Curriculum Vitae

What does your CV say about you?

What does your CV say about you? Writing a curriculum vitae can be a painful process. How many pages do you keep it to? Do you include a mug shot? Do you tell your prospective employer that you were a boy scout/girl guide until 1982? How much information is too much information? When does a concise CV become plain evasive? The questions are endless, and so, it seems, is the advice coming at you from websites, past employers and overly involved parents. Marbellas.com and Wemploy has sifted through the waffle and pinpointed exactly what it is that prospective employers are looking for.. 

Think of your CV as an advert, your only chance to sell yourself and snag that all-important interview you want so desperately. So get your thinking cap on, put pen to paper – or, more appropriately, finger to keyboard – and knock ‘em dead with that killer CV. Your future depends on it!

Photo Op
Generally speaking, prospective employers have an idea in their head of the person they want to fill the role. For instance, if it’s a lifeguard position at a local pool they’re not going to consider an unfit city type in a suit. The same theory can be applied to any job, so think about whether you actually suit the profession you’re considering before sending your CV off and wasting everyone’s time. However, if you think you’re right for the role then it is important to include a clear photograph, preferably from the shoulders upwards. Don’t use a photo machine, as they’re extremely unflattering - just take a look at your passport! Ask a friend to take a photo of you, or, if you can, use a professional photographer. Whether you like it or not, we’re judged primarily on looks – but if you think your look suits the role then it shouldn’t be a problem. The same goes for your personality. Do your characteristics correlate with the role? For instance, if you’re the shy and retiring type then a job in public relations probably isn’t for you. If you’ve aligned your complete profile up with the job beforehand – with regard to both looks and personality – and everything matches, then it’s likely you’ll be asked in for an interview. Just make sure you CV doesn’t let you down.

Dos & Don’ts!
Do send your prospective employer a neatly typed CV with lots of white space, Handwritten CVs don’t only look shoddy, but tell your prospective employer that you’ve failed to move with the times. Companies need forward-thinking individuals to progress with them. If you aren’t very computer literate have a friend type it out for you.

Do make sure you stick to one font and size – preferably Times New Roman, size 12 – and use bold for headlines and italics for the key points you’re trying to convey. As an impressive detail, number the pages (there should really only be one or two, at most).

Don’t to tempted to go all arty-farty on the design of your CV, unless, of course, you’re applying for a creative job. Even if you think it’s wonderful and have spent hours with a pot of glitter and the PVA glue, your prospective employer will not appreciate fluorescent pink headings, flowery borders and perfumed paper.

Do fork out for the services of a professional designer, if you feel you must stand out from the crowd.

Do include a covering letter. This will make sure that your CV is read by the right person so ring beforehand and ask for the name of the person/department you should address it to. Clearly state what job it is you’re interested in (underlined and in bold), why you want to work for that employer and where you saw the job advertised. If you didn’t see the job advertised and are sending your CV on the off chance there’s an opening, do say what kind of role you’d be interested in with the company. End by stating that you are available for an interview and look forward to hearing from them.

Headlines
At the beginning of your CV you should include your most important details, such as your full name, your date of birth, your nationality, your gender (if your first name doesn’t make it immediately obvious), your address, your phone number and your email address. If you’ve still got the email address you set up when you were thirteen (one prospective employer promptly told pinkfluff@hotmail.com that, unfortunately, there weren’t any vacancies – surprise, surprise) then it’s probably best to set up a new one. Gmail is another free email provider (www.gmail.com), but sounds a little more professional than a Hotmail account. If you can afford it, pay for a professional email account such as firstname@surname.com. It’s details like this that tell your prospective employer how professional you really are.

Work Experience
Next, dedicate a section to your work experience – both paid and voluntary – with your most recent experience first and your oldest last. With each entry insert the date you began and finished, what your job title was, what your role within the company entailed and any skills learnt during this period. It may be that as you progress with your career you’ll need to remove some of your earliest experience – such as when you waited tables or pulled pints in a bar. Although these may well have been the hardest jobs you’ve ever had and show a commitment to hard graft, your prospective white collar-employer really won’t need to know about these. After all, who didn’t do bar work to put themselves through university? Keep your work experience relevant and your CV will come across as more concise and readable. It may also be the case that you’ll need to tailor you CV each time you send it out. Every company is different and what experience may be of interest to one company won’t be to another.

Education & Achievements
Beneath your work experience you can insert a section on your education and list any qualifications you may have. Again, don’t be tempted to list every qualification in your lifetime – your prospective employer probably won’t care that you passed your 11+ with flying colours or got a C in IGCSE art. What he or she will care about, however, is the most recent exams you’ve passed, any degrees you’ve got and any other courses you’ve taken. Don’t put in any exams you’ve taken but have failed – what they don’t know won’t hurt them. A CV is the greatest marketing tool an individual has and you’re not going to sell yourself by highlighting any negatives. Also use this section to list any personal achievements. Did you raise money for charity by running the London Marathon? Did you run the student magazine during your university days? Are you an active member of Green Peace? Your prospective employer will be pleased to see that you’ve achieved outside of academia, too.

Skills
After you’ve listed your formal education, go on to list other skills and abilities. What languages do you speak? Are you computer literature? If so, which programmes are you confident using? Do you hold a clean driving licence? Use this section to show what a capable person you are and what a catch you’d be for your prospective employer.

Interests
Use three or four sentences to tell the employer what you’re like as a person. What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Preferably, list things that demonstrate leadership qualities or responsibility, or at least something that is relevant to the job in question. Whatever you do, don’t say that you like ‘socialising’. After all, who doesn’t? Even worse is saying that you enjoy stamp collecting or something similar, which tells your prospective employer than you’re better suited to solitary activities than teamwork. Every interest you list should be tailored around the job you’re applying for, if not inadvertently.

Referees
Conclude your CV with the contact details of two former employers, who’ll act as referees should your prospective employer want to find out what you’re like to work with. Always ask people before you list them as referees and send them a copy of your CV so that they’re updated with your current situation should they receive a telephone call from your prospective employer. With each referee, list their full name, telephone number and email address.

Sending Off
Before clicking ‘send’, check with your prospective employer how they prefer to receive CVs. It could well be that they prefer snail mail, in which case you’ll need to print it off on good quality paper, print out a typed address on a sticky label and pop it in the post. If the envelope in which your CV arrives seems smart and professional then that’s the way you’ll be perceived, too. If your prospective employer prefers to receive CVs by email, then check whether they’d prefer it as an attachment or as plain text within the body of the email. Some office systems can’t handle attachments, whereas others can. Also ask what the subject of the email should be, so they can find it quickly and easily. Checking these small details will save both parties time and increase your chances of getting off on the right foot. If applying for the job goes smoothly, then your prospective employer is likely to think that working with you will be pain-free, too.

Tips From Top Companies
Wemploy recommends…
1. Summary & Objective
This should appear below your contact details.  Use this space effectively to give the reader a brief overview on your skills and experience.  Also add a brief comment that outlines your career objective and intent.  The summary and objective tends to be the first part an employer will read and use it as an opportunity to grab their attention to ensure they are fully focused on the rest of your CV ensuring they read on with interest.

2. Be detailed on work history
It is worth being as detailed here as you can.  If you have worked for one company for 3 years and only manage to write one line, what does this say about you?.  Don’t let the employer have to guess what you did – tell them.  A good tip is to keep hold of your job specs and use the detail from here to help you sell you skills and experience.

3. List your achievements
If you are a salesman and have sold €10 million of products in 3 years make sure you mention it.  If you worked in an office and introduced a new filing system again mention it.  Mention how this benefited your employer – If you did it then let them know and SELL YOURSELF

4. Tailoring Your CV??
This is a tricky one! From an agency stand point, more is better in regard to content.  Most agencies work from a database which will search through thousands of CV hunting down certain words, phrases such as specific software packages.  You run the risk of having your CV missed for certain roles if you have tailored it to towards one specific job. A good agency will spend time with you either face to face or over the phone and tailor your CV to the specific role they plan to send your CV to.  A good agency will also highlight all the relevant points to the employer on why they think you’re suitable for that role. If you plan to apply directly to an employer for a specific job than it is worth tailoring your CV – but why would you want to do that?  Let us do the hard work!

5. Put in the effort & double check
Spend as much time as you can on your CV and double or even triple check it for spelling and grammatical errors.  Also ensure you employment dates are accurate and that you adequately cover off any long breaks in employment.

Marian Roman

Marian Roman, Nikki Beach
“Among the things that I appreciate when reading a good CV:
- The CV needs to look professional, attractive and easy to read.
- A good CV needs to be limited to one page.
- It is always good to place the most important (relevant) information first.
What I always find unacceptable about a CV:
- CV’s with misspelled words and grammatical errors.
- Using abbreviations, slang, or jargon.
- Including personal information (birth date, race, etc.)”

Belen Cepero

Belen Cepero, C-International Abogados
“What I like most about a CV is the accompanying letter – and the actual presentation. From the letter, you get a good first impression of the person. I’d say that the letter shows the person’s attitude and the CV, the aptitude. If I had to choose between the letter and the CV, I’d go for the letter.”

Lee O’Brien, Dermalogica
“The CVs that are presented these days are very different to the days we wrote CVs.  I am finding that more and more candidates present on Powerpoint, which I find very impressive. They do research on your company and then give you their impression of your company. I really like this as this type of candidate knows what you are about and is also pro-active in their approach. So a written CV does not do it for me anymore. They do, however, give you a copy of their qualifications etc. Stapled CVs are also a turn off for me - if they are presented on paper then it must be bound with some life in it. If it’s not typed and has a glued picture on it - forget it!”