“C.V.’s”Mrs Harrall

Head of Higher Education and Careers

May 2014

Your sales pitch to an employer.Your opportunity to describe your USP\Personal Brand.A written description of your work experience, educational background, skills and achievements.It is used when applying for: jobs, internships, training courses, voluntary work, work experience placements.

What makes a good C.V.?Good Presentation

Word processed, clear font, well laid out

Relevant content

Information must be tailored to the position for

which you are applying

Appropriate length

Never more than two pages of A4

Name, address, contact telephone number and email address

Details of your education – no need to go back beyond arriving at Sherborne Girls

Qualifications and grades – provide details of both exams already taken and those to be taken in the future

Additional qualifications (music, IT, sports) Hobbies and Interests/Personal Strengths and

Achievements How you meet their selection criteria Names and address of two referees (not family)

Verbal Communication

Teamwork

Commercial Awareness

Analysing & Investigating

Flexibility

Enthusiasm

Problem Solving

Written Communication

Planning & Organising

Drive

Initiative/Self-Motivation

Time Management

Work Experience

Numeracy

Global Skills (other languages and cultures)

Leadership

Numeracy

IT Skills

Negotiating & Persuading (ability to influence & convince others)

Self-Awareness (abilities, values &what you want out of life)

Integrity

Independence

Decision-Making

Creativity (new ideas & solutions)

What to Avoid…

Being bland and sounding average

Over-use of colour

Too much writing – use bullet points

Slang or text language (this is a professional document)

What happens to bad C.V.’s?

“I’m afraid in our business (when we receive hundreds of applicants for each job) we have a very simple system. A well presented C.V. we look at further. One that isn’t doesn’t even make it in front of the recruiter.”

Marketing Recruiter

What happens to bad C.V.’s?

“the C.V. was appalling, full of spelling mistakes and badly presented. I am afraid I filed it straight in the rejection pile (the waste paper bin). If someone doesn’t spend the time to present themselves properly (even on paper) they have no chance of succeeding within this organisation.”

HR Assistant at the BBC

AbleCreativeDependableEnergeticExperienceFlexibleHardworking

HonestImaginativeInnovativeMotivatedOrganisedReliableSense of humour

AchievedCompetedDeliveredDirectedHelpedIdentifiedManaged

On timeParticipatedSavingsSupervisedUnder budgetWonOrganised\Set up

PlannedDevelopedAchievedEvaluatedManagedPresentedRepresentedOrganisedSolved

DiscoveredCreatedDesignedSupervisedResponsible forCo-ordinatedSoldCompletedCompeted for

1. Create your own C.V. using the template shown on the next page. This is merely an example so feel free to use different fonts and layouts.

2. Create your own Covering Letter using the sample shown on the final page – this is the correct layout for a letter so you should not change this. Feel free to change the content of the letter – the paragraphs shown are merely to give you ideas of what to write.

SAVE BOTH DOCUMENTS IN “WORD” FOR FUTURE USE – THE C.V. CAN BE ADDED TO AT ANY TIME TO KEEP IT UP-TO-

DATE