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Before you start: imagine
yourself in the place of the reader, your prospective
employer. What response do you want them to have to
your CV? Have that in mind when you construct it. Write
it imagining that you are the employer and that the
employer is getting really excited as they read your
CV and realise that you could be the one!
Your CV is a selling document:
the reader should feel interested and curious to learn
more. They can find out more at the interview. The purpose
of the CV is to get you that interview.
It must be easy to read: readers
may skim the CV for as little as five seconds before
they decide whether to actually read it. So the appearance
of your CV matters enormously.
Length: 2 pages are ideal. Certainly
no more than 3 pages. Any more than this and the reader
may not feel that they even have time to start. Once
they put down your CV, or close the Word document, they
may not open it again.
White space: don't have too
much crammed on to each page, it will be easier to read
if there is a good amount of white space on the page.
Contact details: make it easy
for the reader by putting your name, address and contact
details (landline number, mobile number, e-mail address)
at the top.
Profile: next come a few lines
that sum up your skills and that position you. You may
wish to amend this for every job you apply for so that
it is absolutely relevant to that position.
Employment history: then record
your employment history, with the most recent positions
first. Rather than record what you did, think what your
prospective employer might value. What were the benefits
to the organisation of what you did?
Dates: note the dates (month
and year) on the right-hand side of the page. The employer
will skim down this column looking at length of service
and looking for gaps in your CV (see below).
Ancient history: the further
back in time you go, the less you need to explain about
the role. Unless of course, that role is very relevant
for the position that you're applying for.
Gaps
in your CV: you may have had career breaks. If you don't
explain any gaps in your CV they will raise questions
in the prospective employer's mind. At best they will
come back to you to ask about the gap, at worst they
will move on to somebody else's CV. Include a short
sentence on how you used that time.
Were you raising a family, a career, on maternity leave,
unemployed, travelling? Give some indication of what
you did during that time that was productive, that involved
doing something that the employer might value.
Did you do a DIY project on
the house, some personal development work, and study
and keep up-to-date, give some assistance to a friend
setting up new business? Include any temporary, contract,
unpaid or voluntary work. For example: "managed
a household and a team of three lively children",
"learnt website design". If you can find something
that may have a value for your prospective employer,
all the better.
But be honest. You may have to talk about any aspect
of your CV at the interview.
Education: next record your
professional qualifications and education, most recent
first. You may want a separate section on computer and
systems experience if this is one of your strong points.
If not, leave it out, you can always get training and
improve your skills if necessary for the role.
Things to leave out: photograph;
religious or political allegiances (unless they are
relevant to the position).
Optional: date of birth; nationality:
you may want to include this if it shows that there
will be no difficulty for the employer about employing
you; marital status. If you think that any of this may
be perceived less than positively by the prospective
employer then leave it off.
Personal details/further information:
this could include clean driving license if driving
is going to be a part of the job. Leave this information
out if you have points on your license. You can mention
interests or hobbies briefly if they add something to
your CV.
References: leave information about
referees until your prospective employer requests them.
Finishing off: use your spellchecker and check punctuation.
Generally short sentences are easier to read. If you
can split a long sentence into two or three shorter
sentences then do so. You want the reader to be able
to read quickly and efficiently and absorb your key
messages.
Review your CV before sending it:
if you have time, send the CV the next day when you
have had time to review it from a different perspective.
It can also be useful to get somebody else to review
it. Accept any feedback as constructive rather than
as criticism. Be appreciative of any suggestions for
how you can present yourself on paper in a way that
will give the best impression to the reader.
Clean white paper: print your CV
on plain, white, good-quality, paper. It will look professional,
clean and clear. That is likely to get you more positive
attention than trying to catch someone's eye with gimmicks.
Final review: look once more at your
finished CV, imagining yourself as your prospective
employer reading your CV. If the impression you're getting
is not completely positive, then change your CV.
Different CV for different jobs:
amend your CV, the profile and perhaps the detail in
the employment section, for each job you apply for.
Tailor what you write about your skills, abilities and
achievements to the particular job profile you're applying
for.
Covering email or letter: make your
covering letter or e-mail short and sweet; specify the
position you're applying for and one or two reasons
why you're interested in the job and would be good at
it, drawing on a key example of your work experience
to support this.
Keep a copy: make sure that you label
the Word version of your CV and letter with your name
when you e-mail them out (e.g. Martin Lloyd-Penny CV.doc
and Martin Lloyd-Penny letter.doc). Then on your system
rename both documents with the employer name so that
it's easy for you to see which CV went to which employer.
You may also want to print out a hard copy of the CV
and letter. File the hard copies where you can find
then if you're called to interview a few weeks later.
Other feedback: don't expect a recruitment
company to check your CV. At Matureaccountants however,
if we notice something that we think may not work in
your favour, we may ask your permission to give you
feedback. We will make this constructive, with suggestions
for improvement. It's better to get feedback from us
than to be continually missing out on getting to interview
and not knowing why.
Feedback for us: if you have any
feedback for us about this information and any suggestions
for improvement, please email wilf@matureit.co.uk
Sending your CV to us: send
your CV to us when you register, but make sure that
it has your name as part of the filename!
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