A good CV can work wonders when applying for a new job
– and more importantly a bad CV could spell the end of your
application.
But experts from employment and skills
specialists, Working Links, have come to the rescue with some handy
tips to help boost your employment hopes. The leading welfare to
work provider has 120 offices across Great Britain.
Working Links is celebrating its tenth
anniversary by producing numerous ‘Top Ten Tips’ on various
employment-related subjects.
TOP TEN CV WRITING TIPS
1. Make sure you keep
your CV to two pages. Any more than this and you should
revisit and amend it. And don’t head it ‘CV’ - the recruiter
will know what it is.
2. Use standard
margins, headers and footers. Anything else will seem
cluttered to the eye if you are to squeeze in extra
information.
3. You’ll need the
reader’s attention early on – if you have lots of information,
don’t waste the top section of the front page with a lengthy
address and realms of different phone numbers. Name and main
contact details will suffice, with full address towards the back of
the CV.
4. Avoid fancy fonts,
graphics and photos, unless required and according to industry
sector.
5. If applying
electronically, use a ‘serious’ email address. They say
you should never mix business with pleasure so keep the funny one
for friends.
6. Tailor your CV to
the role for which you are applying. Using a stock CV is
never going to get great results.
7. If you have lots of
gaps use a skills or sector-led CV so that core experience is on
the first page.
8. When
considering your relevant skills and experience think about
everything you have done. It’s not just about paid employment
– areas such as voluntary work and non-academic courses can all
count.
9. Tangible
achievements lend lots of weight for positions further up the
career ladder. Think facts and figures.
10. Content, content,
content. Get someone to look over your CV if you’re not
confident about your writing
ability.
A Working Links spokesman said: “CVs are the
first opportunity to sell yourself to an employer and good ones
should be treated as passports to interviews.
“They are an essential tool for success in
gaining employment – at Working Links, our back-to-work experts
work closely with our customers to ensure they are equipped with a
well-written CV to help them on their journey to sustainable
employment.”
The organisation, which operates in more than
180 locations across the UK, runs a host of government contracts to
help tackle social exclusion and poverty and has helped more than
140,000 people back to work over the past decade.
To find out more about how Working Links helps
people, call 0800 917 9262