Making your cv work for you
Research shows that first impressions are hugely important in job-seeking success. With your application and cv, you make a first impression on potential employers before you even meet them. Many good applicants fall at this first hurdle, by providing an inadequate cv, or an over-detailed one, or one that is clearly mass-produced, or even scruffy.
The point of a cv is to provide a written introduction, with details of your past experience and your suitability for the post in question. A busy employer wants to have these facts presented neatly and efficiently and in a way that makes it easy for them to sum up whether they want to see you in person. More is not necessarily better! Restrict your cv to two sides of neatly printed-out A4.
If you don't have word processing facilities, then write it out in longhand and then use a computer at your local library.
Here is a suggested layout for a cv:
Name
Current contact details
Date of birth
Personal profile - a couple of sentences about your character and the strengths that would make you a good employee.
Educational and/or career history including exam successes, qualifications, achievements, promotions gained and relevant training undergone.
Include extra-curricular activities that you took part in during your education, or in previous employment. This will show you are a rounded person and help you to stand out.
Your interests, hobbies, spare time activities and enthusiasms. This will give an idea of the type of person you are.
Include details of two referees. One should be a past employer. For the sake of confidentiality, you can add a note asking that this person is not contacted without your consent. The other referee can be someone who has known you for at least a few years, and who is evidently a respectable and reliable person!
Check your cv VERY CAREFULLY for spelling or grammatical errors. Only perfection will do. Mistakes make you look sloppy. Give your cv to a couple of friends or family members to check. It's often easier for someone else to spot your errors.
A touch of individuality in a typeface or a spot of colour can help your cv stand out from the rest, but avoid distracting gimmicks or anything that makes it harder to read. Think of it as your packaging. It needs to reflect who you are and show what you have to offer. Good luck!
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