CVs and covering letters skills analysis Lisa Law Careers Centre Last time: branding – market research, product that suits, packaging.

6AD001 Complete Silver as part of your module: Work related study Careers action plan CV and application form Presentation (10 min interview pitch) Top up to Gold if you wish: 5) Work experience 6) Skills analysis

Remember, your brand is communicated by: CV, cover letter, applications Portfolio, website Social media presence Business cards, marketing materials Body language, clothes, grooming Behaviour and attitude Voice and what you say

Poor example

Good example

CV principles Content evenly distributed over the whole of the CV CV = 1 or 2 complete side A4 Consistency of fonts, formatting and spacing Easy to read Correct use of English – spelling, grammar If part of a compilation of items showcasing you and your work, ensure consistency across items Targeted

Your selling points Qualities What are your key skills? What sort of person are you at work? How would you like to come across to an employer? What are your key skills? What are you good at doing? What are your most marketable experiences? Know your strengths so you can emphasise them to employers. Strenths can be personal qualities, skills and experiences.

Example creative CV

Example creative CV

Example creative CV

Example creative CV

CV sections Personal details Career aim/ profile Education Professional development Employment Skills Achievements References Not required Age, religion, nationality, marital status, photographs or “CV” as a title *Content may vary for international CVs Can combine items together (eg achievements and skills) Typical sections. Only some compulsory (personal details, education, employment, references).

Personal details Name is the heading Include address, email, telephone Professional emails only(!!!) Include link to online portfolio? Add social media link?

Example profiles Contentious and dedicated, I use my excellent comunication, team work, organisational and interpersonal skills in everything I do. Now seeking a role which provides training and development, where I can use my skills as necessary. Dedicated photography student with one year’s experience of mentoring and supporting young people with behavioural issues. Now seeking a school based role where I can help disadvantaged students reach their potential. Second example is better. First one isn’t targeted and has some mistakes in it.

Profile content 1) Emphasise what makes you employable for role Qualities Skills Degree title Project work Work experience Achievements (ie competitions, awards) 2) State intention, ie Type of employer you want to work with Type of work you are looking for As you analyse the vacancy, decide what your selling points are. These should be emphasised throughout your CV, especially in the profile. Also include your career aim.

Your profile/ career aim What is it for? Graduate in ____________ with ________ experience as a ___________ and _________skills, keen to pursue a career in/as ____________. Include your main selling points for your career of interest e.g. summary of relevant experience, skills, qualifications. Include an aim to help target your CV. This is a good sort of structure to use when putting your careers aim/ profile together. Keep it focused and succinct.

Avoid! Creative graduate with excellent organisational and communication skills. Able to work well in a team as well as on my own and to meet set deadlines. Now seeking an opportunity to build my skills and experience. Example of a profile that is too generic.

Education Reverse chronological order Include: dates, where and what you studied, grades? Consider adding: project work, modules, other achievements

Example of education section.

Example of education section - makes a feature out of project work

Employment One section or several? What are you going to call it? Employment, experience, work experience, voluntary work? Include: dates, where you worked, job title Include description of what you did? Reverse chronological order

Catherine Douglas Eg – Experience is a big feature of this CV. Wows through sheer volume of activity. Short description of each role.

Gemma Wilson Has less experience so has made the most of it by including a description for each which draws out skills.

Date City Restaurant Waitress Waited on tables and took orders Phone bookings Dealt with customers Cleaning and stock taking Team work and organisation Which is better – this slide or slide 23? This is only ok if you are applying for a catering job. For other jobs, show how this is relevant by adding in skills you’ve shown or knowledge you’ve picked up that’s relevant.

Date City Restaurant Waitress Dealt with the general public, negotiating solutions to complaints and problems Worked effectively in a team of twenty to manage a busy ninety seater restaurant Liaised with supervisors to ensure the smooth running of conferences, parties and high profile events Better example.

Skills (technical/ transferable) Optional Can highlight specific technical skills that are essential/ highly relevant to the role E.g. techniques,, specific software e.g. CAD, Photoshop, drawing skills, stitch skills OK to list skills, consider stating level of skill Can highlight transferable skills BUT avoid lists with unsubstantiated claims Mention that another option is a skills based CV and we will discuss this later. Think about subject specific skills that are desirable for the kind of roles you are applying for. Looking at job descriptions and job profiles will give you an idea about what these skills are.

Eg avoid Skills Good communication skills Excellent team work skills Organisational and time management skills Flexible Experienced in project management

Better Research skills Carried out survey of visitors to Black Country Museum as part of my final year project, collated and presented findings in report form Completed module on Research Skills for my degree Second version is better because there is evidence of research skills

Other sections Achievements – competitions, exhibitions, attendance on short courses, anything else Interests – include? References – available on request? Apart from references this is optional.

Positive Language Verbs in past tense (completed, achieved, organised, produced, initiated, created, negotiated) Positive adverbs (successfully, effectively, efficiently, resourcefully, economically, proficiently, competently) ‘I think’, ‘I believe’, ‘I feel’ ‘helped to’, ‘was involved in’ ‘I had to’, ‘It was my duty to’, ‘I was given the task of’ ‘The task was completed’ Add verbs and adverbs Avoid the other phrases: I think etc makes you sound doubtful Helped to etc doesn’t clarify what you actually did I had to etc suggests you didn’t want to The task was completed doesn’t state what your role was in completing the task

CV examples http://issuu.com/staffsunicareers/docs/showandtell?mode=window&viewMode=doublePage

Covering letters What is a covering letter for? To explain why you are writing To persuade the employer to read your CV Essential for speculative applications To highlight your unique selling points from your CV What should it include? What you know about the job/company and why you are interested Why you are suitable (skills, qualities and experience) What you want/expect to happen next Information should be divided into clear paragraphs Is everybody familiar with what a covering letter is? Ask them to look at the example in the leaflet (p10 and 11)

Covering Letters cont’d.. Format Should be a maximum of 1 side in length Should be laid out in a formal letter format Font and style should match your CV If emailing CV, include covering letter as attachment or in the body of email. Examples http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cover_letters.htm http://www2.wlv.ac.uk/careers/onlinedocs/YourCV.pdf Look at examples of Covering letters for applied jobs Speculative applications

Contact www.wlv.ac.uk/careers Careers Advisers Mon – Fri, 11 – 4 in MD Lisa.law@wlv.ac.uk

Eg… Give me an example of a time you have demonstrated strong management skills Management = Delegating Monitoring performance Allocating resources Motivating others Resolving problems

Situation Task Action Result Skills analysis Situation Task Action Result

STAR example Give me an example of a time you have demonstrated strong management skills Situation ‘Whilst at university I had a part time job in a restaurant where I worked front of house in a management capacity.’ Task ‘I supervised other team members to ensure that all customers were served to a high standard in a timely way. Some team members were very experienced, some were new.’  

STAR example Action ‘When supervising staff I ensured that we had a group briefing session at the beginning of the shift where I allocated specific jobs to individuals and ensured that everyone knew what their responsibilities were (delegating). Throughout the service I kept track of how each team member was doing, (monitoring performance) allocating more support to those who needed it. (allocating resources) I motivated staff members to maintain standards and speed by praising them for their progress and by passing on compliments from customers. (motivating others) I also intervened when staff faced difficult and time consuming problems such as customers complaining.’ (resolving problems)   Result ‘My management skills were commented upon favourably by staff resulting in my manager giving me an increase in supervisory responsibilities. I feel that I learnt a great deal about how to motivate other people and how to co-ordinate them which will be beneficial in this role.’

Skills analysis Choose 3 skills to write about, eg 250 (ish) words each Use the STAR Skills Analysis handout to write up your example Team building Organisational skills Leadership Creativity Problem solving Client/ customer care Communication skills Entrepreneurial skills IT Skills Commercial awareness