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

2. 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

3. 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

4. Poor example

5. Good example

6. 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

7. 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.

8. Example creative CV

9. Example creative CV

10. Example creative CV

11. Example creative CV

12. 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).

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

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

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

19. Example of education section.

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

21. 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

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

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

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

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

28. 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

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

30. 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

31. CV examples

32. 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)

33. 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 ing CV, include covering letter as attachment or in the body of .
Examples
Look at examples of
Covering letters for applied jobs
Speculative applications

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

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

36. Situation Task Action Result
Skills analysis
Situation Task Action Result

37. 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.’

38. 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.’

39. 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