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