CV’s How to make them effective!

Why are effective CV’s essential! Employers can’t meet everyone, they wish they could but they can’t! They tell your story, who you are at a glance, this helps them shortlist who they meet. Some jobs get thousands of applicants. BT had 26,000 applicants for their 300 apprenticeship opportunities last year

What CV’s should do! Tell your story, everyone is an individual, you all have very different qualities and strengths (all of you, be confident) so no CV will be the same. You should follow general guidelines though to ensure they are read properly !

What CV’s should be! Be simple to read and well laid out. Should show off your plus points. Be written for someone else’s perspective, think about what they want to read about you!

What CV’s shouldn’t be! Difficult or confusing to read! Be too long, maximum 2 pages! Have poor spelling or grammar! Irrelevant (they do not need to know how you are an Xbox champion unless you are applying to a be games tester!)

What you need to put in a CV! personal and contact information education and qualifications work history skills relevant to the job interests references

How to highlight your interests and experience! Examples of team working Voluntary or work experience Positions of responsibility Activities that show initiative Skills learned that take dedication and practice

Examples Part time jobs Work experience Team captains, project leadership, house captains, Scout or Guide leader Playing sports regularly, learning instruments, hobbies (fixing things, cars, computers), Dance or Drama clubs.

Key Skills It’s also important to include a section dedicated to your skills. The ones that you mention will depend on the job you're applying for, but some examples of key skills can make you really stand out. Key skills include: computer skills - including using commonly-used programs, writing a blog or knowledge of web design communication skills - if you’re confident in speaking in front of groups and calm and friendly on the telephone teamworking - if you’ve ever worked in a large group of people like a sports team or a drama group problem solving ability - think about any problems you have overcome and how you did it

Tailoring your CV! Research the company website properly, what do they do, why do their customers buy their product! Research the job specification, what would they want you to do, highlight key words! Find examples of what they want in what you have done, highlight these!

Keep your CV updated Keep your CV up to date with any new experiences you think would be relevant. Modify it to send to specific opportunities.

Useful site’s for Careers help and CV advice This resource is a government run website, describing in detail what it is like to do a job, the transferable skills needed, salary, progression routes into the profession, and other useful links. This resource is run by a charity called icould, it is a collection of videos of life stories of individuals, including their career paths and education. This resource is part of the government run website referenced above. It contains valuable LMI (Labour Market Intelligence) for anyone who wants to know what future any given career might have. This resource is part of a government run website, it contains information and a live jobs site for those interested in Apprenticeships.