Fish4jobs CV Advice

1. More advice at fish4jobs.co.uk/careers-advice/
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@fish4jobs
How to produce an interview winning CV
Whenit comesto yourCV,secondscount.You have lessthan30 secondsto impressand
make the leapto the ‘maybe’pile. Dauntingstuff,eh? Especiallywhen,asagraduate or
school leaver,youryearsof hard slogsuddenlylookalittle skimpydownonpaper.Butit’sall
a matter of sellingyourstrengths.
A polished,professional descriptionof yourworkexperience,educationandskillswillgive
youthe edge overthe dozensof otherqualifiedapplicantsandgetyourfootinthe interview
room door.
It’sthe mostimportantdocumentyou’ll producethroughyourcareer,somake sure your CV
standsout witha fewsimple rules.
Beware bad formatting, spellingandgrammar
There’snosingle,perfectlayoutbutgreatCVshave a few thingsincommon.They:
• Coverno more than twopagesand are createdinWord.
• Avoidborders,colours,images,noveltypaperandcartoonfontslike ComicSans.
Arial,VerdanaorTahoma infontsize 10 or 11 worksbest.
• Use headings,bulletpointsandshortparagraphsto make it easyforrecruitersand
employerstoscan.
• Openwithyourbestbitsand listthe mostrecenteducational detailsandrolesfirst,
explaininganygaps.
• Displayimpeccablespellingandgrammar.Don’tmissyourbig breakbecause of a
misspelledword.Checkeverythingmeticulouslybefore youclick‘send’.
Go on,sell yourself
Keepyourlayoutclearand concise andinclude the following:
• Contact details
• Personal statement
• Keyachievementsandskills

2. More advice at fish4jobs.co.uk/careers-advice/
facebook.com/fish4jobs
@fish4jobs
Evenif you’re juststartingout,you’ve alreadyrackedupa wealthof experience through
school or uni projects,hobbiesandextra-curricularactivities.Listthe skillsyou’vedeveloped
as a resulteg.
- Project& budgetmanagement:Treasurerof UniversityStudentUnion
- Commitment:CompletedDuke of EdinburghAward
- IT skills: Fully proficientin Dreamweaver&Photoshop whilevery strong with HTML
How have theypreparedyouforthisrole?
• Employmenthistory
Include voluntary,workexperience andtemporaryroles,focusingonresults,ratherthan
dailyduties.Whatdidyouachieve?How didyoumake a difference?Eg.
- Responsible forco-ordinatingthe productionof companyweeklynewsletterto
70,000 recipients
- Implementedanewcompanyfilingsystemimprovingorganisational efficiency
- Deliveredexcellentcustomerservice,achievingonaverage 115% call targets
• Education
If you’ve earnedadazzlingdegree,place itcentre stage atthe beginningof yourCV.If your
workhistoryismore impressive,leadwiththatinstead.
• Hobbiesandinterests(onlyif they’re relevanttothe role)
• References available uponrequest
Target and tailor
Everyrole has unique requirements,sosendingoutaone-size-fits-allCV justwon’twork.
Witheach application,review yourexperience –fromSaturdayjobsand school projectsto
that summerinternship –and tweakyourworkhistoryto prove you’re the perfectfit. The
closeryourskillsmatchthe jobdescription,the closeryouare togettingthe job.
Put the oddsinyour favourby creatingtwoor three tailoredversionsof yourresume.
• Highlightdifferentskillsandexperience oneach.Forexample,aretail candidate
mighthave at the ready sales,supervisorandcustomerservicesCVs.
• Remembertouploadall yourversionswhenusingonline jobsitestocast yournetas
widelyaspossible.