner, type of
car you drive, height, weight, religion etc.
- Jokes
- you might think they are funny, others will not.
- Photos
- unless you are a model, actor/actress or flight attendant!
- Negative
comments about a previous employer or role.
- Unexplained
gaps in your CV - an employer should be left with no questions
after reading your profile and have no reason to put it on
the 'no' or 'maybe' pile if your skills are a good match.
- References
- this information is provided at a later date, simply stating
'available on request' is sufficient.
Finally
Get other
people to read it and give you feedback - particularly experienced
recruiters.
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