Guidance on Preparing Your CV

 Your C.V. is a document that is a positive way of selling yourself. It needs to be a concise summary of your employment history and skills, emphasising your strengths and achievements.

Personal Details :-

• Name, address, telephone home and mobile numbers
• Marital status

Education & Professional Qualifications:-

• GCSE subjects – (if grades are below C, leave grades off)
• A levels – subjects and grades
• Further education i.e. NVQ’s, Secretarial courses (state the speeds passed when you qualified)
• University Degree)
• Professional Qualifications) Dates & levels obtained
• Other Qualifications)

Note: if you are seeking your first position, then put more detail in with regard to your results for GCSE’s etc.

• Software e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Email & Internet
• Typing/Shorthand/Audio speeds, DTP etc. (state current speeds)

Previous Employment:-

• State start & finish date of each employment, putting the most recent first.
• Try to list your responsibilities emphasising your skills, achievements, strengths and success
• Use short, sharp sentences with positive/action words e.g.:-
  
  CAPABLE, CREATIVE, EFFICIENT, EXPERIENCED, ORGANISED, PROFICIENT, SUCCESSFUL, TRAINED, VERSATILE etc.  

Example of what not to do:

We would advise you not to use long drawn out explanations of your job specification in lengthy, un-punctuated sentences as this can become very tedious and monotonous to the reader who is trying to understand the important points you are endeavouring to convey to the prospective employer.

If your CV covers a long period of time, incorporating several jobs of similar nature, a job description covering all the posts can be attached on the back page whilst giving specific variations under each individual position.

Other achievements:-

• Languages – state whether fluent/conversational/written skill
• Sporting achievements
• Posts held outside work
• Awards you may have won
• Prefect at school? Any leadership skills

This will provide the employer with a further insight into your self-motivation

Leisure Interests:-

Try to put a balanced list that shows your interest in things outside work that would enhance your image  

NOTES ON SECTIONS 5&6

Highlight "transferable skills" e.g.

Running a local event – means you are able to;

• work in a team
• solve problems
• take initiative
• time management……etc

• REMEMBER make every sentence work for you. The employer is trying to imagine your skills and personality being utilised in his workplace.

• You are selling YOURSELF and your SKILLS

• When you have put your CV together don’t forget to check the spelling and take a copy for yourself

Try to update your CV whenever your circumstances change e.g. New qualifications, new software programmes learnt, new employment etc.