Maximising Your Potential Through your CV

To take advantage of the job opportunities in todays marketplace, you need to be able to market yourself effectively to potential employers. Think of your CV as the equivalent of a marketing brochure that raises the initial interest in you and convinces employers that you are the right person for the job. Before you start trying to write an effective CV, you need to consider: What experiences, skills and attributes you have that make you not only employable but the best candidate for the job. Consider what you are good at, what youre not good at, what you enjoy and what you dont. Use this self assessment to come up with a list of key skills that you a) use the most b) are best at and c) enjoy the most. These are the skills you want to take forward and utilise more in your next role. Who you are targeting your message at, who your audience is. Keep your list of key skills in mind while scanning job adverts, ignore the job titles as much as possible and focus on the skills and experience they are seeking, to see which ones match your list of skills. Add into this mix the industry sector the job is in does this type of organisation appeal to you?

Once you have a clearer idea of what your skills are and who you want to market them to, you can start work on crafting the message itself.

Skills-based or Linear CV?

There are two main ways to lay out a CV reverse chronological or skills-based. In a skills-based CV the skills section takes up the major part of the document highlighting your transferable skills and the Employment History is a minor chronological listing near the end. A skills-based CV is useful if you have little work experience or your experience is in a different field to the position for which you are applying. It can also be useful if you have had several similar roles as it allows you to highlight the transferable skills you have gained in those roles rather than simply repeating the same skills under each job in a chronological listing. The skills-based approach works best where you have a clear idea of the role you are applying for so you can tailor the skills you highlight to those necessary to carry out the job. A linear CV lists your employment history in reverse chronological order with a summary of the responsibilities, experience and skills gained in each role. If your career shows progression or diversification, it is a good way to highlight how you have developed in each role. Again, highlight the experience most relevant to the job for which you are applying.

General Tips
Tailoring your CV Ideally you should create a separate CV for each individual job, tailored to that role and organisation. If time does not allow you to do that, create one CV for each type of job or type of organisation you are going to focus on applying to. Change what you are saying, the language you are using and which skills are emphasised to fit each one. Keep in mind at all times the needs and expectations of the employer or type of employer for whom you are writing the CV.

Layout 1. Choose a clear layout, use white space (but not too much) and make use of columns or dividing lines. Your potential employer should not be faced with a page of bland text. 2. Include section headings such as Career, Skills, Profile, Education and Qualifications. 3. Use bullet points, avoid long wordy paragraphs and use bold or larger font size for emphasis. Stick to one font throughout. Avoid underlining and capitalisation of headings. 4. Avoid company logos, photographs or other fancy colours/graphics. It can make the CV (and therefore the applicant) look a bit flash Harry rather than a serious contender for a job. Content Use positive, dynamic language with action words starting your sentences (e.g. managing a, using b, leading c, researching d). Ensure your CV is in the present tense throughout. If the employers that you have worked for are not well known, include a one-line explanation of what industry sector they are in. A profile section can be especially useful when making a career change or for new graduates. It should highlight key areas of interest or the direction you want to go in and why you are particularly suitable for that. However, a profile is not essential, only use it if you have something specific to say. Allocate more space and detail to your most recent or most relevant work history. Refer to the job description and person specification and include major duties and responsibilities most relevant to the job you are applying to. Include achievements in each of your jobs and clear statements of skills. Indicate different jobs at one employer in separate sub-sections to highlight promotions.

Chronology Use reverse chronological order both for career history and qualifications (ie most recent first).

Length Two pages is ideal, three is okay if you have a lot of work experience but no more than that. For longer career histories it is fine to condense earlier jobs into a series of oneliners - company name, job title, dates to leave space to focus in more detail on more recent or relevant posts.

Some Common Pitfalls to Avoid Avoid a large personal details section at the top of the first page. You should not include anywhere on your CV your age, marital status, details of your dependents or your health details. We have seen them all on CVs and this does not sell what I can do for you to a new employer. Avoid lists of bullet points all starting o I did x o I did y o I worked on z Even though it might go against the grain to start a sentence with a verb, force yourself! Avoid giving so much space to dates and job titles that the actual description of each job is squeezed into one column. You could put dates on the right of your CV to give more emphasis to the job description. Do not thoughtlessly list a bland range of hobbies (reading, eating out, cinema, socialising) or devote more space to your hobbies than to your career history. Do not write a profile section that is obviously culled from a clichd positive words and phrases book. Avoid long, pompous sounding declarations.

Finally, remember that, almost as soon as you have finished drafting your carefully crafted message highlighting your key skills and strengths, you will do something new in your job and your CV will be out of date review it regularly. It would be dreadful to miss the perfect job just because you didnt have time to write a CV.
(from www.suehill.com/cvhintstxt.htm)