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Your CV is a vital ‘passport’ for your job hunting. It is essential
that you get it right.
A prospective employer will often make a
snap judgment the second they read it and even the most qualified
people on the planet can find themselves rejected if the resume
fails to come up to scratch. Remember that employers often only look
at a CV for a few seconds before deciding whether or not to bin it.
So you need a CV which can grab the employer’s attention.
As a rule of thumb, avoid making a CV that is too complicated,
fancy or long. Needless to say, don’t try to make jokes and don’t
even contemplate saying something negative about your previous
employer!
CV length
There are no set rules governing the length of your CV - this
will be decided on your career history, education and achievements.
If possible try to keep it to one page, but if this looks too
cramped then it may be better to spread it out over two sheets.
Everyone has a different theory when it comes to CV design. Don't
get too bogged down over this, just make sure everything is clearly
marked. Include your career progression, education and achievements
prominently so your prospective employer doesn't have to search.
Searching for information would only an employer off, and most
probably the CV would reach the bin before the information is found…
The basic format for the CV is the following: start off with your
name, address and contact details clearly listed at the top of the
page. Follow this with a profile of yourself which should include an
outline of your skills, experience and immediate career goals.
After this you can put in your career history - in reverse
chronological order over the past 10 years - with very brief
descriptions of your responsibilities and clearly stating
achievements. Then you can summarise your education. As to
describing your interests, some people put them in their CV. This
can work both in your favour or against you, according to whether or
not your employer has similar interests to yours. If you don’t know
anything about your prospective employer, then listing your
interests might not always be a good idea…
Presentation
Make sure that your CV is printed on good quality A4 size paper
and never attach extra documents, letters or certificates - save
these for the interview. Read and re-read your CV, and then ask a
friend of family member to read it as well. Make sure there are no
spelling errors or coffee stains as these will be fatal.
Follow all instructions on the job advert. If they want four
copies of your CV then you should send four. It is also vital that
you tailor your CV as much as possible to highlight the skills that
the employer is looking for. The same should apply to your covering
letter which must be customized for each job you apply for.
And one last thing: don’t miss the deadline!!!! |