Your Curriculum Vitae – the bait on the hook!

Whether you are a school-leaver about to embark on your search for meaningful employment or an experienced professional facing a career crossroads, the wholerecruitment process may well hinge on the quality and composition of your curriculum vitae (cv). As with so many of the variations regarding the recruitment process, the issue of what constitutes a good cv is yet another variable that you must overcome in your quest for the right job. With numerous books and research documents available on this subject, this section should give you an overview and provide you with a basic framework with which to work.

A good starting point with any business document is to consider who will it be targeted at, what message you want to convey and what response it is designed to solicit. This is certainly true of the humble cv, especially as you may be corresponding through a third party agency, via a recruitment website or directly with the target company. You may already have realised that you will probably need two or three variations of your cv depending on where it is to be sent. During this planning stage you should consider what type of role you are looking for, which industry sector you will work within and how best to present your skills and experience in order to be considered for such a role. If, for example, you are looking for a highly technical position within a specific field, your knowledge and experience should be prominently presented early in this document, while those seeking supervisory or managerial positions may choose to concentrate more on their “soft skills”.

Firstly though, you need to decide what you want this vital document to do. In our experience, nobody has ever been hired purely on the strength of his or her cv! (the only exception may possibly be for recruiting a cv writer!) The recruitment process is like a courtship ritual and there are rules to be aware of and follow. Accompanied by a covering letter (which is dealt with in another section) the cv is the appetiser designed to get the recruiter to want to learn more. It is in the interest of the recruiter to get the very best candidate for the specific vacancy and it is their responsibility to decide what the successful candidate will have to look like. You cannot influence this although we would expect that your personal focus is to get the very best job for yourself that you can and this means presenting the recruiter with a picture or profile of you that both accurately portrays your skills, experience and personality and
generates a desire in that person to want to find out more about you. Like the appetiser in a restaurant, the cv is just the starter, not the meal itself!
Where to start and what should the finished article look like? Well, we would suggest that your cv be a maximum of two pages long, be constructed in a simple format that is easy to read and follow and should utilise a conservative font such as Arial, Times New Roman or Tahoma. Creating your cv can be done by using a standard template for the initial brainstorming, subsequent editing and final copywriting but be sure to make it easy to read and follow. There are no perfect or approved formats for a successful cv but we have found the following to be a successful formula and an
example of a full cv can be found at the end of this section:

Contact Information: List your contact information at the top of your cv. Be sure to include your full name, postal address and contact telephone numbers, also remembering your e-mail address. If you also have a website which shows off your skills or supports / adds value to your application, feel free to include your URL also although do not do so if your website contains personal or non-business content. Profile / Objective: This will give recruiters an immediate impression of who you are and what you are looking for without having to trawl through many hundreds of words of text. As a candidate you should be aware that a great many recruiters will be receiving several hundred cv’s per day so you only have a few seconds to reach out and grab their attention in order for them to look further into your profile. Similarly, a great many agencies, websites and employer’s will utilise keyword search technology to screen and shortlist cv’s for closer scrutiny. This is especially relevant if your expertise is highly specialised or technical, as this information needs to be included in this early section.

Experience: We would recommend that you list your experience chronologically with your most recent position first. It is a matter of personal opinion as to whether you should include the actual start date, just month and year or year only as this may not be particularly flattering in the event of you having made a “mistake” or two earlier in your career! We would strongly suggest that you do not lie on your cv and there is further information in the Additional Tips section to guide you on this, although it is acceptable to be vague in this regard whilst remembering that at some stage there
will be an application form where the specifics will definitely be required so if you lie now, all you have done is waste your time and the recruiter’s! You should try to include specific skills and achievements within this section to demonstrate your proven ability in the role. Further information follows in the tips section.

Skills / Qualifications / Education / Training: This is a very subjective area and is dependent on your own personal circumstances. We discussed earlier how a highly qualified or skilled engineer may need to be specific with their skills and experiences, similarly, if you are a more mature candidate then the relevance of your schooling and education may not be as important as your subsequent personal development, training and experience. It is essential that you consider all of your expertise when completing this aspect of your cv, including such aspects as foreign languages, public speaking and computer literacy. Similarly, if you have developed business management skills and fully understand / utilise cash flow forecasting, balance sheets and management accounts, let the recruiter know about it! Remember, if you forget to mention that you are fully proficient in MS Office or e-mail, it will be assumed that you don’t have any knowledge of this at all!

Personal Details: In some countries there is already legislation preventing prejudice on the basis of age and it is universally taboo for a recruiter to discriminate on the basis of sex, race religion or colour but the candidate must be aware that in today’s selective employment market, the recruiter will have developed a profile and specification for the requirements of the job. It may well be that the “real you” is exactly the person that the employer is looking for so failure to provide full details regarding your personal details could be the difference between being taken forward
with the recruitment process or being disregarded completely. Examples of the degree of detail for this section may include date of birth, marital status, nationality, dependant children, driver licence information but the choice is yours.

Interests: With very few exceptions, the recruiter is looking for a candidate who presents a balanced and considered image of themselves for consideration and it is here that the candidate can show the personal / private side of their personal package. It is essential that some thought be given to include a broad profile of personal interests so that you do not appear to be a two-dimensional business automaton that lives to work and has no outside interests or passions. In all probability you will be working with others and your ability to mix and gel within a team environment will be essential to your personal satisfaction and to the well-being of the company. It is therefore essential not to include hobbies which may appear controversial or confrontational so as inoffensive as being an animal rights activist may appear to be to you, or perhaps being an avid supporter of Arsenal Football club, please think about how warmly this information will be received by a recruiter who has a conflicting point of view! Perhaps it would be better for you to be
“enthusiastic in your enjoyment of nature” or to “actively enjoy team sports on a local and national basis” in order not to prejudice your application before you begin?

This is an example of a standard cv:
Ron Cook
111 High Street
Anytown
Countyshire HP12 3RE
e-mail Ron@btopenweb.com
Mobile Telephone 07909 123456
PROFILE :
A highly creative and resourceful candidate with wide ranging experience in the development and management of team operations. Experienced and successful at General Manager / Director level with extensive knowledge in controlling and developing all aspects of an operation dealing in sales, customer service and technical disciplines through progressive
and on-going vocational training. . Ron places considerable importance on the maintenance of all business relationships. His excellent communication and interpersonal abilities are combined with his keenly developed analytical and relationship-management skills to both clearly understand corporate objectives and identify key performance indicators. Ron’s broad managerial expertise allows him to subsequently propose and deliver real-world solutions. Winning confidence quickly and relating positively to customers, staff and business associates alike, Ron remains firmly committed to the maintenance of the highest standards of quality in every aspect of his business endeavours.
PERSONAL DETAILS :
Date of Birth : 2nd July 1969 Nationality : English
Marital Status : Single (Long-term partner) Driving Licence : Full / clean
EXPERIENCE :
1999 – Present XYZ Engineering Limited, Harrogate
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Pipe benders and engine specialists
• Joined an established business with a brief to develop and manage the launch and growth of a new service supplying the diesel engine market.
• Responsible for the instigation and on-going management of the companies business development, prospecting and promotional activities to establish and develop a growing client database.
• Responsible for the recruitment, induction and ongoing training of personnel including activity management, goal setting and rewards.
• Researched, tailored and introduced in-house database management system to enable efficient relationship management with clients.
• Recognised as the companies IT Manager responsible for training and trouble-shooting of IT systems and applications.
• Introduced daily activity reporting and monitoring to measure and manage consultant activity and training-needs analysis.
• Writes and delivers Induction Training for newly appointed Personnel and delivers Personal Development and Vocational training for Senior Managers
1998 - 1999 A CAR DEALER PLC
GENERAL MANAGER
Toyota - London
1995 - 1998 BIG PRINTING COMPANY UK LIMITED
GENERAL MANAGER
(Formerly ABC Group PLC)
Essex and Suffolk
1992-1995 ANY BANK PLC
ASSISTANT MANAGER
Lowestoft
1987 - 1992 INSURANCE SALES GROUP - SENIOR
Norfolk. ACTUARIAL CLERK

EDUCATION & TRAINING :
• Reading University - Certificate in Management. Degree.
• Management Development Program (Distinction) – XXX Group PLC
• GCSE “A” Level Economics
• GCSE “O” Level English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Physics, History, Geography, Geometrical and Mechanical Drawing and French.
• TUC Health and Safety at Work - Diploma.
• TUC Collective Bargaining - Diploma.
• Motor Marketing Institute - Finance and Insurance Management - Diploma.
• Motor Marketing Institute - Leadership in Customer Care I & II. Honours.
• Completed a variety of training courses provided by Any Motor Company, Any Bank PLC and XYZ Insurance Group, in many aspects of sales, marketing, management & accounting. 2.1.
• Computer literate with strong working knowledge of both spreadsheets and word processing. This compliments experience with a variety of in-house computer systems as well as the majority of MS Office applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, NT and Lotus Notes. My Dos is now very rusty although I have made recent improvements in my Dreamweaver / Web Publishing abilities.

INTERESTS :
A keen blue water sailor, greatly enjoying both local and foreign travel. Ron enjoys clay pigeon shooting and is a member of several local clubs. As a qualified weight training instructor (and a very poor jogger!), his physical pastimes are complimented by reading, visits to the cinema, cooking and listening to music. Ron enjoys watching and participating in many varied sporting pastimes.


So, this is an example of how a typical cv can look. Feel free to copy its format as a starting point for your own resume but to end, there are some rules which you should consider while constructing this vital document:
• Make life easy for the recruiter – keep to a clear format that is easy to follow where the information is precise and accurate. Use a basic font and size that does not strain the eyes and allow the information to flow.
• Give your cv a meaningful title. Imagine if you will, how many cv’s arrive in a recruiter’s inbox via e-mail called “my cv.doc” or “cv.doc” Better to name it “Linda Stebbing, Administrator 07909 123456” (or whatever your name is!) and make it easier to find and refer to.
• Highlight specific achievements using facts and statistics – be prepared to be specific and make sure that you can support / demonstrate this ability. Don’t claim skills you don’t have, as this will be very embarrassing during the interview process.
• Spell-check and proof read your cv. There is no defence for poor spelling and grammar as every commercial word processing package contains a spell check facility. Once you have read, and re-read your cv, pass it on to a couple of other people for them to read – although brace yourself for their opinion! There is a lovely story about a candidate who
claimed to have proof-read her cv however, on closer inspection she was found to have “good people kills” which had clearly passed her spell check but precluded her from a career in medicine!
• Be prepared to have different versions of your cv for different circumstances and roles.
• Read and follow closely any instructions when submitting your cv in application for a role. If the advertisement invites a text-only cv or instructs you to e-mail it as a word document, generally there is a really good reason behind it! Similarly, if you are instructed to post your cv together with a hand written covering letter and perhaps a recent photograph, perhaps the recruiter is looking to see if you can: a) follow instructions b) construct a simple letter, c) write clearly and legibly d0 present yourself in a friendly, professional manner. Otherwise, why would they have asked?

We hope you found this section to be informative and wish you good luck while “looking for
work”.

If you would like your own copy of this document in PDF format click here