A CV is a marketing brochure – for you! However, it’s not as if you have to be a hotshot at marketing or advertising to make a good one. Far from it, it’s really very easy to make an eye catching one, but people can make a catalogue of errors. One vital thing to remember is that a CV, alongside a covering letter, is the first point of contact that you’re likely to have with a prospective employer, so it’s so important to get it right. Check out the list below for five dos and don’ts for CV writing.
5. Don’t be quirky. Searching for jobs can be very frustrating, no less than when you write off to an employer and receive nothing back, which can happen a lot. With such frustrations in mind, it can be easy to think that quirkiness on a CV will make you stand out from the other standard forms that employers will receive week in, week out. You might well stand out, but probably for the wrong reasons, and the quirkiness will break up the formality that is so often required. The best way to impress is to make your achievements and work history speak for itself.
4. Do keep it short. Try and keep to a two page maximum. A major complaint of many employers is that CVs waffle on about off topic subjects. You might think being environment representative for your university or college was a great achievement, but the reality is that employers won’t often care unless it’s relevant to your prospective role. The key to detail is making sure it’s relevant and concise.
3. Don’t forget good formatting. Having loads of titles isn’t recommended, but it’s important to have a few such as ‘Employment History’. Be brief wherever possible and try and avoid chunky blocks of text. Bullet point relevant key skills learned in previous jobs, but don’t just list strengths without something to back it up. Lists such as the one below are an absolute no, they’re far too vague.
Strengths:
- Creativity
- Hard working
- Sociable
2. Do make sure you edit. Look over your CV again and again. Every time you make a change look over the whole document, not just the bit you changed, that way you’re certain to iron out any mistakes. You’d be surprised just how annoyed some people can get about a single typo, some would just bin the document instantly.
1. Don’t lie or distort the truth. It might look attractive to lie about qualifications or extracurricular achievements, but you could be really stumped if the interviewer inquires about something you’ve made up, because you probably won’t be able to explain it in detail without the experience. Stick to what you’ve done and what you know.
Take all of these into account and you’ll be on your way to a successful job search. Send off a good CV, and you should have employers calling you if you’ve got enough experience. Just remember that it takes a whole lot of patience, but it could all well be worth it. As well as Fish4.co.uk offering a range of positions online, there’s Reed.co.uk, who have a vast and varied selection of jobs placed across the UK.
