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Top tips for writing a great CV!

What’s a CV for?

• A way of promoting yourself, your qualities, your skills, your experience and your availability to prospective employers.
• A way of applying for work or an advertised post (when CVs are requested).

Is there help available to write a CV?
Yes, if you would like assistance writing a CV, contact Careers Wales. You’ll find Careers Wales’ contact details at the bottom of this page.

CV writing – the Frank and Honest Top Tips…

• Before you even start writing your CV, ask yourself ‘what do I want this employer to know about me?’ Make a really short list of the most important skills, qualities and experiences that will help land you the job you’re looking at.
• You may wish to start your CV with a short personal profile so that an employer gets a clear introduction to who you are, the intro hooks their attention.
• Your CV should also include a section on your skills and strengths, work experience and qualifications. Optional sections include ‘Achievements’, ‘Interests’ and / or ‘Voluntary work’.
• Also include a section on references / referees – either write “References available upon request” or include details of two relevant people you know who are willing to give you a reference.
• List any professional bodies to which you belong to.
• Prioritise the structure of your CV – put what you think will impress most at the beginning of your CV, the least important at the end. You may feel your qualifications go first or your achievements or perhaps your most recent employment details. Usually positions held or achievements are the most important.
• Include practical examples of where your skills have proven successful, but keep it brief. CV readers want to be impressed, but they’ll have a lot of CVs to wade through – they don’t want a life story.
• Keep the CV brief, two pages max.
• Avoid using personalisations such as “I”, “my”, “our” and “we”. Instead of saying ‘I am a successful sales manager…’ state ‘Successful sales manager with a proven track record…
• Using your existing CV as a starting point, write a new version for each job you apply for – tailor each CV you write with the kind of information relevant to the job you’re going for.
• Ask someone you know to read your CV and give you feedback. CVs are personal documents and it’s difficult sometimes to be objective – for example, we can sometime undersell a particular skill or underestimate an achievement.
• TPYOS and SPELING!! Ask someone else to proofread your CV – you won’t spot every mistake and your word processor’s spell check certainly won’t.
• If an employer requests a job application form is completed, never assume it will be ok to just send in a CV. You may however
  wish to include a CV with a job application form as further background information.
• Keep your CV uptodate. That way, you’ll be able to pounce when a job opportunity comes up and it will help you remember your achievements.
• Avoid repetition in language, but don’t avoid selling your strongest points in different parts of the document in different ways – you can tell your story about your great achievement both in the ‘Achievement’ section and again in the ‘Positions held’ section.
• Avoid unnecessary details about work experience that just aren’t going to impress.
• Use bullet points to keep messages clear and brief. Avoid long sentences or paragraphs.
• Use clear formatting on your CV – there’s no point having having great content if it doesn’t look good!
• Keep your CV positive at all times and be honest throughout.
• Don’t include a photo of yourself unless there’s a professional need to e.g. unless you’re applying for an acting role or a job as a model.
• Check out Careers Wales’ ‘CV Wizard’ on their website – address below.

Covering email or letter
Although some CVs are handed into job agencies without a covering letter, CVs usually need a covering letter or email. Covering emails/letters often provide the employer with their first impression of you – so make sure you get it right.

• Refer to the job advert you are writing about – include the job title, reference number if available and, if you think necessary, where you read about the job.
• Consider stating why you want the job and the main reason why it would be a excellent job for a person with your skills and experiences.
• Keep the covering letter really brief.
• State that you are available for interview at their convenience.
• State that you look forward to hearing from them soon.
• Provide your postal address, telephone number and email address.
• If you’re sending an email from a personal email address and your email address is a daft name on a hotmail account that you use for emailing friends, consider opening a new email address with a more professional sounding name before the @ sign.

Links and contact details

Name: Careers Wales
Web: www.careerswales.com
www.careerswales.com
Email:
Tel: 0800 100 900
Info: Careers Wales is an all-Wales service that gives people of all ages free careers information, advice and guidance.

Some more CV top tips pages:

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2950896.stm

www.europa-pages.com/jobs/euro-cv-tips.html

new.createyourcv.co.uk/tips.asp

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