And do you have any tips on getting a job? I’ll check in the uni job cnetre thing…otherwise I guess walking around town asking shops for application forms?
I have found that once you are IN a job, its always easier to get another, rather than being unemployed or just starting on the job ladder.
Either get a mate with a firm to ‘employ’ you, so you can claim to be working already, (or actually work for nothing to get some experience), or do some voluntary work while waiting for something to come up. That way you have something to start you CV off, and it looks better to a prospective employer.
Always work from the most recent backwards for qualifications and any job experience - e.g. if you have a Degree, I will be less interested in your GCSE results)
Keep it honest
Try and make it stand out - i.e. make it visually pleasing
Make sure there are absolutely no spelling or grammatical errors and use correct punctuation
If you nip down to Leeds Job Centre they can give you a booklet on how to write the perfect CV
It comes with 3 different formats which i took the most visually pleasing to me from each.
and judging by the job i started after handing it in… it worked
I don’t think the one you’ve posted on here is visually pleasing, looks very dated but on the rest I’ll go with Alta and also add that putting onto decent paper is good …
Also phone and follow it up, will bring it to the top of the pile and highlight your interest in the job, may even get you in the door to talk about a different job to the one you origonally applied for
Never staple a CV, use paper clips and never fold it, put it in an A4 envelope. When I did my resettlement course on leaving the RAF we did a whole day dedicated to writing a good CV. The points Alta made were mentioned too.
2 side of A4 or less.
Put a profile of yourself and tailor it to the job you are applying for, don’t lie but think what the employer is looking for and accentuate any points that are relevant.
Try to show achievments rather than just list job specs and responsibilities.
Use nice paper.
Slip in a tenner…never tried that one:D
Well one thing i was told you were probably told the same at school but to keep it simple short and sweet and in the interveiw to not have a closed body position and no give eye contact and give a firm handshake ect and make an effort and aswell turning up early… its worked in the past for me.
Helping people to build CVs was part of my job in the learning centre i worked in if you want i can write a dummy cv with random information on it and e mail it to you and see what you think i hope that will help the best way is have your information clear dont keep it too long give a brief description of yourself because you are trying to sell yourself to the company and keep it to ONLY 2 A4 pages no more and no less. if you want some help just let me know i will be happy to help.
Two pages of A4 may be right for a vacation job or your first job(s) after you finish your education, but once you are older with lots more relevant experience, you should give yourself room to describe it. My CV was four pages long after about 15 years of work and just recently I updated it and it was five pages, with some earlier experience pruned. That works out at roughly one page per ten years of age.
In my case, the first page is an overview: table of personal information; profile with one paragraph describing me and two summarising my last two jobs; list of every job in reverse chronological order (name of firm, final position, start and end year.)
The rest is sections for each employer (also reverse chronological order) and subsections for each important role, project or skill area (whatever is appropriate.) These are written from the point of view of the employer, incorporate skill keywords, and emphasise responsibilities and achievements (as mentioned by SPEEDYJ) in bullet lists.
In your case, details of university and school would be your first two “employers”. Exams passed, results particularly if most were good, scholarships, external courses or projects, head of school/prefect/monitor/…, interests and clubs, particularly if you were helping to run them, CCF/ACF if you did it, and so on.
Those details become prunable later on. I just give details of my university degree in the table on page 1.
I would avoid phrases like “To obtain a challenging and demanding job in Interactive Design that will further enhance my knowledge and skills.” (from your Beth Wilson example) as that means “…so I can get a better job somewhere else.”
Maybe the attitude is different in Germany but for UK never over 2 pages imo. Noone is going to employ you from your CV alone, its just a method of getting an interview.
I read a good number of CVs and if they don’t grab me on the first page (or even the first half page if I’m busy), then I don’t read on, so 1) Get the good stuff in early and paint a broad picture of yourself. 2) Tell them what you think they want to hear.
My CV preferred format is :- Name - top centred large - Push your name in my face, I might remember it (also helps me to find it again in the pile) Contact details - as compact as possible (I only need this if the CV is of interest) Profile - This is the most important bit of the CV. Tell me very quickly about yourself and why you are the best person for the job - ability, enthusiasm, experience, commitment, flexibility, status. Tailor this section for relevance for each job you apply for - tell them what they want to hear - Be creative and not too specific, its only your opinion of yourself but hopefully one that will stick in the employers mind.
I haven’t needed my CV for the last 10 years but this is roughly what it used to say.
A creative Designer, Manager & Engineer with a solid background. Hard working and free thinking with the ability to analyse complex situations and implement new methods in man/equipment/material processes. 12 years Senior Management experience in large multinational company following a broad multi discipline design & draughting career. Highly computer literate. Wide knowledge of 3D & 2D CAD, Spreadsheet, Database, Graphics, DTP and WP. Married, mobile and stable.
The rest of the CV just backs up and adds flesh to what you have said in the profile, so then its on to work experience, education and interests in any order depending on which is the most relevant/impressive.
Good luck
Oh, by the way, the format I have suggested works best with small companies. If you think some little girl in HR is going to do the shortlisting before your CV gets to the decision taker then help her out, she’s looking for a number of boxes to tick. Read the advert carefully or do some research to make sure you satisfy the key items early on in your CV.
