Attract an employers attention with a well thought out cv
In this tough economic climate it's important to remember when applying for a job, first impressions are everything.
When applying, the first thing an employer will read, before they see or meet you as an individual, will be your CV. Therefore it needs to be clear, well written, honest and engaging straight away to keep an employers interest.
There's no correct way how to layout or write a cv but, you should begin by stating your name, date of birth (though this isn't necessary), address, a contact number and an email address if you have one.
After that, some cv's start by chronologically listing previous jobs or work experience, and some focus more on skills and don't follow a particular order.
You many want to begin with a short paragraph summing up yourself almost like a personal profile to "sell yourself". This might also be on your cover letter.
To help you get ahead, we've come up with some top tips you can follow for writing a good cv.
1. Think about the best way to put forward your skills - when listing your skills be careful not to include all the same types of skill for example, reading, knitting, cinema, which are all activities you do on your own. Think about a careful way to present them for example talk about what you enjoy reading and how that relates to your interest in that specific job field.
2. Don't use the same words as everyone else - For example "socialising" doesn't everybody like to socialise? Be more specific, and try to think of interests and hobbies that might make you individual.
3. Think about what employability skills they're looking for
4. Be HONEST! - If your cv is successful and you're offered an interview, you'll be no doubt questioned further over what you've written. If you're not honest a company will eventually find out and it won't reflect very well on you.
5. Be positive about yourself - Use really positive words and sell yourself. Even though you may feel like you're completely bigging yourself up and how fantastic you are, that's ok! The point of a cv is to make you desirable to an employer.
6. Target to a specific job - Don't make the mistake of sending out the same generic cv to 10 differnt jobs. Tailor each cv to each job role, even if this is changing a couple of skills or interests to suit.
7. Check punctuation and spelling - seems like such an obvious thing to say but odd spelling mistakes do happen right under your nose. Sometimes when you're checking work on a screen it can be particularly difficult to spot tiny mistakes. The best advise is to print off a copy and check through it on paper, or ask somebody close to you, a parent or partner etc, to have a read through and see if they can spot any mistakes.
8. A general rule for a CV is it shouldn't be any longer than 2 sides of A4 paper. Try and stick to this unless you have a very specific acemdemic background.
9. Always keep it short and to the point. Nobody wants to be bored reading about you, and in the same way, if you waffle on for too long in the beginning, they'll lose interest and discard your application.
Lastly, think carefully about your presentation, and which fonts you're using. First impressions are important!
Alexandra Baracskai
Tagged in Recruitment