Preparing your CV

The word curriculum Vitae literally translated means the story of your life.

At BDO  we are aware that

• You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

• Your CV is your passport into the job race.  It is your one chance to represent yourself and catch the attention of an employer.

• As this document is on paper it must portray a mirror image of your skills and experience.

• Remember an employer will make his/her decision to bring you forward for an interview on the strength of your CV details.  But how do you decide which facts to include and which to leave out?

How do you market yourself in a way that represents you in the best professional manner?

Lets look at what needs to be addressed:

• Your aim is to convince the employer that you have the necessary experience, knowledge and skills to do the job.

• Many CVs do nothing more than provide a stark list of job titles and duties; but all companies are results orientated  – so you must emphasise what you’ve achieved within a role, show how you asses value to a company or how you made a difference.

• Always be honest about your achievements and skills and make sure the information is up to date – just one extra qualification or skill could make all the difference between getting an interview or not.

Key Guidelines

1. PROVIDE AN EASY FORMAT

Please Note: The average employer takes less than 10 seconds to review your resume.

So visual impressions count.  A jumbled, poorly laid-out CV is an open invitation to move to the next one; a well structured, clear and concise CV encourages the employer to read on.

• 2-4 pages is an ideal length for a CV

• Use subheadings, as follows:

Heading

Include your name, address and telephone numbers.  Include your email account if doing searches on line.  Driving license and fluency in any languages.

Personal Profile

Personal profile…Give a 4 line personal profile summarizing your professional, experience, knowledge – and career aspirations.  It’s the perfect way to give the employer a summary of your experience to date.

Qualifications & Education

• If you have a degree, flaunt it.  List degree, diploma, name and location of College/University.

• No degree?  List education and training programs relevant to your objective.

• Education goes before professional working experience and if you are in education at the moment, expand on areas of your studies that might be relevant to the position.

Career History

• Employers are more interested in what you are doing now, or have done recently.  So if you are already in employment, focus on your relevant experience.

• List all the jobs you have held chronologically, with them most recent first.  For each give you job title, the name of the company, 2/3 line summary of what they are, website and the period of employment.  Follow this with a description of the role, your key responsibilities and remember to highlight any achievements.  For previous jobs keep the details briefer – unless they were more significant in terms of the post you are applying for.

• Employers are suspicious; so don’t leave gaps in your career history.  If you took a year out to travel, stay so and make a virtue of it.

• There’s no reason to say why you are moving on.  That will make a good topic of conversation at the interview.

Interests and Hobbies

• Keep this part fairly short, but make sure you list any current positions of responsibility.

• If you do not currently have any management responsibility and you are applying for a management position you may want to include positions of responsibility that you have held over the last few years, e.g. Captain of a local football team.

2. SHOW BULLET POINTS

• Use concise one-line (maximum two line) bullet points describing a responsibility career accomplishment.

• Use a simple, clear typeface – fancy fonts and gimmicky design do nothing for clarity.

• Again, don’t make life hard for the employer.  Write in a precise, clear style and stick to the point – only include relevant information.

• Keep the language formal with short, crisp sentences – your personality will come through at the interview stage.

• Use active keywords (created, devised, enjoyed, relished, helped, negotiated, managed, liased, motivated) which have a positive impact.

• Avoid jargon and abbreviations – the employer may not be aware of what they stand for.

• Once you have checked the finished document, ask a friend to check again – a fresh pair of eyes often spots a mistake you missed.

3. OBJECTIVE

• Know the direction you want to take your resume before setting it up.

• Clearly state your objective in short, concise terms.  Be specific in what you have to offer vs. what you’ll benefit from receiving.

If you don’t use an objective, ensure your CV has an overall theme.