1. Writing Your CV Top Tips

2. What should a CV include? A CV is the first thing an employer will see from you so you want to impress them as much as possible. The general format for a CV goes like this: 1. Personal Details (Name, Address, Contact Number/Email) 2. Personal Statement (Tell them why you’re fit for the job) 3. Education and Qualifications related to them 4. Work Experience/History 5. Hobbies and Interests 6. References When you are writing your personal statement write also why you are interested in the job role you have applied for. TOP TIP – When you are writing your contact email, make sure it is appropriate. Silly emails won’t look good to an employer.

3. Keep it interesting! One thing that companies will do is look at the length of your CV. Most CV’s are generally 2 sides of A4, any more than this and they sometimes don’t read them. So try to keep it short and sweet so it gives them a good view of yourself and why you want the job. Making a CV easy to read is another bonus as people usually just scan a CV picking out the most important parts, if you highlight the important parts for them you’re saving them a job – Brownie points for you! Also keep it up to date. Whenever you do something new or you get a new qualification be sure to put it on before you forget because they all help when applying for new jobs.

4. Tailor it to the job! Companies don’t like generic CV’s. If you send the same CV out to every job you apply for then your interests aren’t going to be relevant to what the company is asking for. They will reference your CV to the job description that they sent out. If it says in the job description ‘must be very well organised’ it’d be a good idea to write in your personal statement ‘I am a well organised person’ this way they can see that you have taken the job description into consideration when writing your CV. Make it unique.

5. Use Keywords! When you’re writing your CV you need to use words that are going to grab the readers attention straight away. These can be words such as: Enthusiastic Hard Working Motivated Organised Focused All these words are powerful words that the reader will pick up on straight away. Also tell them that if there is something that you can’t do or have never done before you are willing to learn how to do it. Employers will choose someone who wants to learn more.

6. Work Experience Employers look for people who have relevant work experience and this is where some people start to panic. If you haven’t had work experience don’t worry. You can always write on your CV that you haven’t had any experience yet. Or you could write why you would enjoy this role and what qualities you think you will bring to the role even though you haven’t been able to demonstrate them in a working environment. If you want to gain some work experience there is always volunteering. Just pop down to your local shop or a company that you would really like to work for and ask if they would mind in you helping out for a week or two. It then allows you to put that on your CV.

7. Making sure it’s right! Your CV is the one thing that employers count on to give an accurate representation of you. If there are mistakes in the CV or if the grammar is wrong then this can put an employer off immediately. The best thing to do is to have someone else proof read it. This is because when you read it, you’ll read what you think you’ve wrote. But when someone else reads it they see the mistakes that you have made. This is a MUST before sending off your CV. As well as this you can do a spelling and grammar check if you have typed it up on the computer. This will highlight any obvious errors to you as well.