There is more than one way to write a CV, but which ever way you decide upon, ensure everything you include focuses on marketing yourself to the employer for the specific job you are applying for. There is no such thing as a generic CV – it needs to be tailored, considered and targeted.
It helps to think of your CV as a sales pitch, where your aim is to
market your skills, achievements and experience to get the interview.
Chronological Vs functional?
Chronological CVs present work history in reverse-chronological order, with the most recent job first. They show how you've progressed during your career or in a company, and are useful if you've had continuous employment in one sector and you're applying for something similar.
Functional CVs focus less on career history and more on skills: a potentially good choice if you're changing career or returning after a
break and you don't have much relevant experience.
Career changers, while not having direct, relevant experience in their new career, should still be able to find examples from their previous careers that show off important talents and skills.
You may find that a hybrid skills-chronological CV is a good choice when applying for jobs in a different sector. Basically, this is where you group your workplace skills at the beginning of the CV, then add a section for career history to show your dates of employment, with the most recent (or relevant) first.
Skills can be grouped into different headings such as leadership skills, mentoring skills, administrative skills, budgeting skills and so on. Under each section add key accomplishments which illustrate your expertise in these areas.
There's a fair amount of flexibility when writing a CV, so you can slant your skills in such a way that they reflect the skills required for the job you want. If the ad asks for 'proven leadership ability' for example, put 'leadership skills' first on your CV.
For career changers, it also helps to have a sort of positioning statement at the beginning of your CV. This isn't a career objective but a short paragraph which sums up who you are, your working strengths, and which helps the person reading your CV visualise you in the role you want.
What to include on your CV
You'll need to demonstrate you meet the requirements of the job. Decide
what's most important and highlight your 'fit'. If the job specifies 'proven track record in sales' lead with something that reflects this in your profile or in your skills/achievements section. What you include also depends on the stage you've reached in your career. If you have significant work experience, include an achievements section, but if you're less experienced, highlight your work skills.
Contact information
Put your name, address, telephone and email on each page, and add a link to your LinkedIn profile, professional website or blog.
Professional profile/summary
Write a couple of sentences summarising you and your value to an
employer. One way to do this (if you're not already doing it) is to start your CV with a professional profile. Write a couple of sentences that sum you up, for example, health administrator with x years' experience and background in ...'
Pull out a couple of the key words from the job ad, and try to demonstrate that you have these qualities in your profile. Alternatively, you can write a one-line career objective at the end of your profile to show what you want to achieve, for example, 'An organised and resourceful manager with medical and technical background seeking a position as full-time health administrator'.
Key skills/key achievements
Your skills section shows you can do the job. Bullet point your skills,
or group them in themes, such as PR, HR, administration ...
ChronologicalCVs (those which list work experience from most recent backwards) are generally preferred by employers, but you could also add a section before your work history where you outline your skills. If you like, you can bullet point them in a box so anyone reading can see at a glance how many skills you have. Or you can group them under major themes, such as PR, HR, office management ...
After this section, list your most recent work (20 years is too much unless what you did back then is still pertinent today). Don't forget to include significant achievements which show that you either saved or made the company money. This could be as simple as 'reorganised archive systems to simplify and shorten ordering times' or more exciting such as 'researched suppliers to make savings of 20% on corporate travel'.
One way to start is to think about the work skills employers like to see, such as problem-solving or analytical skills, planning and organisational skills, computer skills and so on. Then think about how you can demonstrate you have these skills.
For example, are you a 'skilled communicator across all levels of a company'? Are you an 'exceptionally fast and accurate typist'?
These are the sorts of brief points you can make in your skills section. If you can't think of anything specific, you can still write something like 'experienced problem-solver' but make sure that you have an example to back it up if asked.
A 'key achievements' section is an excellent opportunity to prove your
worth. Find concrete examples of accomplishments, and use figures or
percentages to quantify them, for example, 'increased sales by 10%'. You can have one section to cover your entire career, or a section for each job.
Career history
Give dates and job titles and include voluntary work or unpaid placements. Avoid long job descriptions and focus on specifics. So, instead of 'I was responsible for...' write 'managed...' or 'developed...
Education and training
Unless you're applying for a job specifying academic achievements, keep this section brief with dates and names of university, training and qualifications. Unless you are straight out of school including your GCSE results is not really relevant.
What you shouldn't include
References and interests can be omitted. Don't include date of birth,
marital status, religious or political beliefs, your photograph (unless
requested) or your salary expectations.
If you have a question about your CV ask Clare for some advice in the forums
