CV Advice

Heidi Bannister

Introductions

• London College of Fashion, Ethel Cox award for student of the year back in 1984.

• 20 years working in cosmetic and toiletries industry in sales, marketing and NPD roles.

• 10 years in recruitment, MD of Arthur Edward since 2002.

• Specifically for cosmetic, toiletry, perfumery and personal care. Multi discipline and multi level.

The Competition

• 1 job advert – 200 responses?• relevance• 10 – 20 serious applications• Recruiter meet 6 – 8 people• Company 1st interview 4• Company 2nd interview 2

Curriculum Vitae

• The difference between a good CV and a great CV can make or break your career.

• Automatic reject, 1st impressions.• A bad CV will be in the bin in a matter of seconds

and there will be no second chance.

Less is more

• Time spent reading CV?• 1 or 2 pages, 3 max with years of experience.• Keep something back for the interview. • Long CV’s are never read, use bullet points

and leave off unnecessary or repetitive detail.

Layout & Font

• Stick to Black Times or Arial in 12pt. • Don’t use italics, small or fancy fonts that

strain the eyes. • Keep it clean with lots of white space and no

tables.

Spelling

• Use spell and grammar checks, check again then get someone else to check.

• Errors with spelling make you look stupid, slovenly and lazy.

• Not the best first impression.

Dates

• Check your dates and fill in the gaps, deal with any issues head on, people like to see a consistent career but if you have made mistakes, acknowledge them, learn from them and move on.

The Beginning

• Impact, key words, auto reject.• An Objective, Personal Profile or Competency

Statement should start your CV. • It should lay out who you are and what you

want giving a feel for your personality, experience and skills.

Layout

• If this is your first CV your education can be listed first.

• If your specific qualifications are essential to a role they can be listed after your profile.

• Always start with your current job after the initial profile, listing your roles in reverse order and once experienced, education at the end.

Nothing to Say

• Your first CV can be tricky as you don’t have any experience.

• Think about what you have achieved and how it can relate to the workplace.

• What jobs did you do at home.• Weekend, evening, part time or holiday work.• Voluntary Work, LGFB.• Memberships, SCS, CEW.

Sell, Sell, Sell

• If you don’t sell yourself no one else will. • Never lie but by all means emphasis the

positives and leave out the negatives. • A CV is a marketing tool to sell a product – you

are the product.

Know who you are

• Don’t say that you are positive and confident if you are not.

• Be proud of who you are and highlight your strengths.

• Don’t try to be something you are not, if you get a job more suited to a different personality it won’t last.

The Turkey and the Bull

A turkey was chatting with a bull.

"I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy."

"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. “They're packed with nutrients."

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to flap his wings and jump to the lowest branch of the tree.

The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after a week, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

The Moral of the Story

Bull shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there!!

Understand your personality, experience, strengths and weaknesses, your ambition, determination and what you are prepared to compromise and then you can understand what roles suit you best.

Sell, Make or Save

• Think about what a future employer wants to know. How did you make a difference in your previous roles? Did you make money or save money or time, what did you or your team achieve. What can you bring to the table?

Numbers

• List figures, saying you made a profit or saving is not enough. List savings, growth, margins and value.

• The number of people you helped, spoke to or dealt with in a day.

• How many projects at any one time.

Personal

• Who are you?• What are you passionate about?• How will I remember you?• Sport, individual or team• Creativity, Fashion, Arts• Strength, Courage, Giving back

1, 2, 3.

• It is not unusual to have a number of different CV’s in fact every single CV should be written specifically for a job. It might just be the odd tweak here or there but getting it right is so important and highlighting or emphasising different experiences or characteristics could make all the difference.

Remember CV Basics

• Less is more.• Key Facts & Key Words.• Profile, what do you want?• Qualifications, Experience.• What have you got to offer, sell, make, save.• What is different about YOU!

Thank you, Let’s write your CV!!

Heidi Bannister