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Your Curriculum Vitae (CV) is your key to getting an interview.
As soon as you email or post your CV you are on sale and your CV is your advert. Your CV should be designed for the person reading it, and not for yourself - tailor your CV so that your prospective employer can find what they are looking for.
Always remember the 5 C's when writing your CV:
Clear
Concise
Complete
Consistent
Current
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Well-organised and logical
Relevant and necessary
Include everything the employer might need
Don't mix styles or fonts
Up-to-date
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If a potential employer cannot find what they are looking for, your CV will probably go in the bin or at least to the bottom of the pile.
Here are the areas that will need to be covered and the order they should appear in:
Name
Address
Telephone Numbers
Email address
Date of Birth
Marital Status
Nationality
Education - University/College - Qualification attained
Education - School - Examinations and Grades
Professional Qualifications
Languages
Personal Profile
Current Employer - Position, Salary, Benefits, Notice
Period
Computer Skills - Excel, Word, Access etc
Work Experience - beginning with the present / most recent
- "Date" - Present "Company name"
- Describe the company, number of fee earners, turnover,
specialism etc
- Position Held, Roll, impact on business outline of responsibilities
- Specific achievements and projects
Courses attended - First Aid, Health & Safety
General Interests - Sports, Hobbies etc
Do's for CV's
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Put your most recent experience first - that's what will sell you to an employer.
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Concentrate on your achievements not your responsibilities - quote some figures and describe projects.
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Tailor your CV to the job - make more of the achievements that are relevant to the job.
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List skills that might put you above the competition - languages, community awards, driving licence.
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Interests are quite important - more often than not it's how you are remembered. Do try to be reasonably specific. Reading could mean Homer or it could mean The Beano, walking could mean to the shops when you actually climbed Ben Nevis.
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The presentation of your CV should be as clear as possible - black and white, no shading or boxes.
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Always keep to the maximum 2 pages.
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Spelling, Spelling, Spelling! - If you cannot be bothered to make sure that your CV is spelt correctly then you are obviously not bothered about the job.
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Let a friend check your CV for you and always make sure that you know it off by heart.
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Don'ts for CV's
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Don't list every training course that you have ever been on - your prospective employer is not interested in a one-day flower-arranging course from 12 years ago.
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Don't include attachments or photographs unless required to do so.
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Don't fax it without sending a copy in the post as well.
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Don't tell lies about your employment history - quite a few firms use information service companies to check out CV's properly. Do not leave gaps in your employment history dates - it could look like you were dismissed.
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Don't lie about your current salary - your new employer will be able to tell from your P45 when you start.
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Example Curriculum Vitae
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NAME:
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First Name and Surname
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ADDRESS:
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Street and House Number/Name
Town and County
Postcode
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TELEPHONE:
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Work, Home and Mobile |
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EMAIL ADDRESS:
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yourname@hotmail.com |
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DATE OF BIRTH:
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Date / Month / Year |
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MARITAL STATUS:
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Single, Divorced, Married |
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NATIONALITY:
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British, South African |
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EDUCATION:
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Start Year - End Year Name of College
/ University
Qualification gained
Start Year - End Year Name of School
Examination Results - Grades
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PROFESSIONAL
QUALIFICATIONS:
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MICMA, FCRIS |
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LANGUAGES:
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Fluent Mongolian, Schoolboy French |
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PERSONAL PROFILE:
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A short paragraph summarising career history,
skills and aspirations
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CURRENT EMPLOYER:
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Lloyds Solicitors - Eddington |
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CURRENT POSITION:
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Assistant Solicitor |
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BASIC SALARY:
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Gross Salary |
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BENEFITS PACKAGE:
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Private Health, Car |
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NOTICE PERIOD:
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3 calendar months |
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COMPUTER SKILLS:
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All MS Office Packages, Lotus 123 |
WORK EXPERIENCE:
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Begin with the most recent first E.g. |
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Jan 2001 - Present
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Company Name:
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Brief description of company, turnover,
and what the company specialise in.
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Position Held:
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Reporting level of the position and a
brief description of the role, influence of the role
to the business, etc.
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Responsibilities:
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Specific tasks demanded by the position.
Where your role influenced business decisions and direction.
Examples of ways in which you showed initiative and
aptitude. Tasks involving team management and motivation.
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Achievements:
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Successful projects that you were involved
in and the way that they impacted upon the business. Direct improvements
to the business made by you.
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Mar 2000 - Jan 2001
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Company Name:
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Brief description of company, turnover,
and what the company specialise in.
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Position Held:
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Reporting level of the position and a
brief description of the role, influence of the role
to the business, etc.
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Responsibilities:
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Specific tasks demanded by the position.
Where your role influenced business decisions and direction.
Examples of ways in which you showed initiative and
aptitude. Tasks involving team management and motivation.
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Achievements:
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Successful projects that you were involved
in and the way that they impacted upon the business. Direct improvements
to the business made by you.
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Jan 1998 - Mar 2000
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Company Name:
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Brief description of company, turnover,
and what the company specialise in.
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Position Held:
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Reporting level of the position and a
brief description of the role, influence of the role
to the business, etc.
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Responsibilities:
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Specific tasks demanded by the position.
Where your role influenced business decisions and direction.
Examples of ways in which you showed initiative and
aptitude. Tasks involving team management and motivation.
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Achievements:
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Successful projects that you were involved
in and the way that they impacted upon the business. Direct improvements
to the business made by you.
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Other Courses attended:
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First Aid, Health and Safety
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| Interests: |
Sports, Hobbies |
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