At uni? Graduating? Or just looking to write a great CV to boost your chances of getting hired? View our guide to writing the perfect CV to impress employers and improve your chances of getting hired.
What Does ‘CV’ Stand For?
Firstly, since most people have never questioned or at least have never got an answer to, “What’s CV stand for?” Ill tell you. CV stands for Curriculum Vitae.
A CV is simply a way of promoting yourself to the business; you are literally selling yourself to the company.
The key things to remember is that when writing your CV you want to be specific to the job your applying for, for example, if the job you are applying for means you have to be computer literate don’t put that you love to do a one mile jog in the morning and play games for 12 hours of the day and get drunk every night, you want to say how you use the computer on a regular basis and are literate in all of Microsoft’s applications from word to excel to data base.
What to Include in Your CV
Personal Details
Name, home address, college address, phone number, email address, date of birth and gender. Do you have your own web homepage? If it’s good add it, if it shows drunken nights out, don’t.
Education
Give places of education where you have studied – most recent education first, for example, university, college, secondary school, below this is not needed as no real grades are accomplished. Include subject options taken in each year of your course.
Work experience
Have you done work experience placements, e.g. unpaid internships or professional roles? List your most recent experience first. Give the name of your employer, job title, the address and phone number of the business and what you actually did and achieved in that job. Part-time work should be included.
Interests
Businesses are usually interested in activities where you have leadership or responsibility, or other attributes that apply to the job. A one-person interest, such as post card collecting, may be of less interest to them, unless it connects with the work you wish to do. Give only enough detail to explain.
If you have published any articles, jointly or by yourself, give details, this includes news papers and websites (again if their reputable and don’t have any areas of the site that can be looked down on). If you have been involved in any type of volunteer work, do give details, studies show employers look reputably on this.
Skills
Ability in other languages (is always a great benefit to a firm and personally), computing experience, or possession of a driving license should be included. Note: if your computer skills really are lacking I would suggest a basic computer course and a vast majority (which is increasing) of firms use computers and may give you that competitive edge.
References
Usually give two names – one from your place of study, and one from any work situation you have had, If you’ve have many jobs that relate to the job your applying for do not list them all this will make you look indecisive, so most reputable and best related (if you have 5 related only give 2 but the best quality referrals).
What Not to Write on a CV
Okay, it might be tempting to lie on your CV, but this isn’t recommended. If you get caught out you will be in trouble, and really decrease your chances of getting hired.
How Long Should a CV Be?
You should be aiming for an easy read, not a long winded one. Keep it short no more then 2 pages, add page numbers to the bottom of the page and make sure you don’t cramp up the information (use the justify alignment).
Style
There are two main styles of CV, with variations within them
Chronological
Information is included under general headings – education, work experience, etc., with the most recent events first.
Skill Based
You think through the necessary skills needed for the job you are applying for. Then you list all your personal details under these skill headings. This is called ‘targeting your CV’, and is becoming more common, in the UK. But it is harder to do. So take advice on whether it is OK in your country and culture, and how to do it best. If you’re a student there will most likely be a career advisor that you can ask.
Covering Letter
When sending in a CV or job application form, you must include a covering letter. You should include/do the following:
Make sure that the CV arrives on the desk of the correct person. Take the trouble to telephone, and find the name of the person who will be dealing with applications or CVs, and address your letter, and envelope, to that person by name. The covering letter is used to persuade the reader to read on so it must be relevant to the company, interesting, and well produced.
Say what job you are interested in. If you are sending in a ‘speculative’ CV hoping that they may have work for you, explain what sort of work you are interested in. Do not say, ‘I would be interested in working for Top Tips For Students Ltd’ (I feel compelled to state the firm does not exist), but say ‘I believe my skills equip me to work in the product development department/accounts office/whatever’. When sending a speculative CV, you may try telephoning later to push your enquiry further.
Say why you want that particular job with that particular employer Ensure you draw attention to one or two key points in the CV which you feel make you suited to that particular job with that particular employer.
Start your letter with an underline heading giving the job title you are interested in. (If you saw the job advertised, say where you saw it.) Use the style and pattern of a business letter suited to your culture and country. Ask for advice about this. Try to find sample business letters so that you can follow style and layout.
Your career office may have a sheet about this, or show you a sample. The letter should only be on one side of A4 paper. It must be polite and easy to read. Also mention when you are available for an interview. Sometimes ending your letter with a re quest for specific extra information may give a positive response.
Looking for a Job?
Hopefully our CV and cover letter tips has given you ideas how to put together the best application. Be sure to check out other articles on our site which are also helpful, including common interview questions. If you are looking for employment the following pages will help you to secure employment:
• Student part time jobs
• Student online jobs
• Work abroad
• Gap year paid jobs
• Seasonal jobs