Last week we showed you some general tips to think about before writing your CV – this week we’ll cover what information you should be putting in your CV. And, remember, you need to think carefully about what you include as, according to a recent survey “some employers may spend as little as 45 seconds skimming a résumé before branding it “not of interest”, “maybe” or “of interest”.* So, you should keep in mind the tips from last week, keep it brief and, above all, make sure all the content is relevant.
What we’ve detailed below is what’s expected on a CV in the UK. It may be that in your country, employers expect you to include a photograph of yourself or details of your family situation – marital status or number of children for example. If this is the case, always follow the accepted norms.
Read through the sections below and jot down what you are going to put in each section before you start writing your CV:
Personal Details: This is pretty self-explanatory – you simply need to state your name, address, telephone number and an email address. You can also include your age and marital status, but it’s not necessary. In fact, in the UK there are laws preventing age discrimination, but you should check what the law is in your country before deciding whether to include these details or not.
Personal Profile: This is an optional addition to your CV, but is becoming more and more popular. It is used as an introduction to you that is used to catch the attention of the employer. It should be a short paragraph about what you are looking for in a position and what you can offer in return.
Education and Qualifications: You should start with your most recent educational qualifications and work backwards. You should include everything from secondary level, or GCSE, exams. Anything before that is not really necessary. Also think carefully about including subjects that you scored poorly in – you may want to leave them out!
Work Experience: Start with your most recent or current employment and work backwards. How many jobs you include depends on how many you’ve had. If you’ve had 20 casual jobs in the past five years, it might be better to only talk about the last three and then clump the rest like this:
‘Various part- and full-time positions in the catering industry.’
Detail what those positions taught you and how the skills you gained can be used in the role you are applying for – after-all, you need to keep the CV as short as possible. Avoid focussing on routine tasks, such as general cleaning, restocking and so on, unless the job you are applying for includes these tasks. Instead, focus on how you had to interact with customers, organise your time and deliver a quality service. A tip to writing this section is to pick out the skills required for the job you are applying for and show how you’ve gained experience in them in the previous positions. Use action words, such as planned, implemented and developed to bring your CV to life.
Interests and Achievements: Here is your chance to show a little of your personality, but as with all sections of your CV be careful how you phrase it, as it can say a lot about you without you realising it and, as always, keep it brief. Try to pick out hobbies that’ll highlight your skills, especially any that show leadership or team-worky skills, such as being captain of a team, running an after-school club or organising a summer fair. Use bullet points to make the important points stand out. Below are three examples of interests:
1. “Travelling, reading, writing and theatre” – this list can make you look a little like you are a loner and don’t mix well with others as all these activities can be done alone. That may not be the case at all, but in the few moments the employer has to assess you CV – that’s how it may come across.
2. “Visiting the local theatre, reading science fiction, writing poetry and socialising with friends” – this is a little better as it shows that you have some skills that enable you to socialise successfully. It also gives a little more insight into what you like, but uses cliches, which you should try to avoid.
3. “Travelling – I’ve travelled extensively, both on my own and with friends. Most recent travel includes a train ride across America with a group of six friends and backpacking in Croatia.
“Reading – I helped my younger brother and others of his age with their reading skills via an after-school class for young readers. I also provide reviews for new and aspiring authors of sci-fi books and participate in forums discussing sci-fi related writing topics.
“Theatre – I’ve been a member of a local amateur dramatics club for over five years and really enjoy participating in productions. My greatest achievement so far is playing Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. I also help to direct the plays and organise the costumes used in the productions.” – this could be the same person as in example one, but the image given is one of a confident, outgoing, organised person who can be a team player.
Skills: This is where you list any other skills you think the employer might be interested in. For example any languages you know or are learning; whether you have a driving licence; what computer programmes you are able to use and so on.
References: You’ll usually need at least two references – one should be your current employer and the other is usually an academic reference, but this will change depending on how old you are and what you’ve done previously. If you don’t have an academic reference, you can use a personal one instead.
Now that you know what should be included in your CV, you’ll need some help on how to lay it out in the correct format. So, that’s just what we’ll be providing for you next week.
*www.bi.edu/Research/News/News-2010/Thumbs-down-for-creative-resumes/
