university of dublin, trinity college careers advisory service 21 st century cvs cliona hillery...
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University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
21st Century CVs
Cliona Hillery
Careers Adviser Careers Advisory Service
East Chapelwww.tcd.ie/careers
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Overview - CVs
• Curriculum Vitae_ Purpose_ Tailoring your CV_ Layout_ Do’s and Don’ts
• Cover Letters_ Guidelines on writing effective cover letters
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
What Makes a Good CV?
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Purpose
Your purpose:To get an interview in order to get the job.
Selector’s purpose:To decide whether or not to interview you
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Tailor your Application
• Tailor your application to clearly identify how you meet the organisation’s needs
_ Knowing yourself_ Knowing what they want
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Knowing Yourself (Self-Profile)
• To carry this out review activities:
_ Specific Achievements_ Current Responsibilities_ Course Work Projects_ Work Experience - including Voluntary Work_ Sports, Societies, Social Life
Then - What Skills have I gained?
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
College Time
Work Experience
Personal time
• Managing Money• Take a Risk• Speaking in
Societies• Being on a
Committee• Organising an Event
Academic Time
• Establishing Good • Customer Relations• Showing Reliability• Working Well with
others• Being Adaptable• Using Languages
• Helping Others• Catering for Others• Entertaining Others• Taking Initiative• Managing Time
• Writing Reports• Analysing Data• Researching information• Retaining Facts• Working to Deadline
“Self-Profile”
• Communication Skills• Financial Skills• Interpersonal Skills• Time Management Skills
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Know the Organisation
N.B. “Organisations love to be loved.”
Research, research, research:
_ Ask if there is anything they can send you in writing about their organisation
_ Go to their website & read everything they have there “about us”
_ Go to the library & locate any newspaper articles or other information about the organisation
_ Check the Alumni database at the CAS_ Ask your friends if they know anyone working there to whom
you could talk_ Become familiar with the organisation’s history, purpose, goals,
values
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Analysing a Job Advert for CV and Interview
Teamwork Skills
Organisation & Planning Skills
Commercial Awareness
Analytical & Problem-solving Skills
Communication Skills
Relevant Degree/Results
They Want My Evidence
Interpersonal Skills
Research Skills
Company-Specific Skills
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Basic Layout
• Personal Details• Career Objective (optional)• Education & Qualifications• Employment History• Skills Profile (optional)• Interests & Achievements• Referees
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Personal Details
• Keep it short• Top of page• Date of birth - optional• Email address
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
• “Honours Civil Engineering final year student with developed technical, problem solving, numerate and communication skills seeking a position as a Graduate Engineer in an engineering consultancy firm.”
• “A commercially aware and IT literate engineering student with highly developed problem solving, interpersonal and communication skills now looking for a career opportunity in a large construction company with a wide range of clients across a variety of sectors.”
Career Objective
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Education & Qualifications
• Place most recent first• Profile your course and its relevance to the job:
_ Full Title e.g. B.A., MSISS (Management Science and Information Systems Studies)
_ Length & structure_ Relevant subjects taken_ Grades attained and awards_ Title of relevant Projects / Dissertations / Thesis_ Placements abroad
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Example
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Employment History
Summer 2005Student Engineer, Dublin City Council
• Flexible staff member providing support to a professional team in fast-paced customer service environment.
• Accurately maintained and accessed database information.• Efficiently processed mail, phone and personal enquiries
from the public.• Utilised IT systems to produce weekly statistics.
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Employment History
Christmas 2004
Marketing Assistant, Supervalu, BalbrigganSkills gained: Analysis, IT and Presentation- Designed a customer service questionnaire that involved using excel and presenting the findings to the regional marketing manager, awarded a bonus for my efforts.
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Skills Profile
• Problem solving – An analytical, logical and determined approach to problem solving demanded by my coursework at Trinity College Dublin
• Project Management/Leadership – Instrumental in the organisation of a running club reunion held in Summer 2006. Took charge of the publicity for the event & single-handedly traced as many former members as was possible
• Communication Skills – Demonstrated oral and written communication skills in various work experiences and in publication of articles for Trinity News
• Initiative & Commitment – Have energetically represented students at Trinity through my roles as class representative and secretary of the Badminton Club.
• IT – Confident IT user with strong working knowledge of multiple computer programmes, languages & applications including Microsoft Office, HTML, UNIX, & Visual Basic
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Interests & Achievements
Voluntary:Publicity Officer, AmnestyArranged a publicity campaign. Gained experience in delegation, proofreading text, desktop publishing and working under pressure to meet deadlines
Sport:Treasurer, Boxing ClubKept accounts for a committee of eight. Helped organise a campaign to extend membership of the club which resulted in twenty new members
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Referees
• Get permission before you use someone as a referee
• Two referees are usually given
• Include one academic referee
• Include one referee from your work experience
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Writing a CV for Scanning
• Always read employers instructions and follow them to the letter
• Use keywords & phrases
• Ensure that the layout is clear with no unusual typefaces
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
• Achieved• Administered• Analysed• Built• Capable• Competent• Consistent• Controlled• Co-ordinated• Created• Designed
• Developed• Directed• Economical• Effective• Efficient• Engineered• Established• Expanded• Experienced• Guided• Improved
• Initiated• Instructed• Managed• Monitored• Organised• Participated• Positive• Processed• Productive• Proficient• Qualified
• Repaired• Sold• Specialised• Stable• Successful• Supervised• Trained• Versatile• Wide
Background
Useful Words
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Iportence of acruate speling and gramer
• What spelling mistakes say about you:_ You really cannot spell_ You are lazy – can’t be bothered doing a spell-check_ You are inattentive to detail_ You are careless_ You do not really want the job
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Summary – top ten CV sins
1. Typos
2. Putting the first last
3. Gaps
4. Sloppy formatting
5. Cluttered CV
6. Irrelevant information
7. Not tailoring your CV
8. Disorganised CV
9. Too long
10. Too basic
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
CV checklist
• Is the CV relevant to the position for which you are applying?
• Is the layout clear, concise, well presented and professional
• Can an employer see the relevant points at a glance?
• Have you emphasised your skills, experience and achievements?
• Is it free of spelling and grammatical errors?
• Does it paint a positive picture of you?
• Are you happy with this paper reflection of you?
The University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Application Forms:Before, During & After
– Before: – Research job, organisation, your requirements– Take a copy of the whole form (hard or soft copy)– Check you have the appropriate referees
– During:– Approach formally NOT text message style– Prepare answers before writing the final draft– Presentation is as important as content
– After:– Get a friend to review before submitting – Keep a copy. This sets the agenda for interview
www.selectsimulator.com
The University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Making an Online Application
– Principle is the same as for hardcopy
– Remember your username & password
– Do your thinking off-line
– For long prose write in Word, spell check, then copy and paste into application form
– Attaching CV – don’t use CV.doc
– Don’t use unusual fonts etc.
The University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Competency-Based Questions
– Problem solving/management Describe what you did to manage a situation where something unexpected happened.
– Leadership Describe a situation where you held a position of leadership and what you achieved in the position.
– Planning and Organising Provide an example of a situation where you displayed a competency in planning and organising and describe the results.
– Interpersonal Sensitivity Describe a situation where it was important to show that you possessed interpersonal sensitivity. What role did you play? How did you handle the situation?
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
Covering Letter
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
Opening Paragraph
• Refer to enclosed CV
• Why you are writing - in response to an add or on a speculative basis
• If you are a final year graduate refer to your degree course and results expected/gained
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
Middle Paragraphs
• Why the Company?_ Why you want to work for the particular company,
government department, organisation?_ State that you are very interested in working for them
and illustrate the research that you have completed on them
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
Middle Paragraphs
• Why You?_ Why do you want that particular job?_ Why should they employ you?_ What do you have to offer?_ What is the relevance of your
academic/technical experience/vacation work/interests etc. to the job
_ What are your special attributes/skills for the job?
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
Closing Paragraph
• Close your letter with a statement that you would like to:_ Discuss employment opportunities _ You look forward to hearing from the individual_ Sign letter and print your name below signature
University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
CV Resources
• www.tcd.ie/careers/students/jobsearch/apply/write_your_cv.php• www.gradireland.com• www.prospects.ac.uk• www.jobhuntersbible.com• http://www.quintcareers.com/• www.damngood.com/jobseekers/tips.html• www.doctorjob.com• Get feedback on your CV!
(http://www.tcd.ie/Careers/onlineadvice.php)• Read “Careers Service Guide 2006”• Read “Student Guide to Career Planning & Job Seeking” - Aungier,
C. & Walker, S. 2002 • Read “Making Wizard Applications”, Phillips, C. 1999
The University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service
www.tcd.ie/Careers
Your Careers Advisers
– MEETINGS (by appointment)– 10.00am, 11.00am, 12 noon– 3.15pm
– QUICK QUERY (no appointment)– 2.15 – 3.15 pm
– TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT– [email protected]
– E-mail- Online Advice Centrewww.tcd.ie/Careers/onlineadvice.php
Mary O’Donnell & Cliona Hillery