CV & Cover Letters
Everyone….and I mean everyone….needs an excellent CV! Putting together a good CV is an essential task you will be performing in the near future. The quality of your CV can ultimately determine whether you get called for a job interview…or not. The layout, format and content are each as important as one another. For example, would you hire someone who submitted a CV to you full with spelling and grammar errors? From an employer’s point of view, there is another reason for the CV process – screening. CVs allow human resources departments to screen large numbers of candidates without having to interview everyone – this saves them time and money! So you want to ensure that you get through the screening process. In essence, your CV is a summary of your experience and outlines to a potential employer the skills and experience you have gathered and why you are suitable to a particular position. A good CV will open doors for you, so ensure you put time and effort in to its design.
Key features of a CV
- Have a great layout…..did you know a better laid out CV keeps someone’s attention for longer?! See this eye-tracking link here
- Be job specific, i.e be relevant – ensure you are pushing the right skills for the right job……the ‘one CV fits all’ approach does not always work.
- Short, clear, concise as well as being easy to read and understand.
- Ensure your CV does not contain too much text (a common pitfall)….no one reads long CVs. Most CVs are scanned quickly and key points extracted. People say a CV should be able to ‘breathe’, i.e. with some of the white paper still visible and not be too congested with text.
- Use words familiar to the reader, for example avoid being too technical/scientific for a job in retail management (this depends on the job you are applying for)
- Have universal appeal for human eyes and CV database
- Show you to be a ‘productivity-orientied problem solver’
- Show your skills using achievements or even by using ‘power words’ to start your points, i.e. Established, Managed, Developed, Implemented, etc.
- Use bullet points in place of long text full paragraphs
- normally kept to a maximum of 2 pages in length
CV Template Documents
Remember every CV is different, and you can only be an expert in one CV – you own! So get going with a template and start to create something that can mould your future career.
CV template documents can be downloaded at Life Science Recruitment – click here to link to the page while they also have a good section on the ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ of CV preparation here.
Or – why not create an interactive CV online? Check out Rezoomo.com and build your CV online to ‘show‘ them, and not just ‘tell‘ them, what you can do!
CV template documents can be downloaded at Life Science Recruitment – click here to link to the page while they also have a good section on the ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ of CV preparation here.
Or – why not create an interactive CV online? Check out Rezoomo.com and build your CV online to ‘show‘ them, and not just ‘tell‘ them, what you can do!
Cover Letters
Your cover letter represents an important aspect of your job application. It is normally one page, in letter format, introducing your application. Some people do not realise that your cover letter can be used to emphasise certain aspects of your background which the hiring manager may be interested in. This is one aspect of your application that is well worth putting some work in to. You will find numerous sample cover letters available online which can assist in preparing your own. It’s sometimes the small things that can make a bid difference in an application, so ensure you are happy with your cover letter. This site may act as a start for you with your cover letter – click here