Make sure your email is professional sounding... Leave any daft email addresses out. It's simple enough and free to create a new one if needs be. Also, ensure your voicemail message on any answerphone is appropriate, you don't want to put off any potential employers with silly answerphone messages!
Your personal statement where you need to stand out from the crowd! It needs to explain who you are, what you've got to offer and what you're looking for. You need to do this all in one paragraph to entice the recruiter to keep on reading through you CV.
A skills profile at the start of your CV will very quickly highlight your key skills and attributes to a recruiter. This should be assessed and adjusted to echo the role you are applying.
Include placements, volunteering and any paid jobs you've had. You should list these with the most recent first and include:
- the employer details
- the job title
- the dates you worked there
- what you did, usually 2 to 3 explaining your role.
Your educational experience and achievements need to be listed here, along with dates, the type of qualification and/or the grade you achieved - although the specific parts of education that you include in your CV will depend on your individual situation. For example, if you have more educational achievements than work experience, placing an emphasis on this section is a good idea
Your CV is the first thing an employer will see when hiring for a vacancy, and how it looks at first glance will be the reason they decide to read it in more detail. Even if your skills match the role perfectly, a messy and confusing CV won't even get a second look. To ensure you're presenting yourself (and your skills) in the best light, you should always:
- Keep it short and succinct - two sides of A4 is more than enough
- Choose a clear, professional font to ensure that your CV can be easily read
- Lay it out in a logical order, with adequate spacing and clear section headings
- Order your experience and education in reverse chronological order to highlight your most recent experience and achievements first
- Check your grammar and spelling thoroughly
- Have a friend or family member proofread it for you and offer you feedback. Two heads are after all better than one!
