If you’re thinking about starting a new career journey a standout CV is one of the most valuable tools and essential for a successful job hunt. It’s the first chance you’ll get to make a good impression on a potential employer and provides them with a useful ‘snapshot’ of who you are - your skills, experience to date and where you see your career heading.
Clare Riding, Head of Careers and Employability Services at The Open University, has pulled together the top ‘Dos and Don’ts’ for Closer Online readers to create the ultimate CV and help unlock the door to your dream role:
Do
• **DO Tailor your CV to the type of job or sector you’re interested in **
Draw on your most relevant skills or experience, giving specific examples that demonstrate your qualities and achievements. Identify how your contribution has made a difference in your current or past roles and what added value it offered - ensure this is made clear in your CV.
• DO Use clear and positive language
Try to avoid tired phrases, clichés and complex grammar. If possible, incorporate key words and phrases that appear in the job description as this will help to highlight to potential employers your understanding of the role and the wider industry.
• DO Be concise and maximise the visual impact of your CV
Organise the content so that your CV is ideally no more than two pages long. Try to include a brief and inspiring personal profile at the start, and be sure to make your relevant experience and qualifications prominent.
• DO Make your CV distinctive
Include any extra activities or achievements (even outside your professional capacity) that demonstrate specific qualities or abilities that may catch the eye of a potential employer.
• DO Review your CV thoroughly - check and check again!
Have you given enough prominence to the experience or qualifications that the potential employer is looking for? Check the CV thoroughly for accuracy, grammar, and spelling and then check again. Finally, ask someone who knows you well and whom you trust to look over the CV.
Don’t
•** DON’T Lie about your experience**
It’s important to be clear and honest with all prospective employers from the onset. Your CV gives you a great opportunity to sell yourself, your unique qualities, skills and experiences, but false claims must be avoided at all costs. Employers can easily run background checks to ensure the information you’ve provided is correct, so it really isn’t worth the risk.
• DON’T Put your personal statement at the back
Ensure that you put your personal biog is at the start of your CV and then your academic qualifications towards the back. If you were buying a new car would you want to see the technical spec or the glossy picture first?
• DON’T Leave unexplained gaps
If you had a career break to travel or raise a family, explain what skills or experience you gained from this and make it clear when and why these breaks were taken. Employers will always query unexpected gaps in your career path, so make these clear from the start.
• DON’T Include information which could be perceived negatively
This may include failed exams, business ventures or reasons for leaving a past job. It’s important to focus on the positives in your CV and although you shouldn’t lie, these are not details that you need to be sharing with a prospective employer when trying to secure a new position.
• DON’T Feel like you have to include specific references
There may be some unease surrounding detailing contact details for your references in your CV. Don’t feel like you need to specify these in your CV from the onset as they may not be required until you’ve secured a firm job offer. You can say that these details will be supplied ‘on request’, just be sure to ask permission before naming them.
For further information on how to prepare the ultimate CV check out The Open University’s website - www.open.ac.uk
You could also try the new free Open University online course ‘Succeed in the Workplace’.
This handy free 8-week course is helpful for those considering embarking on a new career path, just starting out in the job market or even returning to work after a break.
Skills to be gained include the following:
• Writing strong CVs and application forms
• Tips on how to handle different types of interview
TO NOTE
OU webpages used:
www2.open.ac.uk/students/careers/applying-for-jobs/creating-cvs
www2.open.ac.uk/students/careers/applying-for-jobs/creating-cvs
www2.open.ac.uk/students/careers/applying-for-jobs/types-of-cv