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imagine
yourself in the place of the reader, your prospective
employer. What response do you want them to have to
your CV? Have that in mind when you construct it. Write
it imagining that you are the employer and that the
employer is getting really excited as they read your
CV and realise that you could be the one!
Your
CV is a selling document: the reader should feel interested
and curious to learn more. They can find out more at
the interview. The purpose of the CV is to get you that
interview.
It must
be easy to read: readers may skim the CV for as little
as five seconds before they decide whether to actually
read it. So the appearance of your CV matters enormously.
Length:
2 pages are ideal. Certainly no more than 3 pages. Any
more than this and the reader may not feel that they
even have time to start. Once they put down your CV,
or close the Word document, they may not open it again.
White
space: don't have too much crammed on to each page,
it will be easier to read if there is a good amount
of white space on the page.
Contact
details: make it easy for the reader by putting your
name, address and contact details (landline number,
mobile number, e-mail address) at the top.
Profile:
next come a few lines that sum up your skills and that
position you. You may wish to amend this for every job
you apply for so that it is absolutely relevant to that
position.
Employment
history: then record your employment history, with the
most recent positions first. Rather than record what
you did, think what your prospective employer might
value. What were the benefits to the organisation of
what you did?
Dates:
note the dates (month and year) on the right-hand side
of the page. The employer will skim down this column
looking at length of service and looking for gaps in
your CV (see below).
Ancient
history: the further back in time you go, the less you
need to explain about the role. Unless of course, that
role is very relevant for the position that you're applying
for.
Gaps
in your CV: you may have had career breaks. If you don't
explain any gaps in your CV they will raise questions
in the prospective employer's mind. At best they will
come back to you to ask about the gap, at worst they
will move on to somebody else's CV. Include a short
sentence on how you used that time.
Were you raising a family, a career, on maternity leave,
unemployed, travelling? Give some indication of what
you did during that time that was productive, that involved
doing something that the employer might value.
Did
you do a DIY project on the house, some personal development
work, and study and keep up-to-date, give some assistance
to a friend setting up new business? Include any temporary,
contract, unpaid or voluntary work. For example: "managed
a household and a team of three lively children",
"learnt website design". If you can find something
that may have a value for your prospective employer,
all the better.
But be honest. You may have to talk about any aspect
of your CV at the interview.
Education:
next record your professional qualifications and education,
most recent first. You may want a separate section on
computer and systems experience if this is one of your
strong points. If not, leave it out, you can always
get training and improve your skills if necessary for
the role.
Things
to leave out: photograph; religious or political allegiances
(unless they are relevant to the position).
Optional:
date of birth; nationality: you may want to include
this if it shows that there will be no difficulty for
the employer about employing you; marital status. If
you think that any of this may be perceived less than
positively by the prospective employer then leave it
off.
Personal details/further information:
this could include clean driving license if driving
is going to be a part of the job. Leave this information
out if you have points on your license. You can mention
interests or hobbies briefly if they add something to
your CV.
References: leave information about
referees until your prospective employer requests them.
Finishing off: use your spellchecker and check punctuation.
Generally short sentences are easier to read. If you
can split a long sentence into two or three shorter
sentences then do so. You want the reader to be able
to read quickly and efficiently and absorb your key
messages.
Review your CV before sending it:
if you have time, send the CV the next day when you
have had time to review it from a different perspective.
It can also be useful to get somebody else to review
it. Accept any feedback as constructive rather than
as criticism. Be appreciative of any suggestions for
how you can present yourself on paper in a way that
will give the best impression to the reader.
Clean white paper: print your CV
on plain, white, good-quality, paper. It will look professional,
clean and clear. That is likely to get you more positive
attention than trying to catch someone's eye with gimmicks.
Final review: look once more at your
finished CV, imagining yourself as your prospective
employer reading your CV. If the impression you're getting
is not completely positive, then change your CV.
Different CV for different jobs:
amend your CV, the profile and perhaps the detail in
the employment section, for each job you apply for.
Tailor what you write about your skills, abilities and
achievements to the particular job profile you're applying
for.
Covering email or letter: make your
covering letter or e-mail short and sweet; specify the
position you're applying for and one or two reasons
why you're interested in the job and would be good at
it, drawing on a key example of your work experience
to support this.
Keep a copy: make sure that you label
the Word version of your CV and letter with your name
when you e-mail them out (e.g. Martin Lloyd-Penny CV.doc
and Martin Lloyd-Penny letter.doc). Then on your system
rename both documents with the employer name so that
it's easy for you to see which CV went to which employer.
You may also want to print out a hard copy of the CV
and letter. File the hard copies where you can find
then if you're called to interview a few weeks later.
Other feedback: don't expect a recruitment
company to check your CV. At Matureaccountants however,
if we notice something that we think may not work in
your favour, we may ask your permission to give you
feedback. We will make this constructive, with suggestions
for improvement. It's better to get feedback from us
than to be continually missing out on getting to interview
and not knowing why.
Feedback for us: if you have any
feedback for us about this information and any suggestions
for improvement, please email martin@matureaccountants.com
Sending
your CV to us: send your CV to us when you register,
but make sure that it has your name as part of the filename!
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