Busy recruiters see hundreds of CVs a month – and often comment that most
of them are generic and forgettable. The lesson? Start with the employer’s
needs, not your own.
Study the advert or job description you’re interested in carefully and highlight
all the required skills you can identify in the text. Your list may include
terms like
- Teamwork
- building client relationships
- problem-solving
- analytical ability
- creativity
- project management...
These are the skills you should highlight in every section of your CV – in your
education, your work experience and your additional interests. Don’t forget – each
job is different and you’ll be tailoring your CV accordingly.
Don’t worry if you haven’t got directly relevant experience – it isn’t as important
as proving that you have the relevant transferable skills, possibly gained
from other areas of your life. (see Identifying
Your Skills). For example, an office temp job could be used to prove teamwork,
problem-solving, relationship-building or project management skills.
Remember that you should always use evidence to back up your claims about
your skills. Evidence is factual, e.g.
- How many people you worked with at that temp job
- How long your shifts in the hospital were
- The size of your budget for organising the fresher’s ball
There are no hard-and-fast rules about what should be included in a CV but try to
remember the following:
- Keep it no longer than two pages
- Use bullet points – summarise and list
- Keep the formatting clear and professional – don’t use a lot of fancy fonts
- Get someone else to proofread it
- Don’t include a picture
Unless you’re asked not to, always include a cover email or letter with your CV.
Like the CV, this should be specifically written for each job you apply for.
Download an example cv in pdf or
rtf format.
Download an example Cover Letter in
pdf or rtf format.