How To Write A CV - The Perfect CV Template
Personal Statement
The first stage in how to write a CV is a personal statement. A Personal Statement is often overlooked as an important element when writing a CV. However a short paragraph (no more than a few sentences) which describes yourself to a prospective employer can be a powerful way to introduce yourself and highlight your key skills. It will set you apart from other applicants by providing some personal insight into your character and speaks volumes about you as a potential employee. Here are two examples of a personal statement;
"I am an enthusiastic career driven individual with a strong team emphasis who excels in embracing tough new challenges and is able to motivate others towards achieving a common purpose."
Or
"I am a hardworking, calm and problem focused individual who is adept at working alone to create innovative solutions to complex situations through the application of scientific criteria."
Education
One of the most frequently asked questions that I get asked when providing advice about how to write a CV is “How far back should my education go?” My advice is to ask yourself this question, how relevant is my school history to the job I am applying for?
A school leaver is likely to need to ensure that they write a CV that includes all of their educational experiences and qualifications primarily because they are likely to have substantially less work experience to showcase. However, an experienced professional with over twenty five years in a specific industry is unlikely to require a prospective employer to know that they went to “Summerville Primary School.” What is important is that you think carefully about the current status of your career and address the education element in your CV accordingly.
The most used format for listing educational background in a CV is the following;
1985 - 1989 - Mouse Secondary School, 8 GCSE'S grades A-C, including English and Mathematics.
Also think about other educational experiences since you left school and include any of the following in this section:
Work Experience
In understanding how to write a CV, one of the most crucial sections is that of work experience as it provides direct evidence of the nature of the experience that you can bring to a prospective employer. It should also be remembered that whilst educational and professional qualifications may be important to any vacancy some of the most successful business and professional people have learnt all their skills through work experience.
To help you construct the work experience section of your CV think carefully about your current and previous employment and try to break each one down into the key skills that you required to undertake that specific role. Consider some of the following headings and try and build your CV around these particular areas to demonstrate your abilities;
One of the biggest problems with a CV is the lack of detail in the work experience section and to overcome this it is important that you provide specific examples of how you have demonstrated these skills in your work, draw out one or two per employment history. For example;
1989 - Present Blogs Ltd, Senior Training Manager
Blogs Limited is a multinational corporation employing 20,000 people and with an annual turnover of 54 Million pounds. Within this role I reported directly to the board and had line management responsibility for 6 employees. My primary responsibility was to ensure the identification and strategic planning of training requirements across the organisation which required a significant level of organisational and time management skills in co-ordinating team roles and responsibilities to achieve this objective. I was responsible for creating a detailed training needs assessment, which resulted in a succinct 1,000 page report, and for overseeing the translation of this into a rolling organisational training action plan to be delivered within all corporate offices worldwide.
Interests
There is much debate about the usefulness of an interests and hobbies section, but in my experience this and the personal statement section are usually the first aspects of a CV that are read as it provides a flavour of the person who has applied but be warned it can also be your downfall! Think carefully about who the reader of your CV will be and the suitability of this section. In essence this is an optional section and it is perfectly acceptable to leave it out if you are uncomfortable about creating it.
CV Length
There is a myth that any CV should not be longer than 2 pages. This is absolute nonsense I have read CV's of professional contractors (particularly in the IT industry) who due to the short duration of contracts have CV's lasting 10 pages, but the information which they contain is both succinct and relevant. This is the key, employers prefer to see short work histories in which you have demonstrated specific examples of how you have used your skills than page long summaries that talk about who you sat next to and how good you were in the company golf team.
Case Studies
A further aspect that is important when looking at how to write a CV are case studies. I would strongly urge consideration to be given to the creation of two or three short case studies about specific pieces of work that you have undertaken in the recent past. Usually this is best if you link it to your current employer, but if you have some excellent examples which are less than two years old then these may also be relevant. Each of your case studies should be a minimum of 500 words, about half a page of A4, and not more than 1,000 words. Look for examples of projects or pieces of work that you have completed which strongly demonstrate your skills and experiences to a prospective employer. Write these up clearly and concisely as a case study, and specifically explain your involvement and the final outcome. Whether you are an experienced business person, public sector worker, a person in a specific profession or a pizza delivery person there are always excellent examples of work to showcase and your CV will stand out from other applicants as a result of your efforts.
When thinking about how to write a CV remember;
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