How to write a great CV

The basics

• Apply in writing = CV and covering letter

• CV = facts and figures; covering letter = “your advert”

• CVs need to be tailored for each job/sector

• CV should make the employer want to interview you…

Matthew Briggs

Address: 17 The Grove Telephone: H:(01225) 859 011 Bath, M:07971 336543 BA2 9RU

Date of Birth: 3rd August, 1984 Email: briggsm@hotmail.com Nationality: British

Final year bioscientist, with strong analytical and interpersonal skills, seeking a career in production management with a leading pharmaceutical organisation.

Skills & Achievements Team working - Experience of working in groups during academic projects including planning, role allocation,

co-ordination and commitment. Won Astrazeneca team-working prize for second year academic project.

- Worked effectively with colleagues at St. Georges Hospital pharmacy to understand and co-

ordinate their requirements for a new database. The implementation of this database has since reduced administration time by approximately 30%.

Effective Communication - Strong selling and negotiation skills developed through close customer contact in retail and

health sector environments. Trained in personal sales, advanced interpersonal skills and customer focus. Recently exceeded personal sales target by 300% during weekend trading.

- Presentation skills and confidence demonstrated during the delivery of tutorials and group

presentations at University. Have presented to groups of 5 to 100 and enjoy public speaking. Initiative - Researched new sportswear concepts for the store and proposed ideas for event evenings

during my weekend position. One idea was translated into an event that raised £400 for a local charity.

Problem Solving - Designed and developed a new database for the pharmacy managing financial,

administrative and project information. Researched the latest developments to provide relevant software for the budget.

- Frontline customer roles have taught me to find solutions to customer problems in a calm and

efficient manner. Technical Skills - Fully competent with all Microsoft Office packages and a number of scientific packages.

Learning to programme in Java and C++ - Enjoyed consultancy role in understanding clients need for database development and

implementation. Languages - French – basic spoken. - German – proficient. Driving Licence full clean for 4 years.

Education The University of Bath, 2001 – 2005 BSc Biological Sciences Expected grade 2.1 An analytical degree developing research techniques, problem solving skills and group working Project: Identifying possible solutions for CTB transmission – required strong analytical thought, to identify prior considerations and contingencies College of South West England, Bristol 1999 - 2001 A levels: Biology (B), Chemistry (B), Business Studies (C) Farr Wood High School, Bristol 1995 - 1999 GCSEs: 10 GCSEs achieved 4 As, 2 Bs, 4 Cs. (English and Mathematics – B,B) Employment St. Georges Hospital Pharmacy, Bristol Summer 2003 Voluntary Project – Administration and IT consultancy Researched, developed and tested a new database for the organisation. Also provided customer service support and carried out stock maintenance Frankie’s, Bath 2002 – 2004 Sales Consultant – Part time / weekends / vacations Blue Star Agency, Bristol 1997 – 2003 Various retail, administrative and customer service roles. Silver service waitering, stock-filling, packing and filing positions through Blue Star Agency. Positions of Responsibility Elected Hall Representative 2004 - 2005 Inducting new students and liaising with staff and students to ensure the smooth running of hall life. Farr Wood Under 11’s Support Coach Ongoing Vacations Support the coach in motivating, training and co-ordinating this group of enthusiastic footballers. Interests Football – Regularly play with hall team, coaching and watching national games. References Mr. J. Franks (Manager) Professor F Rogers (Tutor) Frankie’s Biological Sciences High Street University of Bath Bath BA4 3PL Bath BA2 3RD Tel: 01225 456 987 Tel: 01225 432 123 Frankies@yahoo.com F.Rogers@bath.ac.uk

THINK TARGETED

• Know what the employer is looking for

• Understand the requirements of the job

• Be clear about the qualities the employer is looking for

THINK SELF PROMOTION

• Be clear about what you have to offer

• Map out your key skills, qualities experience and achievements

Matching Exercise

Meet Suzie Smith…

With the person next to you, take a quick look at Suzie’s CV

• What are your first impressions?

• Is there anything you would do differently?

CV fact or CV fiction?

• 2 pages long?• include referees’ names and addresses?• include your age and date of birth?• include your nationality?• include a personal profile?• include an interests section?

What’s important about format?- Standing out for the right reasons!

• Don’t cram too much information onto one page• Allocate space according to importance• Short sentences – no long prose passages • Break up text with bullet points• NOT TOO MANY CAPITALS AND Changes of

font• Logical structure – clear • Use colour and shading sparingly – CVs are

usually photocopied at some stage

Suggested structure

• Education first (for now)

• Define the talents that you feel are important to potential employers

• Include work experience

• Finish with interests

• Simple paper and font

CONTENT: Personal details

• Name

• Contact address(es)

• Contact ‘phone number(s)

• One email address

• Nationality (if relevant to application)

CONTENT: Education

• Reverse chronological order, secondary and university only

• Most space for degree; least for GCSEs/equivalent exams at 16

• Summarise GCSEs/equivalent– 10 GCSEs (5A 2B 3C) incl. maths and english

• A levels/pre-uni exams in full with grades• Degree – key/relevant modules only; skills

from study; projects; ASP element

CONTENT: Work experience

• Job title, company, location– Sales assistant, H&M, Manchester

• Group together relevant experience• NOT duties/job description… instead what skills

did you apply/develop? What were you responsible for? What is relevant to this job?

• 4-5 bullet points maximum• Dates: Summer 2006, May 2005, 2006-2007• Prioritise most recent and most relevant

CONTENT: Other sections…

• Positions of responsibility– What do these actually involve?

Not just your job title!!

• Extra-curricular– Group together by topic or– Group by when you did it

• Key Skills– Driving, IT, languages, anything else?

CONTENT: Transferable skills?

• Unless you do a skills based CV, skills are better put into context

• Use action verbs to describe your work experience etc – evidence– Launched a new club night in Manchester and

secured sponsorship from Red Bull. The event sold out.

– Created a system to help managers monitor usage of a new fitness suite.

Avoid passive - Use action verbs wherever possible…

• Achieved• Advised• Audited• Co-ordinated• Managed• Organised• Tested• Taught

• Led

• Conducted

• Initiated

• Developed

• Prioritised

• Liaised

• Negotiated

• Analysed

CONTENT: References

• Usually include if you have space on your CV

• One academic, one other (not your Mum…)

• Check person knows you are using them for a reference

• Check how that person would like to be contacted

Previous applications…• “I enjoy practising marital arts”

• “At secondary school I was a prefix”

• “Special skills: Thyping”

• “Thank you for your consideration. Hope to hear from you shorty”

• “I have worked in the pubic sector……”

• “Hi I want 2 get a job with U”

Previous applications…“I loathe filling in applications so much that I’ll give

you details at the interview”

“In my spare time I enjoy hiding my horse”

“I have excellent memory skills, good analytical skills, excellent memory skills”

“I am a conscious individual”

“Here are my qualifications for you to overlook”

“I am someone who knows my own destiny, but I have no definite long term plans”

Skills based CV

• Often includes– Personal details– Personal profile– Skills Profile eg. examples of teamworking– Education– Work history– Interests– References (2 referees)

Skills based CV

Pro’s• Useful if you have had a

lot of work experience• Useful if changing

direction to emphasise transferable skills

• Can make work of recruiter easier

Con’s• Requires more

preparation to do it well• Can look unfocussed if

you haven’t done your research properly

• Career aim/personal profile doesn’t appeal to all employers

Advanced Suggestions

• Select the key information – don’t include everything!• Find the prime selling space and use it• Provide evidence• Use words that give emphasis

-Action verbs….led, achieved, resolved-See back of CV handout

• Quantify your achievements-How much did you raise?-How many people attended?-What marks did you get?

Constructive Suggestions

• Allocate space in accordance to the importance of the information

• Use reverse chronological order

• Don’t bury the good bits on page 2

• Never send it without a covering letter

• Keep it relevant & avoid jargon

• Keep it upbeat, positive & achievements focused

Suzie Smith CV – part 2

• Look at the differences between the two CVs…

– Same core information– Different presentation…

• Anything else you would do differently?

In summary, successful CVs:

• Neither too long… or short

• Organised information

• Well printed & typed• To the point• Good spelling and

grammar

• Provide evidence of achievements in previous positions

• Relevant information

• Clear presentation• Tailored

Writing a covering letter

A good covering letter?

Dear Sir,

I saw your advert in the Manchester Evening News for a Marketing Assistant. I enclose my CV.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

The Covering Letter

• This is the “advert” for your CV… where you get to say WHY you want the job

• The basics:

– One page, quality paper (same as your CV)

– Business letter layout

– Usually typewritten

– Keep any formatting consistent with your CV

Tips for Covering Letters

• Write to a named individual if possible

• Tell the employer what you are applying for and where you saw it advertised – quote any reference numbers!

• Get to the point – who are you and what do you want?

• Why are you interested in the job/sector ?• Why are you interested in the employer?

Tips for Covering Letters

• Signpost your key selling points

• Keep language clear and business like… but don’t write like your bank manager!

• Be enthusiastic and positive• Ending should be upbeat• Dear Sir/Madam ends with Yours faithfully;

Dear Mr Kaplan ends with Yours sincerely• Tailor the letter for each job – don’t use a generic

“one- for-all”

Covering letter structure

• No more than one side of A4

• No more more than 3 paragraphs

• Introductory paragraph– Why the company, why the job

• Summary of your background, including strengths and experience, think USPs

• Summary and thank you

How not to do it…Dear Sir/MadamI want a job in this your Firm: £40k. I am extremely extremely clever - true IQ rating 123

supervised IQ test. I am clinically cool under the worst, diabolical psychological pressure, cognitive, tensile, gritty tension imaginable. Over-sensitive, considerate to others under worst psychological and cognitive pressure imaginable; want unlimited ‘Big Time’ responsibility from Day 1 in Deloitte; scrupulously honest; scrupulously fair; very very quick thinking and very very accurate under pressure; forthright; therefore would make Group Senior Partner a ‘good mate’; besides which also brave (6ft 2in, 17 stone). Proof of ability, recently, yesterday obtained Distinction Institute of Linguistics French General Certificate exam and will also pass Level 3 Japan Foundation Proficiency Test next week SOAS.

Also brilliant Linguist, Linguist, Logician Big Time! Also 3 weeks ago standing in bookshop Hemel Hempstead town centre reading A Level Study Aids Maths Book and understood theory of Permutations and Combinations in 26 minutes (and I’m honest) and answered entire ‘A’ question exactly right in 27minutes (without ‘Big Time’) looking at worked examples and without a calculator. I only Grade D at ‘A’ Level Maths, because I’m a bit sensitive or rather a bit over sensitive and I was thrown out at the time ‘Big Time’. If you want proof: if you pay for it I’ll resit ‘A’ level Maths and I guarantee from Wednesday August 13 1997 I’ll get a Grade A in it, Leeds. Therefore I am a proven brilliant Mathematician and very numerate - I’ll pass ‘ACA’ easily ‘Big Time’, ‘Big Time’, ‘Big Time’, - just give me a chance, try me please. Brave, so all this together would make Senior Partner Deloitte Leeds a brilliant definite; committed, enthusiastic; energetic; vibrant; forthright; vigorous; motivated; clever; helpful;positive; efficient; desirable; athletic;’ mate’.

Yours faithfully

CV Assessment

30th Oct MIDDAY – first version of CV submitted for comments, submit on paper or by email

18th Dec 2008 – deadline for final submission

• CV tailored for a career opportunity you are interested in, e.g. a summer internship, research placement or graduate level job

• Position must be at Graduate level (not p/t work)