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Trust us, you're not alone if CV writing seem like a task more formidable than hiking Everest in flip flops. No idea how to walk the fine line between fabulous and highly employable, and too cocky or dull? Maybe you don't think you've even done anything worthy of filling a CV, minus your name and address.
- PUSH'S 90 SECOND GUIDE: CV ADVICE
- LIFE IS A STORY
- ELEMENTS OF A CV
- KNOW YOUR MARKET, KNOW WHAT YOUR MARKET WANTS
- KNOW YOUR PRODUCT
We also have lots of useful tips on our personal statement page.
PUSH'S 90 SECOND GUIDEs:
CV Advice
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Watch our CV masters as they set the record straight, and spill the beans on everything needed to grab employer attention.
Hint - don't worry about (lack of) experience. You've got years of it.
life is a story
‘Ad ganga med bok I maganum’: this is a phrase that Icelandic people use a lot. It translates to ‘everyone gives birth to a book’.
Icelandic people were voted 4th in the Global Happiness Survey in 2018, and 1 in 10 Icelanders will publish a book in their lives. They love thinking of their lives as a story: something exciting, that’s yet to be written each day, and can be changed page by page by passion, energy and initiative.
A CV is a curriculum vitae, which is Latin for ‘course of life’. Let’s run with the Icelandic example – each day you’re constructing a story, and it’s up to you, for each job, to decide which parts of your life journey are relevant to the role.
Icelandic people were voted 4th in the Global Happiness Survey in 2018, and 1 in 10 Icelanders will publish a book in their lives. They love thinking of their lives as a story: something exciting, that’s yet to be written each day, and can be changed page by page by passion, energy and initiative.
A CV is a curriculum vitae, which is Latin for ‘course of life’. Let’s run with the Icelandic example – each day you’re constructing a story, and it’s up to you, for each job, to decide which parts of your life journey are relevant to the role.
Elements of a cv
CVs are made up of 4 sections:
1.Personal data: This is as simple as your name, date of birth, address, contact number, email address etc. Some organisations might even ask for your driving license or passport details. Don’t make any of this section up, and don’t have an email address that’s something ridiculous – it’s often the first thing employers see if you email in a CV.
2.Proof: This is where you explain any qualifications and achievements you have that prove you know (or can do) something relevant to the job role. This means showing your knowledge and training – it can include a driving license, degrees, apprenticeships, diplomas, HNCs, HNDs, DBS checks, music or drama certificates.
3.Experience: Your time in a working environment, where you proved you’ve put the education and training ingredients into practise. Show you can, for example, work under pressure, adapt to situations, work with different people, communicate ideas, have basic tech knowledge, problem solving, using initiative.
The experience part’s the bit most people find hardest to write as it isn’t just listing a grade or the name of a qualification; it’s crucial you mention your experiences. Anyone can show they passed an exam and got a grade, but stories build an image of you in an employer’s mind.
4.References: Employers like to know what other people think of you. These ‘others’ are people you’ve shown any of the three above to: knowledge, training and experience. If you’ve spent time with other people developing any of those, that means they’ve seen you in action, seen how you learn and develop, seen your personality and attitude, and your behaviour when in certain situations.
Your referee (not that type, they probably don’t own a whistle and put red and yellow cards in their top pocket) could be: a previous teacher or tutor, a previous employer including a boss or manager, a mentor, or a person who has organised work experience or a placement for you. It could even be a customer or client you have worked with on a number of occasions.
Well actually, there’s sort of a 5th…
Cover Letter: You may have a great mix of knowledge, training and experience, but unless it’s relevant to the position you’re applying for, don’t put it in the CV.
A cover letter is your opening pitch: it’s 500 or so words which are neat, to the point and written in a style that makes your personality jump off the page. This is the first thing employers see, before they open your attached CV in your email.
It can be a separate document also attached with your CV (make sure it’s in a format most people can open on their computer, like a Word document or PDF) or you can make the body of your email your cover letter.
Imagine you had a pile of 200 CVs on your desk, and you’re busy with your job too – you would want to read a cover letter that builds an instant picture of someone friendly and professional, who you can see in the job role.
If they like the cover letter, they’ll want to open up your CV. A good cover letter is firm but friendly, shows you’re not wasting their time, and shows you feel you would be a great match for what the employer is looking for.
1.Personal data: This is as simple as your name, date of birth, address, contact number, email address etc. Some organisations might even ask for your driving license or passport details. Don’t make any of this section up, and don’t have an email address that’s something ridiculous – it’s often the first thing employers see if you email in a CV.
2.Proof: This is where you explain any qualifications and achievements you have that prove you know (or can do) something relevant to the job role. This means showing your knowledge and training – it can include a driving license, degrees, apprenticeships, diplomas, HNCs, HNDs, DBS checks, music or drama certificates.
3.Experience: Your time in a working environment, where you proved you’ve put the education and training ingredients into practise. Show you can, for example, work under pressure, adapt to situations, work with different people, communicate ideas, have basic tech knowledge, problem solving, using initiative.
The experience part’s the bit most people find hardest to write as it isn’t just listing a grade or the name of a qualification; it’s crucial you mention your experiences. Anyone can show they passed an exam and got a grade, but stories build an image of you in an employer’s mind.
4.References: Employers like to know what other people think of you. These ‘others’ are people you’ve shown any of the three above to: knowledge, training and experience. If you’ve spent time with other people developing any of those, that means they’ve seen you in action, seen how you learn and develop, seen your personality and attitude, and your behaviour when in certain situations.
Your referee (not that type, they probably don’t own a whistle and put red and yellow cards in their top pocket) could be: a previous teacher or tutor, a previous employer including a boss or manager, a mentor, or a person who has organised work experience or a placement for you. It could even be a customer or client you have worked with on a number of occasions.
Well actually, there’s sort of a 5th…
Cover Letter: You may have a great mix of knowledge, training and experience, but unless it’s relevant to the position you’re applying for, don’t put it in the CV.
A cover letter is your opening pitch: it’s 500 or so words which are neat, to the point and written in a style that makes your personality jump off the page. This is the first thing employers see, before they open your attached CV in your email.
It can be a separate document also attached with your CV (make sure it’s in a format most people can open on their computer, like a Word document or PDF) or you can make the body of your email your cover letter.
Imagine you had a pile of 200 CVs on your desk, and you’re busy with your job too – you would want to read a cover letter that builds an instant picture of someone friendly and professional, who you can see in the job role.
If they like the cover letter, they’ll want to open up your CV. A good cover letter is firm but friendly, shows you’re not wasting their time, and shows you feel you would be a great match for what the employer is looking for.
Know your market, know what your market wants
Companies like Apple, Coca-Cola and Adidas are successful because they apply three simple rules very well:
When you are shaping your application to match what the employer wants, you should do this by starting with a look in microscopic detail at the job or training role being offered.
And yes, we said microscopic. No one said applying for jobs was easy – but you want it, right? What we’re trying to say is know your market and know what they want. You can find this out by exploring four things:
1.Job description: Whatever was advertised will hold major clues (some blindingly obvious) as to what type of job it is, what you’ll be expected to do, and what knowledge, training and experience you may need. This is the bit you’ve got zero excuses on, so get going Sherlock – piece together all the clues presented to you. Once you know exactly what they want, you can go through your experiences to pluck out what matches.
2.Personal specification: This goes deeper than the job description. It’s a breakdown of the behaviours, attitude and personality they want to work alongside. It’s the employer drawing a picture of their ideal candidate. You need to ensure you can visualise this picture, then…
3.The internet: Find out everything you can about the company, and even the department you’d be working for. Ask yourself, when was the company founded? Who started it? Who’s the current CEO or director? What does the company stand for? Do they have an ethos or mantra which they live and grow by every day? How quickly do people progress through the ranks? What type of people work there? Are they similar to you? career rewards do they offer?
The world (wide web) is your oyster: if you dream of working for them, follow their social media, search for them on YouTube and see what comes up. Google them each morning to see what’s being said about them in the news (and who by).
Also, companies always have a section of their website which says ‘About’ or ‘Our Story’. Read it, know it, then read it again. If you make it to the interview stage, one of the most common questions is “what do you know about our company, and the job role we are offering?”
4.Ask: If you still can’t find out everything you want from the job description and person specification, call them up or go in and ask your remaining questions. You won’t look stupid, you’ll look like someone who cares enough about their application to do it well. It’s your chance to impress them in the days of Snapchat, WhatsApp and Instagram, where people are scared to be in a live situation where they have to react in the moment.
Just by you calling them up or going in in person, you get the chance to make an impression, get them knowing who you are, and get them remembering you as someone who cared about doing their application justice. It’ll also show you’ve got good communication skills and initiative.
- Know your market
- Know what your market wants
- Know your product
When you are shaping your application to match what the employer wants, you should do this by starting with a look in microscopic detail at the job or training role being offered.
And yes, we said microscopic. No one said applying for jobs was easy – but you want it, right? What we’re trying to say is know your market and know what they want. You can find this out by exploring four things:
1.Job description: Whatever was advertised will hold major clues (some blindingly obvious) as to what type of job it is, what you’ll be expected to do, and what knowledge, training and experience you may need. This is the bit you’ve got zero excuses on, so get going Sherlock – piece together all the clues presented to you. Once you know exactly what they want, you can go through your experiences to pluck out what matches.
2.Personal specification: This goes deeper than the job description. It’s a breakdown of the behaviours, attitude and personality they want to work alongside. It’s the employer drawing a picture of their ideal candidate. You need to ensure you can visualise this picture, then…
3.The internet: Find out everything you can about the company, and even the department you’d be working for. Ask yourself, when was the company founded? Who started it? Who’s the current CEO or director? What does the company stand for? Do they have an ethos or mantra which they live and grow by every day? How quickly do people progress through the ranks? What type of people work there? Are they similar to you? career rewards do they offer?
The world (wide web) is your oyster: if you dream of working for them, follow their social media, search for them on YouTube and see what comes up. Google them each morning to see what’s being said about them in the news (and who by).
Also, companies always have a section of their website which says ‘About’ or ‘Our Story’. Read it, know it, then read it again. If you make it to the interview stage, one of the most common questions is “what do you know about our company, and the job role we are offering?”
4.Ask: If you still can’t find out everything you want from the job description and person specification, call them up or go in and ask your remaining questions. You won’t look stupid, you’ll look like someone who cares enough about their application to do it well. It’s your chance to impress them in the days of Snapchat, WhatsApp and Instagram, where people are scared to be in a live situation where they have to react in the moment.
Just by you calling them up or going in in person, you get the chance to make an impression, get them knowing who you are, and get them remembering you as someone who cared about doing their application justice. It’ll also show you’ve got good communication skills and initiative.
Know your product
This is you. You know your life, so go through it page by page and find the parts that match what the company wants, what the job requires and what rewards it can offer you. Knowing yourself means knowing what you want from life, and this means knowing what would make you keep waking up on the rainiest mornings and wanting to go to work.
It might be that you want variety in the job, you want to work with new people each day, you want respect, or power, or fame, or responsibility, or to help others, or to travel, or to be challenged or to learn from an expert.
Whatever you want from life, make a list, and make sure that list meets the job role being offered. Want to know the most popular interview question? “Tell me about yourself”. They don’t mean everything, they mean “tell me what you want from life, how this role fits into it, and how we could be a good match for you”.
It might be that you want variety in the job, you want to work with new people each day, you want respect, or power, or fame, or responsibility, or to help others, or to travel, or to be challenged or to learn from an expert.
Whatever you want from life, make a list, and make sure that list meets the job role being offered. Want to know the most popular interview question? “Tell me about yourself”. They don’t mean everything, they mean “tell me what you want from life, how this role fits into it, and how we could be a good match for you”.
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