CV Writing... how to write one...

When applying for a job, many employers request that you send in a CV. What is a CV? What is the point? How do you make your CV stand out over the others?A CV stands for curriculum-vitae, a short concise summary which summarizes your skills and experiences in the past. The aim of this document is to demonstrate that you have all the skills (and some complementary ones) necessary to do the job which you are applying for.

Steps

1. Make a list of jobs you have done in the past (include dates).
2. Make a list of qualifications you have obtained.
3. Make a list of hobbies and interests.
4. Use these lists to draw up a list of key skills which set you aside from the other candidates.
5. Reference each key skill to a job you have done in the past. Bear in mind, key skills don't have to be obtained from paid employment alone; teamwork, for example, can be demonstrated through many sports activities such as football. Leadership skills can be demonstrated by referencing that holiday you organised or some other event you arranged.
6. Use as many POWER WORDS as possible. Here is a list that should get you started: achieved, acquired, adapted, addressed, administered, analyzed, anticipated, assembled, assisted, audited, budgeted, calculated, centralized, changed, collaborated, composed, condensed, conducted, constructed, contracted, converted, coordinated, created, cultivated, demonstrated, designed, developed, devised, discovered, doubled, drafted, edited, eliminated, enforced, established, evaluated, expanded, explained, forecasted, formed, founded, generated, guided, hired, implemented, improved, informed, insured, interpreted, interviewed, launched, maintained, managed, marketed, minimized, motivated, negotiated, obtained, operated, organized, originated, oversaw, performed, planned, prevented, produced, promoted, provided, publicized, published, recruited, reorganized, reported, researched, resolved, reviewed, selected, separated, set up, simplified, solved, surveyed, staffed, supervised, taught, tested, trained, utilized.
7. DO NOT LIE - I cannot stress this enough. It is okay to twist the truth to make things sound a little more impressive than they actually were, but if you tell lies (eg: I once worked as an accountant) your potential employer could ask you questions which you are unable to answer.
8. Make a list of key sections (these will be different for each job you apply for): Personal Information, Education and Qualifications, Skills & Experience, Technical Skills, Employment, Hobbies and Interests, References.
9. Send your CV off to an employer you have no intention to work for. Ask them to review your CV and provide any feedback.
10. Ensure your CV is no more than two A4 pages long. It is a summary, not your life history. If your prospective employer wants to know more, they will ask!
11. Provide contact details along with the dates and times you are available to work. BE AS FLEXIBLE AS POSSIBLE!
    

Tips

• Focus your CV around the job you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a job as an IT technician, your employer won't care about how many bars you have worked in. If you are applying to work in a call centre, your employer would love to hear about the customer service skills you learnt when working with the public.
• Call up the company you wish to work for before you send them a CV. Be positive, and sell yourself. The employer will then be looking forward to reading it.
• Send a covering letter with your CV that explains why you want to work at that company over another one. Make links to important aspects of your CV in this letter.
• Believe in yourself. If you do not show confidence, how will an employer have confidence in you to do the job you are applying for?
• SKILLS SKILLS SKILLS - do not merely list the work you have done in the past. Focus your CV on the skills you have learned. [BAD EXAMPLE - When I worked at a local pub, I collected glasses and cleaned up mess][GOOD EXAMPLE - When working as part of a team at 'The Crown and Cushion', I learned the importance of maintaining a clean working environment and improved my customer liason skills].
• Don't come across as desperate. Remember - the company is losing out by not employing you, as you can give your skills to the competition. You are not losing out!
• You may be rejected for the first 100 jobs you apply for. This occurs when there are many more applicants than jobs and you should not let it get you down. Think of this as a learning experience. Ask yourself how you could improve your chances when applying for the next job.
• It's not only unemployed people who apply for jobs! You can always apply for a better job than you have now to improve your career!
• Try to stick to a job for at least six months! If your career history shows you have worked for 12 different companies in the last year, it will look as if you are not reliable.
• Put yourself in the employers shoes. What would you think if someone handed you that CV?
• Show passion about your work and your hobbies.

Warnings

• I say it again - DO NOT LIE. It will do you no favours.
• NEVER put yourself down. Even if you fail to get the job you desire, REMEMBER you have many skills and there are many other employers!