cv and resume secrets

RÉSUMÉ & CV

SECRETS The Inside Track on Writing a Résumé or CV that

Gets Attention, Sells* You, and Puts You

Top of the Pile!

[* “Sells” = You get a better job sooner!]

By Gerard le Roux

RÉSUMÉ & CV SECRETS

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© Gerard le Roux, 2005

No part o f this publication may be copied or reproduced for use by anyone other than the purchaser.


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Dedication

To all job-hunters who’ve agonised, late into the night, blurry eyed, over the writing of their CV - and then after sending it out, had NO response.


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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION............................................................. Pg 5 How to get the person reading your CV, to pick up the phone and call you for an interview!

1 LAYING THE FOUNDATION .................................... Pg 12 The true purpose of a CV. Also visit the ‘world’ of those who read your CV, seeking to understand their needs, so you can write documents that move them to action. Discover how laying the right foundation is the ‘hidden’ intelligence behind a CV that wins interviews and jobs.

2 3 GREAT CV FEATURES ......................................... Pg 21 3 Innovative and effective features to make your CV stand out.

3 LOADING UP!............................................................ Pg 34 What kind of information will be interesting and exciting for an employer to read in your CV? What are your most marketable skills? That is skills that the employer will find immediately attractive.

4 WRITING YOUR CV................................................... Pg 46 How to write your CV in a way that’s simple but gets the reader’s attention for all the right reasons.

5 CV EXAMPLES.......................................................... Pg 64 Examples with commentary to guide you point by point.

6 COVERING LETTERS ............................................... Pg 79 How to write a covering letter that gets attention.

CONCLUSION .............................................................. Pg 85

ABOUT THE AUTHOR ................................................. Pg 86


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INTRODUCTION

What’s going to make you stand out in the job hunting crowd?

What’s going to make an employer pick YOUR job-application ahead of the rest

in the pile?

This is pretty much what job-hunting has become. It’s competitive. Hey, it’s a

fight! A fight to be noticed in the crowd. You’ll agree.

And at the centre of this fight is your CV or résumé.

[Just a note regarding the term “résumé” vs “CV”. To a large extent they’ve

come to mean the same thing. In some parts of the world “CV” denotes a more

academic, detailed document. But here in South Africa either word really

denotes a document outlining your personal, education, and career details.]

So what is your CV really?

It’s your personal marketing document. Notice that it’s NOT just a record of dry,

lifeless, faceless, personality-less facts about you!

Who said it had to be that? No-one. Well that’s not entirely true - there are a

bunch of people out there writing books on how to write a CV who don’t know

any better. And there are a lot of CV templates that also just collect facts. Job

application forms are often like that too.

And I’ve just thought of something. Let people think that! It’s great for YOU!

Because if everyone else is just sending out boring, lengthy, dry lists of facts

about themselves, then it’s easy for you to blow the competition out the water!

And that’s the purpose of this book. To help you write a CV that serves as your

personal marketing document, your sales document, your chief promotional tool

in the job market. A document that “gets attention, sells you, and puts you top

of the pile!”


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A CV has come to be of utmost importance in almost any job-hunt.

Employment agencies ask you for one. Employers ask you for one.

And it seems that no job can be landed without first handing your CV over for

scrutiny. And it’s with sickening regularity that it’s at this crucial point that the

job opportunity you’re chasing just fizzles out!

You may know you’re a great candidate for the job! You send your CV. You

wait expectantly, even confidently!

But you never hear another word.

Has this happened to you? Probably.

The CV is also a document that seems to be shrouded in mystery. There are

so many unanswered questions about them:

• How long should it be?

• What format is best – functional or chronological?

• Heck - what is ‘functional’ and what is ‘chronological’?!

• Is it written in first person or third?

• Should reasons for leaving jobs be included?

• What about hobbies?

• What if there’s a gap between jobs?

• What if you’ve been at 6 jobs in the last 4 years – how do you make that

look good?

These are all good questions and only a few of the many you may have.

In addition, not all the experts agree on the answers to them - which confuses

the situation even more.

This e-book however, hasn’t been written to answer these questions. Some of

them are answered incidentally but on the whole you’ll find this book discussing

something infinitely more important.

What could that be?


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How to get the person reading your CV to pick up the phone and call you

for an interview!

Isn’t that the purpose of your CV? Of course it is! Let’s never lose sight of that!

Everything else is unimportant - in fact , if you write your CV on ‘loo’ paper you’ll

still get great results using the strategies we’ll work through in the pages that

follow!

Okay don’t try that but still ... what follows will reveal to you the real power

behind your CV (and it’s NOT the kind of paper you use that makes all the

difference.)

So we’re going to be looking at ways in which we can write a document which

results in ...

• An employer to reading your CV - with interest

• And then calling you!

And this doesn’t depend so much on what font you’ve used or how long your

CV is or whether there are gaps in your work experience. There are much more

important issues!

The title of this book is “Résumé & CV Secrets”. The word ‘secrets’ is incredibly

apt. So many people are proud of their CV. It’s neat, professional looking,

laser printed on good stock. It’s got lots of impressive detail regarding their

duties and responsibilities etc. But so often they’ve missed the point

completely!

Their CV doesn’t sell! They’ve missed the point. They haven’t addressed the

REAL issues.

They wonder why, after 3 months of sending out their ‘nice’ CV, they still aren’t

getting responses.


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They either don’t know the secrets, or they don’t understand their importance.

Or they don’t know how to properly apply the secrets to their CV and covering

letter.

This book will let you in on the secrets - and show you how to apply them.

And you’ll find they’re more common sense than magical.

There are however, some new and unique concepts which you’ll probably never

have heard of before. I’ve called them ‘lures’.

Commonly a lure is used in fishing. It’s an artificial bait which attracts and

tempts the fish to bite. Using lures in your CV will get the attention of employers

and tempt them to bite!

Just what you want right?

What else can you expect from this book?

Let’s take a brief tour.

There are 5 chapters.

Chapter 1 helps you get to grips with what the purpose of your CV is. What is it

really meant to achieve? Who reads it and what’s important to them? How

should this knowledge affect how you write both your CV and covering letter?

Chapter 2 deals with innovative features which, when used in your CV, have a

powerfully influential effect on the reader. These are easy things to include in

your CV. However, somehow these techniques have eluded 99% of job-

hunters and even a large number of professional CV writers!

In Chapter 3 you’ll be guided through an information gathering exercise. This

exercise will ensure you have, at your fingertips, information which you can use

to mould your CV and covering letter into attention grabbers.


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The actual writing of your CV comes next in Chapter 4. And we’ll look at

principles of format, style and content which will guarantee attention when in the

hands of the right person.

Some examples of great covering letters are included in Chapter 5 which deals

with 2 different types of letter. A good covering letter is a tool which is

undervalued and therefore seldom utilised to its full potential. An intelligently

drafted letter can literally bash down doors for you – doors which never would

have opened with a more traditional approach. But it’s got to be done right!

On completion of the book you will have, at your disposal, the guiding

principles, and you’ll know how to write a CV and covering letter which gets

better than ever results.

Too many people take a passive, mediocre approach to their job-hunt.

Consequently the results they get are very often disappointing. In fact many are

happy to just take whatever job comes along - if anything comes along.

What’s provided here isn’t for the faint-hearted or for individuals who just want

any job, anywhere (although it’ll help them anyway). It’s for people who believe

that life is to be lived, opportunities are for chasing and rewards enjoyed!

Applying the suggestions in this book will mean some work. Please view it as a

workbook. Print it out, scribble all over it. Do the exercises - this is how you’ll

get the best from it.

As long as there are more people than jobs you are going to have to look for

ways to make yourself more attractive than the next applicant. It’s not about

faking, or misrepresenting yourself – misleading the reader. Rather, it’s about

putting your best foot forward.

In a world never short of CVs - piled up to the ceiling in most employment

agencies, bursting out of drawers and filing cabinets in dark corners of

employer’s offices and in forgotten computer directories – you need to put up a

determined fight to be noticed and to stand out.

I know that the suggestions in this book will help you do that.


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WARNING! You may wonder why such a rigorous preparation phase is

necessary - why you can’t just get to the writing straight away or copy one of the

examples.

“Why can’t I just copy a pretty format for my CV?” you may ask.

Because, as you’ll learn, it’s not about the format - it’s not about copying what

worked for someone else!

It’s about knowing what will work for you and how to present that in a way that it

attracts positive response.

An additional benefit to the preparation phase is that you’ll have a much better

‘grip’ on who you are and what value you can provide - very useful throughout

the job-hunting process and especially in interviews.

So don’t try to take short-cuts here. Enjoy the exercises. Spend time on them.

Be thorough. You won’t regret it.

Here’s an outline of the steps we’re going to follow – see next page.


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Next

1

Laying the Foundation

The whole purpose of your CV is to SELL - but to SELL comfortably you need

to be a relevant ‘solution’ to the employer’s problem! Think, research, discover

their needs and their ‘world’ - you’ll use this data later to build your CV.

2

3 Great CV Features

If your CV is to stand out - you have to innovate. And including these 3 features

in your CV will boost your chances of being noticed immensely.

3

Loading Up

What kind of information will be interesting and exciting for an employer to read

in your CV? What are your most marketable skills? That is skills that the

employer will find immediately attractive.

4

Writing Your CV

How to write your CV in a way that’s simple but gets the reader’s

attention for all the right reasons.


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LAYING THE FOUNDATION

The true purpose of a CV and covering letter; you will also visit the ‘world’ of

those who read your CV, seeking to understand their needs, so you can write

documents that move them to action; how laying the right foundation is the

‘hidden’ intelligence behind a CV that wins interviews and jobs

What’s the purpose of your CV?

CV stands for Curriculum Vitae which is Latin for “course of life”. Thus you

could say your CV is a sort of autobiography.

What do you think of when you think of autobiography? Personally I think of

some old guy rattling on about his experiences in the 2nd World War. Not

particularly gripping stuff! Well, not to me anyway!

A mistake therefore, that many people make, is to forget that the real purpose of

their CV is not to provide an exhaustive history of their life (as proud as they

may be of it) - including details of their health, their children’s names and the

fact that they enjoy knitting in front of the TV!

No! Rather the purpose of our CV and covering letter is …

... to send the following strong, immediate message to the reader ...

“I’m the solution you’re looking for!”

Yes, to convince the reader that you may indeed be “the solution” to his/her

problems.

Yes, to get the reader to pick up the phone and call you in for an interview - an

interview which ultimately leads to a great job offer!

Your CV may well represent a lifetime of outstanding work, dedication, loyalty,

expertise, qualification and accomplishment. You may feel sentimental and


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have fond and vivid memories about the people and places that you’ve featured

in your ‘course of life’. But will that information help win you the interview?

That’s the real question. Why should the reader care about you? What’s in it

for them?

Take a moment and put yourself in the shoes of the reader.

Does he/she share your interest in the content of your CV? They’re busy.

Hectic. They have CVs piled up all over. Recruiting is NOT their favourite

pastime. And reading CVs is just another unpleasant task on their list of

unpleasant tasks in their unpleasant day!! Are they really interested in all your

personal info? Do they care?

If the content of your CV shows no immediate value or relevance to them - it

faces the risk of becoming ‘just another CV’, lost in the pile, likely to end up

being unceremoniously dumped - with no hint of a response.

The reader has one thing on their mind.

• “What can this person do for me?”

• “How will this person help me make more money, save money or create

more time for me to spend on other things?”

• “How will this person help me meet my targets?”

Your CV clearly has only one purpose to the reader. It’s a quick way to assess

whether you can solve a problem that they’ve got or not.

Burying the reader in information that’s important to YOU is therefore a big

mistake. The key criteria is whether what you include is of interest, value and

importance to THEM!

It is a SALES brochure - talking to the needs of the customer.

You are a product. Your CV is your sales brochure!


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It’s meant to highlight the benefits you will bring to the reader.

It’s meant to persuade the reader that you have what he/she needs and that

they should call you NOW!

Using your CV as a sales document means to show clearly how you have, in

the past, used your skills, talents, abilities, qualifications, previous experience

etc. to contribute to the success of other businesses/organisations etc, how

you’ve used your skills for benefit and profit. And to assure the reader that you

are likely to do the same for them.

BUT ...

Is “Sales” a dirty word in your vocabulary? How do you feel about SELLING?

Comfortable? Uncomfortable?

Being able to sell is one of the most valuable skills anyone can have.

And we all do it every day remember - so it’s not a question of whether we can

or not - we can - we’ve been ‘selling’ since we were kids.

We ‘sell’ anytime we want to get agreement with anyone on anything - we sell

our opinion, our point of view, we negotiate with our kids, spouses, and friends.

It’s comfortable, second-nature in fact, for us most of the time. And it can be

the same in this case ... if you do it right.

So how do you do it ‘right’?

Consider this example. Some years ago I was on a hike on the coast of the

Eastern Cape (aka Transkei), which was on the East Coast of South Africa. It

was humid. Clean drinking water was scarce. I had a heavy backpack. One

morning toward midday we had a stiff one-hour climb to circumnavigate an

impassable stretch of coastline. We got to the top exhausted but we saw a

welcome sight! Some local fellow was sitting there with a steel basin full of ice

and cold beers! Needless to say we didn’t bother asking the price. No price

would have been too high!


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What’s the lesson? It’s not clever, super self-confident, devious tactics and

techniques that make a successful sales person. All it requires is that you see a

need and offer to fill it. Even the most timid person can do that!

No doubt this local fellow watched week after week as hot exhausted, thirsty

hikers came past his hut. And he thought to himself “what would I like if I were

them? A cold beer. Okay let’s make it happen.” He didn’t have to say a word.

He just had to sit a collect the bucks! No smart closing techniques, putting

customers in an uncomfortable corner - just good salesmanship – providing a

product or service which meets a need. Simple! Easy!

What’s the key to comfortable selling?

Make your offer relevant to the needs of the potential buyer. That’s it.

So when writing your CV as a sales document all you do is make it as relevant

to the needs of the employer as possible. This way you minimize rejection and

maximise the positive effect of your efforts.

To be relevant however requires some homework, some research and due

diligence. You need to understand the reader’s world a little, what keeps them

‘awake at night’? So you can mould or tailor your application into one that they

immediately sense represents a benefit to them.

It would be wise of you then, to discover as much about the potential employer

as possible. What goes on in his world? Ask questions like:

• What are the challenges facing his/her business?

• How does the business make money?

• What threatens profitability?

• In what areas can you be of help?

• What are the challenges facing the department in which you’d like to

work?

• What problems have they had in the past?

• Are the company’s competitors doing anything different or better?


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So there’s some homework already. Finding, researching, the answers to the

above questions. Sometimes it’s just a matter of applying your mind - using

your experience, industry knowledge and common sense to do this. (Also see

the practical suggestions below.)

Again: Why is this important?

What will this do for your CV and covering letter? With this kind of preparation

you can adapt them to exactly meet the needs of the reader. Positive

responses will follow as a natural consequence. Simple! Easy! Not rocket

science - just good salesmanship.

Practical Ideas

• One of my favourite things is to get a brand new hard-cover exercise

book and collect ideas from all over about a certain subject. Do the

same with your targeted industry or company. Gather information

from all over. You’ll find useful information and ideas occurring to you

all the time - at unusual times so keep it close.

• Meet as many people who work in your industry of interest as

possible. Pick their brains as to the above questions. Just have

informal, no commitment discussions.

• Read trade journals, newspapers, websites and books to deepen

your knowledge of the industry and company you want to work in.

• What are the trends you notice? Problems, challenges often

encountered?

• What do other people who do your job have to say? What do they

find difficult? How do they overcome the challenges? Gather

intelligence!

• Learn (if you don’t know it already) the ‘vocabulary’ of your industry,

department or job. But a word of warning - you’re not going to

impress anyone with jargon or big words. 1st Prize goes to you if you


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learn it, understand it, simplify it, and put it into everyday, simple

language that even the most lightweight of recruiters will understand.

All of this contributes to your understanding, better than ever, how you can

make a valuable contribution - and consequently how you can, better than ever,

write material to market yourself that gets attention and response.

Exercise

It’s time to start thinking about it. Brainstorm a little. Research.

You’ll use your thoughts and research later when compiling your CV. This info

will help you to focus it on the needs/concerns/problems of the reader - offering

them a relevant solution.

• What are the challenges facing a potential employer’s business?

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• How does the business make money?

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• What threatens profitability?

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• In what areas can you be of help?

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• What are the challenges facing the department in which you’d like to work?

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• What problems have they likely had in the past?

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• Are the company’s competitors doing anything different or better?

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As a conclusion just to get back to the subject of biographies. They aren’t all

old and boring. If I’m honest there are autobiographies that I have read and

enjoyed. Take “Losing my Virginity” by Sir Richard Branson. Why was it

different, more interesting to me?

It’s a book that’s much more relevant to my generation, my interests and my life

in general – so I enjoyed reading it.

Your CV needs to be like that. Relevant to the needs, interests, problems and

challenges of the reader. And it must bring them good news. It must shout “I’m

the answer to your problem!”


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Let’s examine some further ways we can make this happen.

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Next

2

3 Great CV Features



3

Loading Up




4

Writing Your CV




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3 GREAT CV FEATURES

3 Innovative and effective features to make your CV stand out.

In this chapter we’ll further lay a quality platform of preparation. And I’ll start by

discussing some of the innovative elements we’ll be using in your CV to get

attention, capture interest, and compel response.

What you need to do here is start looking for your personal examples of each

element. Jot down your thoughts randomly and later (next chapter) we’ll put

them all together and make them work in your new CV.

NOTICE! These methods only work if you’ve done the ‘work’ outlined in the last

chapter! We’re building a house here! Foundation first. All elements are

important - one is nothing without the other.

1. Achievement and Benefit ‘Lures’

Nothing succeeds like success! Your CV should be full of it!

Your past tales of success and achievement act as ‘lures’ to the reader.

They attract them. They make them look twice. They make them linger.

And the readers say to themselves “Hmmm, that’s what I need someone to

do for me.” Or “Hmmm, this person really made a difference - they get

results.”

That’s a great start to the job winning process!

There is a strong tendency in humans to enjoy reading a good story that has

a happy ending. You can make your CV like that if you carefully select

accomplishments from your past which are relevant to the needs of the

reader and which are therefore likely to elicit a positive response.


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Instead of lining up all your ‘duties and responsibilities’ for each position you

filled you should line up a list of achievements. Anybody can have a list of

duties and responsibilities and if this is all you include you again risk being

lost in the pile of other similar applicants (all saying almost exactly the same

thing).

On the other hand listing your achievements instead, indicates that you were

someone who got results for the work you did. You helped the business

move ahead in some way! You made a difference. You weren’t just a ‘bum

on a seat’. That’s much more positive and more likely to land an interview.

Your achievements needn’t be dramatic or extraordinary. What employers

want is often much more mundane and everyday than “7x Winner of

National Sales Person of the Year”!! Don’t underestimate what you consider

to be ‘everyday’. It could just be what an employer is looking for. So ...

• What did you do well?

• How do you know you did it well?

• What were you complimented for?

• How did you help the department reach it’s targets or fill it’s role in

the business?

• What could you be relied on for?

• Who relied on you to perform?

• Did you win any awards?

Try to think NOT in terms of actual, physical or mental work done, like

“typing”, or “selling”, or “balancing the books”. Think beyond that in terms of

what benefits you provided.

For example a secretary or PA types (word processing - you know ‘tap, tap,

tap’), files documents and answers the phone (amongst other things). But

the actual benefit they provide is to take the pressure off their employer, to

get things done reliably, to reduce stress in the office, to get things

organised - all aimed at ensuring the employer can get on with their job

without distraction. No fuss. No hassle.

So think of what you achieved as it relates to how you made your company

or department work better, more effectively or more profitably. Think of the


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benefits you provided. The deepest reasons why your employer was happy

to pay you at the end of the month.

If you look hard enough you’ll find examples.

Try using the P A R method when looking for and relating your examples.

‘P’ is for problem faced: what situation/challenge did you face

which demanded that you come up with a solution?

eg: “When I took over, the software implementation project

was 3 months behind, losing R10 000.00 per day in

penalties.”

‘A’ is for what action you took in order to solve the problem.

eg.: “I re-worked the project plan, set-up a daily progress

check, appointed a more dynamic team leader and

encouraged regular communication and co-operation.”

‘R’ is for the result you got.

eg. “The project was completed 2 weeks ahead of the new

negotiated completion date, on-budget and resulted in a

32% increase in productivity for the client.”

Achievements act as lures, not duties and responsibilities – everyone else’s

got them and they’re boring. Use achievement lures to hook your ‘fish’.

More about how exactly to load them into your CV later.

By the way did you notice how closely the achievement in the example was

related to the benefit provided?

What was the benefit? Time was saved. Productivity improved. The project

was on budget (ie money wasn’t wasted).


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Isn’t that what employers love to see? People saving them time, saving

them money. Yes, there was a good reason Nashua chose “saving you

time, saving you money” as their advertising tag-line - it spoke to the ‘heart’

of what business people are most concerned with.

People who can provide these benefits are who they love to employ.

Get your mind working! What achievements can you use as ‘lures’? What

benefits can you use to sell your skills?

Start making some notes - you’ll refer back to them when it’s time to write

the CV.

Do the work below. And remember to use the P A R format where

applicable.

• What did you do well?

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• How do you know you did it well?

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• What were you complimented for?

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• How did you help the department reach it’s targets or fill it’s role in the

business?

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• What could you be relied on for?

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• Who relied on you to perform?

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• Did you win any awards? What for? Why did you win?

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Just a reminder: Don’t worry yet about how you’re going to incorporate any

of this into your CV. We’ll cover that later. Just renew and refine your

knowledge of YOU and the difference YOU can make.


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2. Keyword ‘Lures’

In the same way that Achievement Lures talk to the heart of employers,

Keyword Lures are words that talk straight to the heart of the employer.

A good example is the title of the job for which you are applying. If the job

advertised is for a “Sales Representative” then you can be sure that the

employer’s mind is ‘magnetised’ toward that term. It’s on the look out for it -

perhaps unconsciously so - but it’s on the look out for it alright.

So never mind that your previous title was actually ‘Consultant’. In essence

you were a sales person or representative, so use, on your CV, words that

the reader will immediately identify as a match, find attractive and relate to.

It’s no use if your CV uses terminology that confuses the reader.

Rather, lead them along, take them by the hand, don’t assume they’ll read

your CV to better understand what you do - it’s more likely they’ll toss it in

the bin instead.

• You may happen to know that the employer places a lot of value on a

particular software package, like SAP or Pastel – then that name

becomes a keyword that you’ll want to ‘drop’ in to your CV at an

appropriate place, perhaps more than once (if indeed you do have

experience with it).

• Or you may know that in the industry in which you want to enter they

value ‘attention to detail’ very highly. This then becomes a keyword/

phrase. And you’ll want to use the term and also give

examples/achievements which show that you have this quality.

• You may have worked for various respected organisations -

recognisable names (brands) that carry with them an element of

esteem, or admiration. You’ll want to highlight these as ‘lures’ too.


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So what is the reader looking for? What do they want? What do they likely

respect? What do you have that they’ll see as valuable or worth attention?

Highlight those words!

They’re KEY to you getting noticed as someone who meets the needs of the

reader.

Here’s an insider insight: Another reason for these Keyword Lures is that

recruiters are often just matchers of words. They don’t necessarily have a

lot of knowledge about what you do.

What happens is that they receive a ‘job-specification’ from an employer (a

list of the title, qualification, key outputs, experience required, etc). Then

they hold the job-spec in the left hand, and your CV in their right. And they

look out for words or key points that match!

It’s sometimes exactly as simple as that!

Now instead of complaining about their simplistic approach - let’s learn to

work with it. Take a long hard look at your CV. At what you’re dishing up.

Are you getting your message across simply, intelligently? Are you doing

your homework? Are you making the recruiter’s life easy? It’s in your

interest after all.

Keywords get attention. Highlight them!

Make some notes here now.

When you look at job ads you want to apply for - what words (qualifications,

experience, skills, methods, technologies, etc.) keep getting repeated? Note

them and make sure they’re highlighted in your CV.

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3. Quotes

Now here’s a very innovative way to increase the CV reader’s interest in

YOU. Use quotations.

Tell the reader what people have said about you and your work. Use those

reference letters. Use those informal commendation e-mails. Use those

personality profile reports. Use those nice comments made by your boss

(formal or informal) after you completed a successful project.

And here’s why you should use them. Consider this illustration.

Imagine you’re shopping for a new digital camera. There are 20 different

makes displayed in the store. You’re confused, you know nothing about

digital cameras and you can’t trust what the salesperson is telling you ‘cause

you know he’s just trying to earn the highest commission!

Then a stranger who’s browsing mentions to you that he’s got “that model

camera over there” “It’s very reliable, good value, you can’t go wrong” he

says. And it happens that it looks okay, it has the features you feel are

important, and it’s priced average so you buy it.

Why?

We all like to have someone’s confirmation of our choices. Most times it

hardly even matters whether we know the person or not. We listen to their

recommendation even though they’re a total stranger.

Now I’m not suggesting you’ll get hired because someone once said “you’re

a genius” and you include it in your CV. But it certainly adds interest! And it

reassures the potential employer that if you’ve attracted this kind of praise or

commendation you’ve probably done good work before.

And it suggests you’ll do good work again - this time for the reader.


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Anyway it’s at least a factor, an influence in the decision to call you in for an

interview. Good references hold a lot of sway. And they add real interest to

a CV.

So stating in somewhere in your CV ...

“Highlight: My boss once saying of me: “You’re a genius. You saved my

life” when I found a R100 000 bank error.”

… will just get you more attention! No question!

Of course you’d want to use a quote you feel comfortable with, but don’t be

shy to use the compliments of others by quoting them in your CV.

It may just be what gives you the edge! The thing that adds the extra

interest you need to stand out from the rest. The thing that ‘twists the

readers arm’ in your favour.

Also don’t feel that now you have to produce a letter proving the quote.

You’re not mentioning it in court! If it’s true - then you can use it.

Now you may feel a little awkward about this. Just keep in mind however

that the example I’ve used above is a little bit extreme. It’s fine if you’re a

really bubbly sort of person and quite confident. But it may not feel right if

you’re not. So this is another element - you’ve got to be comfortable with

what you use.

How about using a quote from a personality profile.

“Joe Bloggs tends to be tough minded, known for his determination and

drive for results.” - Extract from a Psymetric Profile, 2004.

Also a strong statement, I think. And quite scientific and verifiable.

You can select the quote depending on what the reader of your CV is likely

looking for - or in much repeated words - depending on what is most

relevant to the needs of the reader.


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Just another reason to use a quote like this is that one can use it to break

the monotony.

Yes, often a CV is written in a standard format which easily leads to the eye

skipping over important information. By breaking the style up, by introducing

something different one keeps the reader interested. Their eyes stop to

look.

And that’s what you want - more attention! More attention = more

opportunity to impress and influence.

In addition did you know that anything in quotation marks just gets more

attention (as long as it’s brief and to the point.)

Any ideas on quotes you could use? Look back at your references or e-

mails of commendation or just informal compliments - and make some notes

of possible phrases you can use:

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Right so the serious preparation has begun. We’ve looked at some innovative

ways or methods you’re going to use to get the attention you want ...

Now ...

Let’s look at what other information needs to be ‘loaded up’ for your CV to have

the compelling effect you’d like it to have.


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LOADING UP!

What kind of information is going to get the reader excited? What are the most

marketable skills in your ‘armoury’?

We’re still very much in the preparation stage. And you may be wanting to rush

things along - hey, I know there are jobs waiting to be applied for!

But you’ll have noticed by now, that writing a great CV is NOT a matter of a

pretty format, quickly done. And there’s no ONE right way to do it, or ONE right

way it should look.

Rather it’s a matter of QUALITY CONTENT, RELEVANT to the needs of the

employer. Information that represents the BEST OF YOU as a SOLUTION TO

THE EMPLOYER’S PROBLEM. (Am I getting repetitive? Hope so - it’s

important that you understand this.) And getting it to that point takes time and

good preparation. Please stick with the process.

Every employee added to an enterprise is added for a reason. Nothing

happens for philanthropy (Collins: philanthropy - “the practice of performing

charitable or benevolent actions; the love of mankind”)!

Yeah, if an employer gives an employee a wad of cash at the end of each

month, the employee must be doing something of benefit for the employer.

Right? Of course that’s right or it simply won’t last.

What follows is that when job-hunting you need to have a good understanding

of just what you have to offer an employer. “What can you do for me?” is what

they will ask.

So you need to establish just what you have in your ‘armoury’ or perhaps a

better word would for this purpose would be ‘treasury’. You need to have, on

hand, a personal inventory of your ‘treasury’ - your valuable skills, talents and

abilities. When you also take into account what you enjoy doing and what the


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employer needs you will have your most ‘marketable skills’ ie. the skills most

likely to get you a job ‘asap’.

Take note - think about it: When what you do well, and what you enjoy doing,

overlaps with what employers need - there you have your “most marketable

skills”.

These are the things you want to fill your CV with. If your CV is full of things

which are in demand then YOU will be in demand!

And if those things are things you also enjoy doing and you do them well, well

then everyone wins!

So lets establish what they are.

Establishing Your Marketable and Secondary Skills

What is a skill? It’s an ability - trained or not. It’s the capacity to make a

difference - improving something, transforming it, taking it forward from point A

to B or beyond. It’s the capacity to perform a specific task with competence and

to completion. It involves having the knowledge, mental capability, and physical

dexterity - in differing amounts depending on the task - to do a certain piece of

work.

Skills can be described at different levels. For example at macro level a skill

may be to be able to speak. But although describing it like that is a start, it’s too

general to be of much use. You can’t imagine an employer getting too excited

when he sees on your CV that you can “speak”!

So you’ve got to describe your skills in more specific terms - terms that explain

the practical value you can provide with that skill.

You can speak. Right. But how is that macro skill applied?

“Giving sales presentations”.

Okay. That’s a more marketable skill. Right?


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Another example. “I’m good with figures”.

Is this specific enough?

No. “In an accounting department I’m good at analysing figures, drawing up

graphs to explain what they mean to the business.”

Okay that’s longer but much, much more attractive to a potential employer -

they’ll immediately sense that you will be of practical value to them.

Yet another example. “I can write”. Write what? How? More details please!

Being able to write is too general. Show how that skill can be applied practically

in the work environment for the benefit of the employer.

So - what do you do well? What skills do you know you have? Take the last

few jobs you’ve had, analyse the tasks/responsibilities/duties you had one by

one, and ask the above questions. What other skills do you have - skills that

perhaps you’ve only used outside the work environment or a long time ago?

Right, makes some lists. Give them good thought.

1. What do you do well? What skills do you know you have?

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2. What do you enjoy doing most? What skills do you use for pleasure either at

work or elsewhere? What skills have you built by pursuing some hobby or other

activity?

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Now underline the points that appear in BOTH #1 and #2.

In other words what are the things that you do well AND enjoy doing. Yes, what

are the skills you’d like to continue practicing for the foreseeable future (or at

least don’t mind practicing).

If you’re in a situation where you’re just desperate for any job question #2 won’t

carry that much importance - but still - use the exercise to help you understand


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where you want to be work wise in the years to come - after all life is too short

to be doing stuff you don’t enjoy doing 8 hours a day, year after year.

Then …

3. What are the 5 or 6 things from your list of underlined items above that the

employer/reader would certainly find attractive. And why would they find them

attractive? In other words - how do your skills relate to the profitability of his/her

business, or his/her peace of mind?

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The above are your most marketable skills - that is, things that you are good

at, that you enjoy, and that the employer has a need for.

4. Also make a list of skills etc which are your ‘secondary’ skills (ie. things

which you are good at, but you either don’t enjoy that much or they probably

won’t be that attractive to an employer).

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Now Look for Examples to Support/Confirm or Prove Your Skills.

Here you’re looking for 2 things.

1) Detailed examples to prove that you do indeed have the skills you say you

have. Use the PAR method for this previously discussed.

2) Adjectives (descriptive words). What?? An adjective describes HOW you

performed the specific task. It explains your level of skill. It’s the difference

between saying “I make sales presentations” and “I make dynamic sales

presentations”. “Dynamic” is the adjective.

It’s the difference between saying “I can type” and “I type quickly and

accurately”. The 2 adjectives make all the difference. Everyone can type! NOT

everyone does so “quickly and accurately”. Including the adjectives make you a

more compelling candidate (ie more likely to win that interview).

Right ... you should now match your ‘most marketable skills’ identified above

with a few examples of your good work and the adjectives which will help

provide proof of your competence and influence potential employers/recruiters.

There is space below to list each of your ‘most marketable skills’. Jot each one

down, 1-6, and then consider these questions:

1. Remember occasions when you were complimented for this skill - what

was it that you did so well - what was the background?

2. Remember occasions when you saved the company money with this

skill.


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3. Remember occasions when you made things more efficient with the skill.

4. Remember occasions when clients were delighted with your service

using this skill.

5. Remember occasions when you helped the company reach it’s

objectives with this skill.

6. Remember occasions when you helped increase profits or revenue with

this skill.

Examples for Skill #1:

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The above examples should act as ‘lures’ to the reader. They talk the language

he/she wants to hear! Usually it’ll be talk of how your skills ultimately resulted in

more profits, efficiency, cost-cutting and peace of mind in the business! And

there is hardly a more powerful way than to use real-world examples.

Just a note - go back and review your examples. Are they detailed? Do they

include figures like - “improved turnaround time by 73%” or “won an account

worth R20m per annum to the company” or “my initiative resulted in my boss

being able to take a family holiday even though it was year end” (no figures

here but certainly a real benefit provided which is also powerful).

There’s power and influence in the details!! Don’t generalise! Give figures and

details if possible.

Now As the Next Step - Make a List of Your Keyword ‘Lures’

Remember a keyword is a word/phrase the reader’s eye will be immediately

drawn to - because it’s within their frame of interest.

Make a list. Remember these are ‘triggers’ to the reader’s interest. (Refer back

to the previous chapter for reminding about what keyword lures are.)

Look at job ads - what words, or phrases, qualifications, experience are

mentioned over and over again? If you CV features them strongly - there’ll be a

powerful MATCH between YOU and the EMPLOYER in need. And that’s just

what you want.


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Keywords:

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Right, you’re quite far along in identifying the kind of information you need to

highlight in your CV.

In Review:

1. You’ve laid the foundation – you understand the your CV is ironically not

actually about you! It’s about the needs of the employer, the reader,

what problems he/she’s got that you can provide solutions for.

2. You’ve learnt that the way to keep the reader reading is by including your

achievements, stating what benefits you’ll bring to the company, and by

highlighting keywords – words he/she identifies with strongly. You’ve

also seen how a memorable quote can make a difference - one that

promotes you strongly.


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3. You’ve also started identifying some of the most powerful material in your

work/life experience to use in your CV.

It’s time to put the document together.

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Writing Your CV

How to write your CV in a way that’s simple but gets the reader’s attention for

all the right reasons.


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WRITING YOUR CV

How to write your ‘course of life’ in a way that’s simple but gets the reader’s


We’re going to look at the different CV elements one by one now, and it’s time

to start actually writing your CV.

Remember the keywords, achievements and benefits, skills, what you love to

do etc that you’ve already been working on or identifying in the chapters before

this, are going to be used here.

Keep looking for places to include the things that represent the ‘best of you’.

Here’s the list of elements to make up your ‘course of life’.

1) Your Personal Details - name, contact details.

2) Your Objective - stated with the employer/reader’s interest in mind - to get

their attention and interest not to be a commentary on what you want.

3) Your Professional Profile - a quick summary of the best of you.

4) Your Education/Professional Details.

5) Your Work Experience - from last to first and focused on achievements.

The order can be varied to some extent. For example, you won’t put Education

up front if your qualifications aren’t impressive - it may be better then to leave

them to last. But starting out with an Objective section (the first heading on your

document) is non-negotiable as is the Professional Profile.

Lets run through the elements in more detail - and start adding your details.

1. Your Personal Details


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Your personal details need not take up an entire page as they do on many

unread CVs - languishing in dark corners of recruitment offices! Keeping it brief

and to the point is really all you need to do.

In fact, in the examples below you’re going to see how these personal details

will take only 2 or 3 lines - and yet be completely adequate.

Some of the items commonly included like ‘Health’ are really meaningless. Has

anyone ever put down “poor” or “weak bladder” or “off sick for 63 days last

year”? Unlikely. Everyone is “Excellent”. So just leave it out okay. This

information is seldom taken seriously and is never relied on to make a hiring

decision.

For the sake of space it’s best to keep it short and leave out other things too like

the names of family members, their ages, shoe-size etc! If an employer needs

that extra info they’ll ask for it. But really - it’s not important. Leave it out.

You can even leave out the much used 1st page large font announcement “CV

of John Smith”. If the reader has to be told he’s reading a CV then perhaps

he/she’s in no position to hire you anyway!

And the familiar clip-art pictures of two people shaking hands on the cover page

makes no improvement at all to your chances of being hired - in fact perhaps

just the opposite! No number of pictures or scrolls, pillars etc. on that 1st page

can make up for bad CV content. It just takes up an extra page of space -

rather leave it out.

Rather have your CV lying face up on a desk where a casual glance takes in

the benefits you’ll bring to the ‘casual-glancer’ than some tacky computer

generated cliché.

The bottom line is that you have to make what you DO put in really count. No

one thinks badly of a CV which represents a person who can clearly help them

make more money or provide a solution in some way!

Extra personal detail threatens to clutter the mind of the reader with so much

irrelevant information that the really important stuff gets lost in the crowd.


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So what are the essential personal details you should include?

• Your First and Last names

• Your contact details: phone numbers, e-mail address.

• Your residential and postal address (optional).

Here are some examples of how to do it at the top of your CV.

1) The centred, all on top, example.

CV of JENNA MUTTON

54 Fairfax Ave, Woodlands, Cape Town, 8021

Ph: 021 678 9100 Cell: 072 234 5678 E-mail: [email protected]

2) Left aligned, all on top example.

JOHN SMITH MBA, BSc 128 Nixon Boulevard, Tableview, 8033

Ph: 021 555 6756 Cell: 072 345 6789 E-Mail: [email protected]

ID#: 730528 5227 083 Drivers License: Code 08

3) Centred, split header/footer example. It’s an example of using the footer (ie

the bottom of the page) to carry the contact and address details instead of

having it on top.

Curriculum Vitae

JENNA MUTTON

/////

[body of cv]

/////

54 Fairfax Ave, Woodlands, Cape Town, 8021


Page 1 of 2


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Extra information may indeed be necessary but unless its absolutely crucial to

your getting the job, don’t make too much of a fuss of it – you need the space

for more important information and you don’t want to clutter the page.

2. A Clear Objective

An objective usually appears at the start of your CV. Some include one, some

don’t. I absolutely recommend you include one BUT ONLY if you do it right.

First impressions are everything!

Here are some guidelines and examples.

Does your CV start out by including an ‘objective’ which says anything like the

following?

“I’m looking for a position in a stable company which will give me an

opportunity to grow and develop etc …”

If it does - ‘chop’ it right now!

This is not at all what I mean by ‘objective’.

Although it’s commendable that you’ve actually given thought to what you want

(not many do) this kind of objective that appears on so many CVs, is a big turn

OFF! Why?

Well, put yourself in the employer’s shoes.

Would you care more about what the applicant wants or about what you want?

What you want of course! But who is the above objective all about? The

applicant!

It’s exactly the opposite of what would be attractive to the reader! No wonder it

attracts rejection so often! It probably comes from the time when employment

agencies actually worked FOR the candidate/job-hunter (a long time ago).

They acted as your agent and hunted for a job for you. So they wanted to know


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what you wanted - via your objective. Cool! But times have changed. Now

you’re on your own. It’s your job to sell yourself to an employer.

So this how to do it right:

You should state clearly the specific position you are applying for and what

benefit the employer would gain by hiring you. Here’s an example:

OBJECTIVE

A Sales Representative position in which my 4 years sales experience and

network of contacts in the liquor industry can generate higher profits for

your company

That’s much more powerful don’t you think!? Of course!

It’s much more likely to get a positive response from the reader. If it shows

anything about the applicant it shows that he knows that his job is to generate

profits! Bring in the bucks! That makes a very positive impression on the

reader – even if what follows in the CV is not that great.

It should be 2 or 3 lines AT MOST. It should not be about what you want! If

you are answering an ad for, say, a Bookkeeper with 3 yrs exp, Pastel

Accounting Software know-how, with supervisory experience - here’s what you

may write:

OBJECTIVE

Seeking a BOOKKEEPING position where 3 yrs exp, Pastel skills,

and knowledge of Tax will contribute to an efficient Accounts

department and profitable company.

Much better right? More focussed. If the reader is looking for a Bookkeeper -

with the relevant skills - will this applicant be noticed. Undoubtedly. Usually

these details are scattered throughout the CV - and are sometimes even

missed.


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But perhaps you don’t know the title of the job you are applying for. Okay, so

use a SUMMARY instead.

SUMMARY

Seeking a position in which 3 years of bookkeeping exp, Pastel skills and

know-ledge of Tax will contribute to an efficient accounts department and

profitable company.

The more focussed your CV the more powerful.

And starting out with an objective which gets the readers mind on the right track

is a good tactic. Always seek to narrow/focus/ target your Objective or

Summary statement instead of using a one-size-fits-all, generic, ‘what I want’

comment which will likely be of low interest to the reader.

Of course you may need to tweak the Objective every time you send it out - to

ensure it ‘connects’ as strongly as possible with the reader.

Practical Ideas

• Your objective should state that you are looking for a specific job. You

use the actual title that the employer used in his/her advertisement. The

more words the reader sees that he/she is accustomed to the better

(remember your ‘keyword lures’).

You may even want to change the title you had in your previous position

to something that will be more understandable to the reader. Using

“Sales Rep” instead of “Consultant” is one eg. If the reader is looking for

a sales person then you want him/her in no confusion regarding your key

role as a ‘consultant’. Using the term more familiar to the reader will

prevent any confusion.

• You should never give the impression that you are looking for ‘any job,

anywhere’. Never try to cover all your bases in your objective, writing a

one-size-fits-all statement. This approach will make you ‘just another

job-hunter’ of no particular note.


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• Focus your statement on what benefit you will bring to the

position/employer you are applying to.

• Use short sentences. Be to the point and use simple language. Be

prepared to spend a lot of time on this - it’s the first thing the reader’s

going to see - so it’s worth the effort and perhaps many different versions

until you get it just right.

• Remember no-one reads CVs for fun – “how can this person help me?”

and “why should I believe them?” are the only questions they’re asking.

You need to give a concise, well-thought out answers.

3. Professional Profile

The purpose of the Profile is to state your best skills, most respected

qualifications, most notable achievements, or a good, relevant quote. All the

good stuff to attract and hold attention.

With most CVs those nuggets of valuable information about the applicant are

scattered amongst other detail and have to really be looked for - hard. And

sometimes the reader never bothers, or misses key points that could impress.

So it’s good to waste no time at all in letting the reader know you’re a great

candidate. The Profile helps you do this. We call it a Profile or Career

Summary but it’s much more than that.

You decide what to include in it by asking:

“For the position I’m targeting what are the 5 or 6 things in my

career/qualifications/life that would most impress the employer?”

That’s the information that will most likely ‘sell’ you effectively. It’s selected

specially to influence the targeted reader.

Here’s an example.


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PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

• Completed 3 year Accounting Diploma recognised by SAICA

• Enjoyed 2 yrs of extensive training and work alongside Big 5

auditing firm.

• Worked directly under guidance of a Chartered Accountant

during 1st yr of employment. Described by her as “reliable, quick,

and hard working”

• Managed debtors function and helped decrease book from 90

to 30 days, significantly improving company cash flow.

or if you’re in Sales instead ...

CAREER SUMMARY

• IMM Diploma – 3 yr correspondence course through UNISA

• Promoted to senior sales assistant within 6 months in first job.

• Achieved 230% of sales target in 2nd year as a sales

representative for Goodyear.

• Turned the least profitable territory around to meet sales

target within 1year.

• Dubbed the “Eager Beaver” by clients for my customer

focussed approach.

Do you see what this information does?

It packages the applicant. It creates an overall impression.

Instead of the reader seeing all your personal details first, the names of your

kids, where you did your schooling - all largely inconsequential stuff - he/she

sees the profile of an achiever.

Yes maybe there was some ‘dodgy’ stuff this applicant (or you!) got up to, yes

maybe they (or you!) did change jobs 3 times in one year BUT that’s not what’s

going to stand out! Their achievements will stand out right up front. The

reader’s attention will be on a positive track from the get-go.


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Using a focussed Objective followed by a ‘best foot forward’ Profile is a great

way to get and keep the reader’s attention! Use it.

4. Education

I believe that generally Education should come next. It’s what the reader

expects to see. There’s a human reason for this. We tend to think in a logical

progression. And the Education serves as a base.

[Note: This progression falls away when it comes to career history - there what’s

most recent comes first. What’s most recent is most often what’s most relevant

to the reader’s matter at hand.]

Depending on the requirements generally it is sufficient to just put down the

basic, most relevant facets of your education. For eg.

EDUCATION

• Diploma in Cost & Management Accounting (1983-1985), Cape

Technikon. Major subjects were Financial Accounting and Cost

Accounting. (Tertiary studies financed 75% by part-time work).

• Short Courses: Tax-Saving Devices for SMME’s (KPMG); Cash-

Flow Management (SAICA); Advanced Pastel (Pastel SA).

• Matric: 1982; Cape Town High School (Distinction for Physical

Science)

• Self Learning: Currently reading “Smart Financial Management for

Manufacturers” by Joe Bettoni, PhD.

Some of the things that have been done well in this example:

• Notice the order: most relevant first. Most important first.

• A distinction is mentioned. Only distinctions should be mentioned!

Many job-applicants include all their grades including E’s and F’s!

This is job-hunting suicide! The information can be supplied later if


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necessary once the employer has had a chance to see your better

side.

• The diploma has been ‘explained’ by including the major subjects.

Never assume that because you spent 3 years of your life doing a

(Dip CMA) everyone knows what that means or includes. Explain the

terminology, explain the abbreviations or accronyms.

• Relevant short courses have been included. Courses in Origami,

flower-arranging and Tai Chi have been omitted. The courses

mentioned show that the applicant appreciates what issues concern

small business most. Including them makes the reader think “Hmmm,

this person could help me save money on tax! Interesting.”

What you include here may not even be a formal course. It may just

be an excellent book you’ve read but the knowledge you’ve gained is

of definite benefit to the employer. Include it.

If you have a degree/diploma etc. but are ‘light’ on work experience

you may want to include all the subjects in your degree making your

exposure to the field larger.

Also giving your 3 year Diploma/Degree the same amount of space

and attention as your secondary schooling doesn’t make any sense.

Raise it’s profile by giving it more space.

5. Work Experience

This section includes the following basic information:

• Position held

• Name of company

• A brief description of what the company does, it’s size, the scale of

its operations, who its clients are (only if impressive or course).

• City

• Period

• A brief statement of your responsibilities (2 lines max)

• Then a bulleted list of what you accomplished and how


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There are no end to the different formats you can try – if space is not a problem.

But using the full width of the page is a great space-saving idea.

Try this for example:

WORK EXPERIENCE

SENIOR BOOKKEEPER, ABC Manufacturers, CT (2000-2003)

Reporting to Financial Director supervised the accounting department (5

staff) for 2 companies (shoe manufacturing and distribution) - functions

included Debtors, Creditors, compiling the monthly financial

statements/books to Balance Sheet, etc.

• Led team which achieved goal of decreasing debtors book from 90

days to 30 in 6 month period thereby reducing pressure from the

Bank and significantly improving company cash flow.

• Made recommendations re. tax-savings which when implemented

resulted in tax-returns of R35 000 in 2002.

• Ensured clear communication with Bank re. overdraft facilities

during purchase of equipment - this resulted in the extension of our

credit facility.

• Designed Pastel report which helped FD to make daily cash-flow

decisions.

• Reference from FD says “reliable, hard working bookkeeper who

shows initiative. Her department was well run and she demonstrated

a thorough knowledge of her field. I highly recommend her.”

What are some good points of the way this section has been done?

• The normal section titled ‘duties and responsibilities’ doesn’t really appear.

It’s just a brief statement at the start indicating the range/scope of the job –

the main functions.

Why is this good? Well our duties are seldom unique. Everybody doing

your job probably has similar duties. Right? So how are you going to

distinguish yourself? Only your accomplishments will do that. Clearly then,


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if you are wanting to compete effectively the focus should be on what you

achieved, the positive results you got.

This way of doing it sends a very clear message to the employer. “I don’t

just sit around waiting for my pay-check. I help you run the business more

effectively. I get things done. I solve problems.” Exactly what you want –

right?

• Did you notice the use of Keyword Lures, Achievement and Benefit Lures,

and Quotes? Go back and read that section again.

By using these tools the CV makes clear that the applicant will bring some

serious benefits to the company. What benefits? She will:

• Get debtors to pay

• Save the employer from paying too much tax

• Build a good relationship with the bank manager

• Help with the cash flow (always a major head-ache).

• Will run an efficient department so employer can focus on what he

does best – running the factory (for eg.)

There may be more qualified applicants, who may have more experience. They

may dress better. They may be better looking. They may fill the wall with

certificates. Their CV may be 10 pages long, filled with duties and

responsibilities!

But who understands what the employer really needs? Who seems to know

what keeps him/her awake at night? Who is clearly presenting themselves as

someone who will come in and have an immediately beneficial effect?

This applicant! And at the heart of it lies the fact that she’s created a CV that

sells her really well. The ‘lures’ have worked well for her!

Lets take a look at the finished product.


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JENNA MUTTON 54 Fairfax Ave, Woodlands, Cape Town, 8021


OBJECTIVE

Seeking a BOOKKEEPING position where 3 yrs exp, Pastel skills, and knowledge of Tax

will contribute to an efficient Accounts department and profitable company.

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

• Completed 3 year Accounting Diploma recognised by SAICA

• Enjoyed 2 yrs of extensive training and work alongside Big 5 auditing firm.

• Worked directly under guidance of a Chartered Accountant during 1st yr of

employment. Described by her as “reliable, quick, and hard working”

• Managed debtors function and helped decrease book from 90 to 30 days, significantly

improving company cash flow.

EDUCATION

• Diploma in Cost & Management Accounting (1983-1985), Cape Technikon. Major

subjects were Financial Accounting and Cost Accounting. (Tertiary studies financed 75%

by part-time work).

• Short Courses: Tax-Saving Devices for SMME’s (KPMG); Cash-Flow Management

(SAICA); Advanced Pastel (Pastel SA).

• Matric: 1982; Cape Town High School (Distinction for Physical Science)

• Self Learning: Currently reading “Smart Financial Management for Manufacturers” by

Joe Bettoni, PhD.

WORK EXPERIENCE

SENIOR BOOKKEEPER, ABC Manufacturers, CT (2000-2003)

Reporting to Financial Director supervised the accounting department (5 staff) for 2

companies (shoe manufacturing and distribution) - functions included Debtors, Creditors,

compiling the monthly financial statements/books to Balance Sheet, etc.

• Led team which achieved goal of decreasing debtors book from 90 days to 30 in 6 month

period thereby reducing pressure from the Bank and significantly improving

company cash flow.

• Made recommendations re. tax-savings which when implemented resulted in tax-

returns of R35 000 in 2002.

• Ensured clear communication with Bank re. overdraft facilities during purchase of

equipment - this resulted in the extension of our credit facility.

• Designed Pastel report which helped FD to make daily cash-flow decisions.

• Reference from FD says “reliable, hard working bookkeeper who shows initiative. Her

department was well run and she demonstrated a thorough knowledge of her field. I

highly recommend her.”

Work Experience continues on page 2

Page 1 of 2


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So there’s page 1 of Jenna’s CV. Nothing much to look at really. No flashing

lights or sirens. But to an employer looking for a Bookkeeper it’s a beautiful CV.

It’s an answer to a prayer. It’s packed with benefits that Jenna will likely

provide.

Other applicants may have even better credentials. They may be a closer

match in terms of requirements than Jenna is. But all their profile points may be

buried on pages 3, 5, 7, and 8 - an as a result, yes, you guessed it - they may

never be found!

Jenna gets the job because she made her case so clearly right up front.

And another thing. If Jenna just stated her duties and responsibilities - you

know, debtors, creditors, reconciliations, etc she’d look like everyone else! But

she makes herself stand out by focussing on the results she achieved - a much

more impressive approach.

There are many different ways to format things within the principles you’ve

learned. There are also many ways to enhance what’s been done here. You’ll

see that in the other 3 further examples provided.

But first there are some finer points which you need to note.

6. Format/Style which is Easy to Read

Is your CV a chance to impress the reader with complex technical terminology,

industry ‘speak’, jargon etc?

Do you have the feeling that your CV is ‘okay’ – but the reality is that in your gut

you know it somehow just doesn’t look right although you can’t put your finger

on why?

Here are some crucial points to remember:

• Simplicity is your watchword! Big words just confuse everyone – clever

people keep it simple. Often the people who read your CV first (HR or

recruiters) aren’t very strong technically – yet they are the ones vetting

whether you are put on the short list or not. Make it understandable for all.


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• Keep sentences brief and leave out words where you can. No-one is going

to read it like a book. They want the facts quickly. CVs don’t get read, they

get scanned.

• Be specific regarding the results of your work, or your accomplishments.

Use figures where possible.

Here’s a bad example of a ‘Work Experience’ point:

“Implemented various Project Management methodologies which

resulted in above-average productivity both on the plant and worker side

and this had positive spin-offs with regard to ... “ [blah, blah, blah…]

And a good example:

“Managed 3 projects to on-time, on-budget completion – resulting in

32% increase in productivity”

Concise, clear, with measurable results. Brilliant. Much more readable

and likely to impress the reader.

• Font or typeface: Keep it professional. Eg Times New Roman, Arial,

Garamond. Using whacky styles doesn’t work. It adds nothing to your

application (unless you’re a clown) and just undermines your credibility. I

had a General Manager once send me a CV using ‘sparkle text’ – an MS

Word font animation which is great for kids sending out party invitations but

not great for CVs!

• Styles that are more domestic, personal, or pretty (eg. Comic Sans) are

also not recommended. Notice the fonts that Banks or other large

corporates use for their correspondence - use them.

• Use a font size that’s readable. If it’s too small it’s hard to read - particularly

on a computer screen. But if it’s too big it’s hard to keep the CV down to 2

or 3 pages and it’s old fashioned. Never use ALL CAPS or all bold for more

than just a word or phrase.


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Check this as an example:

CAN YOU REALLY READ THIS IN A RELAXED AND CALM

FASHION? DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT USING ALL CAPS

MAKES YOUR CV EASIER TO READ? DO LARGE BLOCKS OF

TEXT LIKE THIS MAKE IT MORE OR LESS PLEASANT FOR YOUR

CV, THE MOST IMPORTANT BUSINESS DOCUMENT YOU WILL

EVER WRITE, TO BE READ AND THE CONTENT ABSORBED?

DO YOUR EYES FEEL STRESS-FREE AS THEY PEACEFULLY

GLIDE OVER THIS PARAGRAPH? OR DO THEY FEEL AS IF

THEY’RE BEING ATTACKED, AS IF THEY ARE HOLDING THEIR

BREATH AND CAN’T HOLD IT MUCH LONGER? IS THIS REALLY

THE WAY TO MAKE YOUR CV READER-FRIENDLY?

Get the point?

• Spacing. Use single line spacing. If space allows increase this to 1.25.

You don’t want the reader to get the feeling that you’ve crammed as much

as possible in. There should be lots of ‘white space’ although you also

don’t want to risk using too many pages.

• The layout should be well balanced, easy on the eye. All paragraphs

should be properly aligned. Keep it simple. So many CVs have headings

in the left half of the page leaving very little space in the right half. It’s

makes no sense! And to get it like that requires inserting a table or using

‘tabs’ - and that can be complicated.

A great idea is to get the help of a professional typist, secretary or word

processor on this - someone who knows business documents and can offer

some assistance with the more advanced aspects of getting your document

to look well laid out.

• Headings should be very clear. Make them bold capitals and larger font.

Eg. EXPERIENCE. Centred or left-aligned. Each section must be easily

distinguishable.

• Use bullets. Instead of lengthy paragraphs break them up into points and

give each one a bullet. Bulleted statements get more attention than


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paragraphs. This will also force you to chop out superfluous information

that adds nothing and yet distracts the attention of the reader.

• Paragraphs should be no longer than 3 or 4 lines. Short and simple! The

longer the paragraph the less likely it will be read to the end.

• Highlighting. The italics, underline, and bold icons in your word-processor

program are tools to help you highlight words or phrases that are of

particular relevance to the reader. Make these words stand out with these

features. Don’t use them for anything else. Use them sparingly.

7. Length

There is much to be said for a brief, concise CV. This basically means two

pages. Although don’t get obsessed over the 2 page thing. If a company

specifically asks for a 2 page CV, and yours is 3 pages. Don’t stress. What

they mean by “2 pages” is NOT 10 pages, keep it brief, be concise.

Are you scared you’ll have to chop out large chunks of your experience?

Perhaps. But is that information really all that important to the landing of a new

job?

Perhaps you started working a long time ago - say, back in 1980. Can you not

just sum up your first 10 years experience in one sentence – something like:

“From 1980 to 1990 I held junior retail management positions in Edgars,

Markhams with a promotion to department manager in 1987.”

All the details of those positions are just likely to clutter the mind of the reader.

If they need all those details they can ask. The info won’t have any influence on

the decision to hire you or not. So just put in the bare minimum.

You need to provide just enough information to get the interview. A CV is not

supposed to be an exhaustive personal/professional history. Keep it relevant.

Keep words and phrases short. Tell it like you’re telling it to a 10 year old.


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A good CV is a focussed, to the point one, written for a specific application and

position. Long CVs are usually just trying to cover all the bases - which is a

very weak and ineffective job-hunting strategy.

And Now Briefly Here Are Some things SHOULD NOT Include

• Salary

• Health

• Religion

• Family details

• Languages (unless there are more than English, Afrikaans)

• Hobbies like knitting, arcade games, movies, reading, watching TV

(everyday, ordinary things of no particular note).

It’s a bit of a lottery to include details of gender, age, race etc. and it’s not

required. But some recruiters and employers will want to know these details in

order to build a mental picture of who you are. If you leave them out they may

not ask you in for an interview due to the incomplete picture. On the other hand

if you include them they may discriminate against you (against the law but it

happens all the time.)

If in doubt as to whether a detail should be included or not you should ask:

“Will this extra detail improve my chances of landing the job - or damage

them?”

Only include details which help your cause.


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CV EXAMPLES

Now you’ll notice with the examples that follow, that the ‘script’ described up to

this point, the ‘recipe’ or ‘formula’, can and should be adjusted to meet the

unique needs you have.

Hard and fast rules do not apply. What you’ve read up to now are principles.

And the following examples follow the principles. Strictly.

Extra features have been added. Others have been left out. Look them over

and learn.

Don’t expect to find them interesting. They’ve not been written to be interesting

to YOU. They’ve been written to be interesting to the targeted potential

employer.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that a CV gets noticed because of bright

colours, large graphics, etc. It’s the CONTENT. Content that is relevant to the

needs, problems, challenges, etc facing the employer. It must shout: “I can

help you solve your problem - it’s what I do!”

So look the examples over, not with a view to copying them, but with a view to

learning, seeing what features you can use, and adapting them to your needs.


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CV of JOAN DU PREEZ Production and Operations Specialist

OBJECTIVE

Senior Management / Consulting role in the Manufacturing or Services Sector.

Revenue. Efficiency. Productivity. Performance

QUICK SUMMARY

A genuine Operations authority and achiever with 11 year’s hands-on success -

leading a regional business consultancy and a manufacturing facility with >250

staff and 400 products in line with ISO9000 standards.

Summary of Expertise

● Full Production Lines ● Quality Control ● Maintenance ● Logistics ● Procurement ● Stores ●

Research & Development ● Human Resources ● Import & Export ● Finance & Administration ●

Sales and Marketing

Recent Experience

Leading a highly successful Regional Manufacturing Advisory/Consulting Centre.

Qualifications

Includes a BTech Operations Management degree.

“... [Joan’s] production knowledge and performance were excellent. ... should I start a

production facility she would be the first person I’d approach. ... her attitude and

commitment cannot be faulted.”

- Reference Extract, Mr Jones Carney, Ex Financial Manager, ABC Ent. (Pty) Ltd.

Personal Details

ID# - 620567 0303 074

Status - Single; Female

Languages - English; Afrikaans

Education, Training & Computer Literacy

BTech Operations Management, Technikon SA, 2004

National Diploma in Production Management, Technikon SA, 2003

Industrial Psychology, UNISA, In progress

Other Courses -

- Labour Relations Management; Facilitators Training

- Certification in the Assessment of Company Operations; Productivity Measurement

- Export and Import

Matric, 1983

Computer Literacy - Pastel Accounting; MS Office; Internet; E-Mail etc.

Career History follows on page 2

Mobile: 072 856 5555 | E-Mail [email protected] | Ph 019 568 8888 (w)


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CV of JOAN DU PREEZ - Production and Operations Specialist

Career History

OPERATIONS MANAGER & CONSULTANT, DEF MAC Consulting, 02/2002 -

[DEF is a Department of Trade and Industry initiative with ‘MAC’ standing for Manufacturing

Advisory Centre. These regional centres are set up to supply high-quality consulting services to

existing manufacturing SMMEs to ensure growth, competitiveness and world-class quality.]

Job Overview

General Management of the Centre and responsible for its establishment, growth, and meeting

performance targets as per the controlling body PAMAC (www.pamac.com). Activity includes:

- Marketing the services offered; Monitoring service standards and ensuring delivery;

- Controlling the financial function - planning, controls, systems, financial analysis;

- Maintaining ISO9000 quality management system and ensuring compliance;

- Appraising and approving SMME projects and monitoring compliance.

Achievements

• Starting the Centre from scratch, with zero client-base and numerous demanding targets I

successfully achieved and surpassed all objectives. Currently we have a client base of 136 with

whom we enjoy a working relationship. To date, with no advertising, we are inundated with

business and have been rated one of the two Top ‘MACs’ in the country.

• Sample Success Story - Assisted the Universal Motor Manufacturing Corporation (Brits) in their

objective to secure export orders to Eastern Europe. The project involved implementing SABS and

ISO 9001:2000 standards. Certification was awarded and an initial order of 3 500 motors for the

medical field secured. Our knowledge and guidance were key to their success.

OPERATIONS MANAGER, ABC Enterprises (Pty) Ltd, 1989 to 12/2001

[ABC Enterprises is a plastics manufacturer with more than 250 staff and 400 products.]

Job Overview

1) Operations Manager (1997 to 2001)

[Objective: High quality & productivity standards. Low costs. Profit.]

Co-ordinated all operations (including Admin and Sales) in this senior General Management role -

reporting to the MD, with Production Manager, QC Manager, Distribution Manager, HR Manager

and Maintenance Manager reporting to me (overall responsibility for >250 staff).

- Liasing with 6 branches nationwide; Scheduling and committing on orders received.

- Implementing new policies, systems and procedures.

- Managing work performance in general throughout the factory; Handling HR issues with HR

staff including labour/union negotiations, disciplinary, Employment Equity, and SDA matters.

- Designing, implementing, and managing distribution procedures and systems.

- Assessing Training needs; Performing Time and Motion studies; Analysing data and statistics.

2) Production Manager (1994 to 1997)

[Objective: High quality, productivity & efficiency.]

- Overseeing 7 Team Leaders and Line Supervisors; Planning, scheduling and forecasting orders

- approximately 2 500 units per day to the value of R230 000.

- Ensuring optimum performance levels - through incentive systems and setting proper

standards; Implementing JIT systems; Overseeing dispatch; etc.

Previous Positions (1989 to 1994)

- Transport Controller; Creditors; Buyer, ABC Enterprises (Pty) Ltd.

I look forward to discussing, formally or otherwise, ways in which I may be of

assistance.


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Here are some things I like about this CV - and some I don’t like.

I like:

• Joan’s given herself a title - “Production and Operations Specialist”. This

leaves no-one in any doubt about who she is and what she can do. Nice

move. It gets the reader’s mind in the right mood up front.

• In her ‘Objective’ she’s not wasted words and she’s made her intention

clear. Her focus in her trade is “Revenue. Efficiency. Productivity.

Performance.” Right up an employer’s alley wouldn’t you say? An

effective sell.

• In her opening summary she’s titled it “Quick Summary”. Personally I think

that has more energy, and it’s different, it draws my attention more quickly

than “Career Summary”.

• Joan’s included a really great quote from a reference letter. And she’s

given the name of the person and his title. It truly adds credibility. She can

be sure she’ll be taken more seriously as a result.

• Her work experience is dominated by achievements. It says she gets

results. That’s good.

I don’t like:

• Some of the work experience detail is long. It makes the 2nd page look a

little crowded. But then again after the interest the 1st page drew she can

probably afford it.

Here’s another example, this time of a recent graduate - and it’s a one-pager.


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11 Applewood Road, Chester sq Hamilton, N568PY, United Kingdom

FATHIMA NAIDOO BBusSc Actuarial Science (Finance) Honors

Ph: +44 21 986 5623 Mobile: +44 82 592 5632

E-Mail: [email protected]

• CORPORATE FINANCE • INVESTMENT BANKING • ACTUARIAL • INSURANCE •

SYNOPSIS

Bachelor of Business Science (Actuarial Science) Finance Honors Graduate and CFA student targeting entry-level Forecasting, and Financial Analysis positions in the Financial Sector.

“I offer - an energetic, competitive approach with strong analytical and forecasting skills.”

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

• The Institute of Actuaries (UK).

• The Investment Society of the University of York

EDUCATION

• CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst), Institute of Financial Analysts (USA), In progress.

• Actuarial Examinations/Exemptions, Institute of Actuaries (UK), In progress. Subjects Completed: 101, 106, 107, 108, 105

• BBusSc Actuarial Science Finance Honors, University of York, 2000 to 2004. Thesis: The Situation of Foreign Equities Devoid of Exchange Controls. Selected Subjects: Finance; Actuarial Science (Financial Mathematics, Life & Pensions, Survival Models, Investments, Asset Management, Financial Economics); Business Strategy; Stochastic Analysis for Financial Applications; Statistics; Economics; Mathematics.

• A Levels, Bromsfield School, York, England, 1999.

• Computer Literacy - MS Windows XP; MS Office; Matlab; Scientific WordPad; Statistica; E-Views.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Voluntary Researcher, Goldenbridge Investment Company, 2004 Activity Included - Researching historical stock returns; Data Mining; Gaining experience in the formation of optimal portfolios, positive mandates, globalisation, and exchange controls.

• Voluntary Advisor, Business Beat, 2003 Activity Included - Advising existing and potential entrepreneurs from poor backgrounds on basic business management - marketing, cash-flow, finance, bookkeeping, etc.

• Volunteer, The Special Olympics, 1997 to 1999

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Leadership - Awarded Community “Graduate of the Year” (1999); Upper Six School Prefect; Vice-Captain of House; Member of Toastmasters.

• Languages - English, Gujarati, French, German (basic).

• Travel (1996 to 2005) - Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, France, Netherlands, England, Australia, Switzerland, Ireland; Possess an International Driver’s License.

• Interests - Investment; Sports and Fitness (Kickboxing, Pilates, Yoga, Spinning); Music (Up to grade 6 in Piano and grade 3 in Flute); Meditation; Reading (Sun Tzu, Deepak Chopra).

“I have a passion for the Investment and Actuarial field. This, combined with outstanding communication, teamwork, and leadership qualities will enable me to make an immediate impact.”

[References and Academic Transcripts Available on Request.]


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Here’s what I like/don’t like:

• She’s got pretty much NO work experience. So she has to make the most

of what she does have. What’s that? Focus, attitude and qualifications.

She starts out with a clear statement of her qualifications (to impress the

reader of course and make sure they’re not missed).

• Then she moves on to unequivocally state what business sectors she’s

interested in - it shows that she’s done some homework, given it some

thought. She’s focussed. She knows what she wants.

• Next she summarises her profile and identifies the kind of positions she’s

looking for. And she’s realistic about it “entry level” - she’s not trying to

make out she’s something she’s not.

• And the next thing I really like - she makes a bold statement of personal

commitment - bold and in inverted commas (which gets attention). A bold

statement like that will be believed (at least on some level) more often than

not. You’ll notice she also concludes with a similar statement. Dunno

about you but with two CVs in front of me one just the bland facts and the

other showing some personal commitment - I’ll choose the latter any day.

• What I don’t like is that she doesn’t seem to have targeted one particular

sector, firm, and position. But to be fair, this isn’t always possible especially

when dealing with recruiters. Anyhow she should be approaching one firm,

having researched them thoroughly and should write the CV focussed

exclusively on their interests and culture.

Another example - this time of someone with poor qualifications but high

achievement.


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JOE DICKSON

Creative Director - Advertising

OBJECTIVE

CREATIVE DIRECTOR / SENIOR ART DIRECTOR

My aim in this kind of role?

Advertising that COMPELS and ENTICES. How? By using 10+ years ad experience to

understand - then to create that refreshing, original ‘big idea’ which wins pitches, gets results

for clients, and wins accolades for the agency.

[See record of received industry awards on page 2]

QUICK CAREER SUMMARY

CREATIVE DIRECTOR, The Pumphouse Agency, 01/2004 to present

Lead the Brand Activation department servicing activation projects briefed by Unilever. Brands include Axe, Dove, Ola, Shield, Sunsilk, Vaseline. Clients also include Unilever Corporate, SAB Carling Black Label, Brut. Creative team = 4, including Copy Writer, 2 Designers, and Art Director.

Successes

• Won pitches to Unilever during 2004 against Lowe Bull and Ogilvy and Mather.

• Based on our performance we were given additional work without having to pitch for it.

• Awarded the K-Swiss account soon to launch in SA.

ADVERTISING CONSULTANT, Self Employed, 04/2002 to 10/2003

Consulted to various small agencies and serviced own acquired clients such as SAA Cargo, All Joy Foods, Amka Products, Rand Water, UNDP, and Glocell - assisting with strategy, direction and pitches.

Successes

• Won pitches against McCann Herdbouys for the UNISA account and against design studio Switch

for All Joy. Also won the Amka Products Sof ‘n Free account.

CREATIVE DIRECTOR, The Blue Boys Agency, Jhb, 09/1999 to 03/2002

Promoted after 6 months from Art Director to Creative Director leading 2 creative teams on the R120m Telkom Account and other clients including SABC TV Licences and The Post Office.

Successes

• Produced Telkom’s most memorable TV ad - ‘Molo Mhlobo Wam’ (featuring an old man shouting a

greeting across the valley).This ad was rated by Impact House to be amongst the top 5% of ads produced

in SA.

• During my tenure leading the Telkom account the brand reached the number 2 spot on the Markinor

survey of the most admired brands in SA for 2001. The survey revealed that our creative work had

helped Telkom to be seen as a more consumer friendly brand.

• Featured in the Times (2001) as Producer of the ‘Molo Mhlobo Wam’ TV ad - in recognition of

exceptional achievements by South Africans for 2001.

ART DIRECTOR, PKMG Alerts, Jhb, 09/1996 to 08/1999

Worked on high profile brands such as MTN, Nandos, SAA, Edgars, Standard Bank, Wonder Bra, Diners Club, AEG, SPAR, and Steers.

Successes

• Proactively procured a small client - National Council for the Blind.

• Appointed as Group Head on the SPAR account.

CAREER HISTORY continues and AWARDS SUMMARY follows on page 2


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QUICK CAREER SUMMARY continued

CREATIVE GROUP HEAD, GBG Smith, Jhb, 05/1991 to 08/1996

Promoted to Group Head (SPAR account) after starting out in Durban as a junior Art Director. Previously worked on SPAR, Smith & Nephew, Ferodo, Natal Sharks Board, Kings Sports, Durban for Sport accounts.

Successes

• Gained good retail experience and ability (quick turnarounds).

AWARDS SUMMARY

• Chairman’s and Journalist Eagle Award (2002), ‘Valley’ TV Ad for Telkom

• AAA Ad of the Month (August 2001), ‘Valley’ TV Ad for Telkom

• AAA Ad of the Year (2nd place) (2001), ‘Valley’ TV Ad for Telkom

• Paris Finalist (2001), ‘Eland’ ad.

• Eagle Finalist (2000), ‘Lighthouse’ ad for AEG

• AAA Ad of the Month (December 1999), ‘Lighthouse’ ad for AEG

• Loerie Finalist (1998), ‘Silence AEG’ ad.

• AAA Ad of the Month (3rd) (1998), ‘Silence AEG’ ad.

EDUCATION

National Diploma in Graphic Design, ML Sultan Technikon, 1991

Certificate - Maurice Kerrigan Presentation Skills, 1999

----oOo----


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Some comments:

• Joe is in an industry which values 2 things: 1) Awards and brand names.

2) The essence of advertising and promotion.

So Joe shows what he’s got right up front. As you’ll notice these are the

things that stand out in his CV. Great work. Even though the actual list of

achievements is at the end - what’s the reality? It’s just strong repetition to

make an even bigger impression - it was mostly mentioned in the body of

his page 1.

Next is a bonus you may like to use. I use if for all whom I write CVs for. It’s a

questionnaire which I call the “CV Information Mining Questionnaire”. It’s great

for collecting the information you need to write your CV.

It’s a valuable addition to make the principles clear in your mind regarding the

content your CV needs to contain.

Also included is a Basic CV Information Questionnaire. You can use it for

collecting the basic information (not the ‘sexy’ stuff gathered by the

questionnaire as above - but the more mundane details.) Just note that it’s

included NOT for you to use a template. That’s not the best idea - rather stick

to the principles!


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CV Information Mining Questionnaire Instructions

• Please ensure that you give serious thought and time to this questionnaire. Treat every question as important. Don’t rush. If you give quality attention to this you’ll end up with a CV that wins more and better job-opportunities for you. Please give the ‘red’ questions extra special attention.

1. First Name

2. Last Name

3. Address (residential & postal)

4. Contact Details (phone #'s; fax; e-mail)

5. Gender (Male/Female)

6. What industry (eg. banking, retail, IT etc) do you want to work in? Please specify ONLY 2 in order of preference.

Remember: A CV that tries to hit all targets will be weak! It needs focus to be effective.

[For use in your ‘objective’, or ‘target’ section at the top of page 1.]


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7. What specific job/title are you currently intent on pursuing/applying for? ("anything" is not sufficient!) State only 2 titles in order of priority. If possible give me an example of the job-adverts you will typically be responding to (copy and paste below or fax).

[For use in your ‘objective’, or ‘target’ section at the top of page 1.]

8. Why do employers hire people to do this job? What difference does this position make to the company? What’s the benefit (to the employer) of having a good person in this position?

(For example - a good Sales person makes sales and brings in revenue.)

[With this question you start to explore the kind of BENEFITS the employer is likely to be looking for. What’s keeping them awake at night? If you present yourself as a solution to THAT you stand a better chance of landing the job - with less emphasis placed on your qualifications/experience.]

9. What 3 key qualities is it important for the person doing this job to have?

[Further to question #8.]

10. Give 3 reasons why you think you are a good applicant for this kind of position.

[You’re starting to identify what key things you need to highlight in your CV.]

11. For each of the claims you made in question 10 please briefly explain why anyone should believe you!

Remember: For any claim to be believable, hard evidence is required and this will make your CV a much more powerful document.

For example: If one of your question 10 answers was “I’m hard working” please back it up in this question by adding, for example, something like “Worked average of 12 hours per day 6 days per week during a 2004 project spanning 4 months”.

[Now you’re starting to add credibility and substance - you’re saying “here’s why you should take me seriously, phone me to set-up a meeting now.”]


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12. What do any letters of reference or testimonials you have say about you? Just include descriptive words or phrases extracted from the letters and mention who made the comments. (If you’ve sent these separately ignore this question). Additionally - what have you been complimented for at work - and by whom?

[You can use excerpts from these as quotes in your CV. They add interest, believability and they break up long paragraphs of solid text (easier on the eye).]

13. What previous work experience have you had? (If not specified on your old CV). This should include full-time work, part-time work, volunteer work, vacation work, anything. (Give name of company/organization; your position; period you worked there - eg. May 2001-March 2002- and list of responsibilities).

14. What did you accomplish in the roles you filled in the most recent years (up to 10yrs) - no matter how seemingly insignificant? What were your 3 most notable achievements in each role that contributed in some way to your department or company’s success?

Most Recent Position: [Achievements get attention!! Use them.] Previous Position/s:

15. Are you proud of the work you’ve done in recent years? Why yes/no?

[Sometimes a personal comment, an observation, a comment on how you feel about your work etc is a fantastic thing to include in your CV. It makes it a personal document - not just clinical, professional. Employers are people. They respond to honest, personal comments.]

16. What personal achievements are you proud of? Include anything you feel proud of. (Examples may include non-work related activities such as sports, social, community, academic etc.)

[Your professional life may be bland. But in your personal life there may be lots to tell that shows your quality as a person - include it.]


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17. What are your hobbies? Please give examples. For example don't just say 'reading'. Give an example of what kind of books you like to read and give the title and author (especially if work/professionally related).

[Your hobbies may show your calibre, may show your youth, may show that you like being involved in community affairs - you’re a ‘team-player’. Your reading list may show that you are continually learning, updating your knowledge - you’re fresh, in-touch.]

18. What are you doing do improve yourself? (Examples: Reading a book on time-management, enrolled in Toastmasters, gym, furthering studies, etc.)

19. Is there anything else in your life-experience (professional or personal) that you feel gives you some 'extra' advantage in the job-market, something you feel makes you uniquely qualified for the job you’re targeting? (This could be something you’ve never thought of including in your CV. Please let me decide whether to or how to include it.)


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Basic CV Information Questionnaire

P e r s o n a l D e t a i l s

First Name

Last Name

Gender

Date of Birth

ID #

Marital Status

Address

Telephone

Nationality and EE Status

Languages

E d u c a t i o n / P r o f e s s i o n a l

High School/College Name

Level Completed

Subjects & Grades

Year Completed

College/University

Qualification

Major Subjects

Other Subjects

Date Completed

Short Courses Completed •

•

•

•

•

Professional Certifications/Memberships

•

•

•


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C o m p u t e r L i t e r a c y

Typing Speed: ....?.... wpm Below please list software packages you have worked on and rate your proficiency 1-5 (1=weak; 5=expert)

Software

E m p l o y m e n t H i s t o r y [Duplicate (copy and paste) this page for each position.] Employer

Date Employed from/to

Position

Duties (ie. what tasks were you responsible for on a monthly/weekly basis).

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

• Achievements (did you meet targets and/or deadlines? Did you win any awards? What did you do to make a difference to the department / company?)

•

•

• Reason For Leaving


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COVERING LETTERS

How to write a letter that gets attention.

The two most common covering letters read as follows.

“ ................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................. “

and

“Attached is my CV for your perusal.”

The one says NOTHING and the other is 7 words long! Okay so they’re brief!

That’s good! Well done to the writer!

But ...

The writer, of course, didn’t factor in the sheer volume of job-applications, CVs

etc floating around in the commercial world.

He/She also overestimated the importance of their CV to the reader who

probably wasn’t exactly delighted to receive it. No, they probably didn’t stop

everything to give undivided attention and didn’t put it in their bag to take home

and read over a relaxing cup of tea in the evening.

A good covering letter assumes just the opposite of all of the above. It assumes

the reader is busy and wants to see an immediate benefit for reading further.

It needs to establish an immediate relevance (there’s that word again) to the

needs/wants of the employer.

The following examples will give you some idea of how to do this.


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Example 1: a reply to job-advert

14 January 2001

Mr Abel Modiba

Human Resource Manager

XYA Industries

Re: Application for Bookkeeping position.

Dear Mr Modiba

I am applying for the position of BOOKKEEPER as advertised in The Star, Workplace,

on January 13, 2001

My qualifications match your needs very closely and I believe could be of immediate

assistance to you in the role.

Your Requirements My Qualifications

3 Years Experience - bookkeeping 2 Years with Reputable Co. #1 and 2

years with Reputable Co. #2.

Matric Matric (distinction in Maths)

Advanced Pastel 2 Year Exp with Pastel, Have completed

Advanced course.

etc. etc.

I look forward to discussing, in detail, the contribution I can make.

I will follow up with you on Wednesday January 20.

Yours sincerely,

Richard Jones

Cell: 084 774 5454

Ph: 011 589 9856

What’s great about the above example?


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• It’s to a specific person. It’s a real advantage to address it to an

individual. “To Whom It May Concern” will mean that your precious

application is destined to be judged by a junior person who probably

won’t easily see that you are a good applicant. They may be

influenced by very inconsequential items – totally unpredictable.

• The letter clearly states what position is being applied for and where it

was advertised. Sometimes recruiters advertise many jobs and

receive applications that they don’t know what to do with since the

applicant didn’t specify.

• Did you notice the table format that was used? Why is it a good

idea? Clarity! It allows the reader to very quickly compare their

requirements with what you have. Your application can thus be put

immediately on the short-list pile without even turning the page.

Another benefit is that the reader will get the idea that you’ve taken

the trouble to properly read the advert. Amazingly not a lot of people

do this and they end up featuring aspects of their experience which

are totally irrelevant.

It’s also professional and tells the reader “This person is ‘switched

on’, ‘confident’, ‘sure of themselves’ “ - all positive messages.


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Example 2: An answer to an advert or an unsolicited direct approach.

I’m applying for an agricultural chemical sales position where my five years’

experience in sales and account management will add to your profitability.

Whether you have a position vacant or not - please consider the following:

• You’ll benefit from my proven skills in sales, marketing and account-management.

In my current position as an Area Manager, I consistently meet or exceed sales

quotas through persistent efforts and an aggressive, goal-driven attitude.

• My supervisor regularly gives me the toughest sales challenges … and I

produce. I’ve turned around three stagnant territories in less than two years and

am currently working to improve my fourth.

• In particular, you’ll gain from my ability to restructure and increase Rand volumes

within sales territories, which has contributed to bottom-line results for my

employer.

What’s great about the above example?

• It’s packed with benefits! It says “I’m an achiever. I’d like to now

move on to help you make more money”.

There may not be vacancies at the time the letter is received but do

you think any sales manager worth his ‘salt’ is going to ignore this

offer of assistance? Not likely. He’ll at least suggest a lunch, that

they stay in touch and as soon as possible manoeuvre things to get

the writer in.

• The wonderful thing about a letter like this is that you can choose

your target! The formula for finding a great job is as follows:

� Decide what you’d like to do and are best at.

� Decide where you’d like to work – which industry, company etc.

Get to know them.


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� Identify what you can do for them to help make them more

successful.

� Write a letter as above to someone at the company who is in a

senior position.

It’s really a process which puts you in control of your job-hunt!

You can be as busy as you like, never just sitting at home hoping

for the phone to ring and for job-adverts to appear.


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Example #3: Ad response or unsolicited direct approach.

As a recently graduated accounting major who completed two successful internships

at Standard Bank, I’d like to offer you the skills I’ve developed in the classroom and

on the job.

Your advertisement for an entry level Accountant would be a perfect match for my

training and experience. As the enclosed CV indicates, I just received my Diploma in

Accounting from the Peninsula Technikon where I achieved a distinction in Financial

Accounting.

Through rigorous course work and on-the-job experience, I’ve gained experience in

Microsoft Excel, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, payroll, financial statement

preparation and bank statement reconciliations.

In these areas I feel I can ‘hit the ground running’ for you.

In addition, I’ve supervised up to three staff during summer and university employment.

I look forward to discussing your needs and my qualifications further.

I will call your office next Tuesday to speak with you about the chance for arranging a

meeting.

All of these letters are brief. All of them show preparation and forethought. All

of them spell out what benefits the reader will gain if they choose to hire the

applicant.

A covering letter is not a summary of your CV. It is not a place to put extra

information which doesn’t appear in your CV.

It is an advert for you and your CV. And as we all know adverts only get our

attention if they have some relevance to our life, or are presenting a solution to

some problem we’ve got.

Your covering letter should therefore address, directly, the needs/interests of

the employer/reader.


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CONCLUSION

At the outset the following questions were posed:

• What’s going to make you stand out in the crowd?

• What’s going to make an employer pick up YOUR job-application

before the next?

• How do you get the person reading your CV to pick up the phone and

call you for an interview!

In a word the answer has proved to be:

RELEVANCE

The cornerstone of a good CV is understanding what the needs of the

reader/employer are and writing a document which shouts “I’m an answer to

your prayer”.

It takes due diligence, thought, research and thorough preparation but this is

what will give you the advantage in a job market stocked with more people than

jobs!

Following the guidelines in this book is what will hugely increase the chances of:

• You standing out in the crowd

• An employer choosing YOUR application instead of another

• An employer picking up the phone and calling you in for an interview.

Wouldn’t that be nice!! Make it happen!


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Job-Hunters have to make their own magic. They’re on their own. They have to make things

happen. It’s a tough realisation.

But too many rely on personnel agencies. Too many answer classified or online job ads

hopefully and get NO response. They lose thousands in lost income. They get discouraged -

even depressed. Their relationships suffer. They settle for second best. Some will never

recover from their job-hunting experience - it’ll be so dispiriting.

They’ve got to grab the initiative. They’ve got to be proactive. They have to learn to market

themselves more powerfully! The days of the passive job-search are gone. THESE ARE THE

REASONS I DO WHAT I DO. I want to help people with this process.

That’s why I’m a professional résumé writer, job-hunting coach and founder of The Job Search

Clinic. I want to provide practical advice that really works.

Perhaps my best qualification is that I’ve had to face first hand, the ‘grinder’ that is the job-

market. In addition, from my experience in personnel recruitment for corporate giants I’ve

learned some of the secrets of job-search success. I’ve seen both sides.

I believe that we should all be happy and productive in our jobs! Life is too short!. But often the

major barrier to achieving a happy, rewarding worklife is that we don’t market ourselves very

well. So I’m committed to providing practical, streetwise ideas and advice to help job-hunters

get that more rewarding job!

The cornerstone my service is the free advice e-column named Job-Search Success which

goes out to thousands of subscribers weekly. It’s a weekly dose of motivation, off-the-wall

ideas, advice, innovations, and straight talk about how to get success in the job-market (click

here and subscribe [email protected] or visit www.jobsearching.co.za).

My advice is widely published on some of the most respected career and employment websites

and in print media (national and local newspapers and magazines). I’ve been interviewed on 7

different radio stations with broadcasts going out to more than 150 countries.

Services and products offered include E-Books and CV/Résumé Writing.

Please visit www.jobsearching.co.za for other publications dealing more specifically with

Résumés, Interviews, and other key elements of a job-hunt.

And I have this to say about my CV/Résumé Writing service:

I’m not a sausage machine! I give personal, quality time and attention to each client. Every

word, every line is analysed, assessed and written for maximum effect. Everybody is unique. I

want to help them find their strengths. And then I want to help them market those strengths with


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compelling force! I’m not happy unless, after scanning only half a page of a client’s résumé, the

reader is already dialling their number! And I work with clients, personally, to achieve that

result.

A few of my recent personal and professional achievements include:

• Following my passion for assisting ‘trapped’ employees and frustrated job-hunters -

leaving mainstream corporate life in 2002 and building a consultancy which now offers

information and services worldwide.

• Developing a breakthrough résumé writing process, style and presentation to help clients

get better results.

• Consistently coming up with fresh, new, streetwise ideas to help readers of my weekly

advice e-column.

• Authoring 10 seminars, 5 books and more than 160 articles covering subjects related to

job-hunting, career development, personal marketing, and self improvement.

• And on a personal note my wife Olive and I have had 2 children - Zoë (4 years) and Ethan

(13 months).

I’m on a mission - to provide the guidance and services so needed by job-hunters to help them

find better jobs faster - whoever they are.

cv and resume secrets

Documents

gerard le roux

monthly financial statements books

unsolicited direct approach

silence aeg ad

designed pastel report

telkom aaa ad

valley tv ad

ensured clear communication