Curriculum Vitae
Your CV, or curriculum vitae, is a document designed to make you the most attractive candidate to a particular perspective employer. Recruiters may receive many applications for a single post, so a good CV can make the difference between whether or not you progress to the interview stage. There is no single correct way to write the perfect CV. That said, here a few tips to point you in the right direction toward honing your job hunting skills. Remember that you are selling yourself to a busy employer who may have lots of CVs to look through and may only spend a matter of seconds on the initial scan. If the information they are looking for is not instantly accessible this increases the chance of your CV heading straight for the reject pile. Make sure your CV is easily understood. Use of bullet points and numbering can help ensure clarity. Aim for a balanced layout and make use of space to keep it easy on the eye. Your CV is designed to get you through to the interview stage and will also provide the interviewer with material for framing further questioning. The interview is the place to go into detail. Keep your CV short – but don’t cram information – and avoid flowery prose. Many recruiters and professional CV writers advise no more than two pages. Your CV will provide a demonstration of your ability to sift and prioritise information. Employers will be put off by the prospect of having to wade through irrelevant information and a CV will immediately win points for being concise and to the point. Keep in mind the person you want to offer you an interview and tailor your CV specifically to the role and organisation you’re applying for. You should do some research and find out as much as you can about the role, organisation and department. This will help you emphasis the experiences and attributes you possess that will demonstrate you are the person to meet the particular requirements of the employer in question. Ensure you provide evidence for your claims. Rather than saying you have project management skills, show how you have developed and used your project management skills in a particular role (perhaps at university, if you have recently qualified). Rather than saying you have enthusiasm, dynamism or problem solving ability, it is better to convey these qualities as you relate your achievements in work, education and elsewhere in life. Be honest on your CV and do not exaggerate your qualifications. Many organisations do check candidate qualifications and may withdraw the offer of employment if you have given them misleading information. Do not overstate your achievements. You may have to provide evidence for any claims you have made if you are asked to attend an interview. However, it is also important not to understate your achievements and skew things in a positive light. Only include positives on your CV. Make sure you check for spelling, grammar and typographical errors, and make sure some other people proofread your CV. Such mistakes will communicate a lack of care. Although there is no single formula for writing a winning CV, the following would generally be included: Include your name, address, phone numbers and email address so your target employer can contact you easily. You may or may not wish to include information such as nationality, date of birth and driving licence status. CVs often follow personal details with a strong personal statement or profile designed to grab the reader’s attention and draw them in. This should be a short paragraph succinctly conveying who you are in relation to the role you are applying for. Avoid generic, clichéd statements like ‘good team player with excellent communication skills’. It is much better to make sure this is evinced in the experience you relate in the body of your CV. Keep you personal statement focused. One approach is to take a primary relevant skill you possess and show how this will enable you to excel in meeting the needs of this particular employer. Work experience is usually presented in reverse chronological order with the most recent job first. Briefly outline your duties in the role and major achievements. Recruiters will often check that dates add up, so explain any gaps. If you do have breaks when you haven’t been working or studying express these positively. Think about the skills you have been developing during these times. For instance, if you have been travelling you may have been developing team working, self-reliance and initiative. Make sure you include relevant voluntary work which would be interesting and useful for the employer. As with all the elements of your CV, the key is to relay the information clearly with the important features most salient. It is important not to overload the eye with trivia. Applicants who have completed degrees would not usually find it necessary to list all their GCSEs and A-level grades, for example. Just the number of GCSEs passed and the A-levels studied would normally suffice. If you are a new graduate, for example, you may wish to position this section ahead of your work experience so the more important information is the first to catch the reader’s attention. Include relevant skills that you have not already mentioned in your work experience section. Remember to include IT skills you have picked up and any languages that may be relevant to your work. This section provides an opportunity to show that you are a rounded individual and may also give the interviewer something to discuss in the interview. You may wish to include an activity you do alone (e.g. photography, reading, fishing), an activity you do with one other person (e.g. squash, chess) and an activity you do in a group (e.g. football, volleyball). Do list any current positions of responsibility. Visit the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health's web site please click the following link http://www.cieh.org/Writing Your CV
Make it clear
Keep it short
Keep it relevant
Evidence claims
Be honest
Proofread
Aspects to include…
Personal Details
Personal Statement
Work Experience
Education
Skills
Hobbies & Interests
