What is a CV?
Your CV - or Curriculum Vitae - is essentially a selling tool. It outlines your skills and experience so that a potential employer can see at a glance how you might perform in a given role. In short, it's an opportunity to present yourself in the best possible light.
Do I need a CV?
Yes. Writing an effective CV is one of the most important things you will do in your professional life. Quite simply, it will increase your prospects of getting the job you want. Most advertised vacancies ask you to "apply enclosing a full CV" - so having one prepared in advance will allow you to respond quickly whenever the ideal job comes along.
How will having a CV help me find a job?
A good CV will get you interviews which lead to job offers. If properly produced, it will highlight your skills, accomplishments and work experience in a way that distinguishes you from the hundreds of other candidates in the recruitment market. It will position you as a serious contender who is worthy of interview time.
Recruitment agencies will often ask you for a CV so they can submit it to companies who are looking for your skills. And when you are called on to complete application forms, your CV will act as an excellent memory jogger.
How should I prepare and write my CV?
Despite what certain individuals and books will tell you, there are no universal formats or rules for writing CVs. Fortunately, however, there are useful guidelines that will help you produce a CV that generates results.
Start by jotting down notes on your education, experience, skills and any professional or academic organisations you belong to. When recalling your previous employment, don't simply give job descriptions: think through the purpose of each job, the responsibilities you handled and the specific results you achieved.
Write down the details of when you started and finished each job. Take care to avoid unexplained jobs. If you had spells of unemployment, describe what you did with your time - for example, you may have been travelling, working voluntarily or even developing your skills on formal courses.
Next, match your skills and experience to the employer's needs. What aspects of your education, experience and skills are most attractive to an employer? Remember, a CV is like a brochure for any product or service. It must promote your strengths and aptitudes and demonstrate the benefits you can bring to the employer's organisation. That means tailoring your CV to a specific position wherever possible.
It means finding out as much as you can about the requirements of the role. Above all, it means thinking like an employer - what are they looking for? What key elements did they ask for in the job description? How specifically are you suited for this particular role and organisation?
Always be honest and accurate in your information. Often a prospective employer will use your CV as the basis of your interview and for references.
Preparation - Curriculum Vitae
The CV is an important document and few people realise how vital it is in achieving your initial target. That is, an interview! An amateurishly produced CV no matter how brilliant it’s content, could destroy that vital first chance.
Your CV must be short, concise and absolutely truthful. We will assist in formulating your CV or drafts of your CV, and with it prepared you can be confident in the knowledge that, with this professional marketing document, you will pass the next major obstacle – the interview.
As part of our services we will assist in formulating your CV or drafts of your CV. With it professionally prepared you can be confident in the knowledge that, with this marketing document, you will be brought to the next major obstacle - "The Interview".
Be Buzzword Compliant
Since screening is routinely performed by software, you must use buzzwords on your résumé. Don't enumerate everything in your repertoire, but do list basic skills that are necessary for the job, or are currently in demand. Obviously, include these abilities only if you possess them.
When applying for the job, don't forget the covering email. The purpose of this information is to augment your CV’s critical sections (i.e. those that are applicable to the target job). The maximum length of an email should be a short amount of text, ideally separated into three paragraphs.
The first tells the reader how you heard of the job, the second discusses your relevant skills, and the third tells the reader why you are a great fit. It goes without saying that a covering email must be concise.
Recruiter Friendly CV’s
Whether applying for an advertised position or sending your CV speculatively to a recruitment agency, it is likely that the recruiter will have a large number of CVs to wade through in a limited time, so......
• Make the layout as simple as possible
• Keep it short; no more than 2 to 3 pages maximum
• Concentrate on what you have achieved using short sentences and bullet points; you can always expand on these at interview
• "Snapshot" your strengths, don't overload the reader with lengthy descriptions
• Put the good stuff up front
• Make the CV easy to dip into to check dates, salaries, employment history, qualifications etc.
• Use A4 format with easily readable fonts and highlights
• Make sure your telephone number and address are easy to find
Make sure there are no typing mistakes in your CV, and NEVER amend it by hand