TIPS ON WRITING A CV.... So, how do you quantify your CV to make it more marketable and stronger? Here are a few tips to help: 1. Put dates on your CV. It makes a big difference if you have been at a company for 6 days or 6 years and which position you are currently/ last in. Did you start as a cashier and work your way up to store manager, or were you a store manager that has been demoted to cashier. Don’t assume the person reading your CV knows you. 2. Put figures in brackets where possible to show significance e.g. Switchboard (10 incoming lines); or Weekly payroll (200 employees paid weekly); creditors reconciliations (50 accounts) and Typing (65 words per minute). 3. If they ask for your salary expectations- put it down. Don’t waste your time or anyone else’s. 4. Put your notice period down- and don’t say immediate if it is not immediate! 5. Put reasons for leaving A few other tips when preparing your CV are:- 1. Avoid the clip art pictures and rather add a professional picture of yourself. Does your CV look like a school project showing every IT trick you know, or a professional document? 2. If you are requested to send a two page CV, rather take out the white spaces, make the font slightly smaller (not smaller than 10), and change the layout. Don’t keep the open spaces and take out the information! You would be surprised how much information you can get into two pages. 3. List your duties at previous jobs in point form- not long sentences and stories that are hard to extract facts from. 4. Take the time to type out your CV, rather than scan a faxed copy that looks unprofessional. Your CV speaks for you at this stage of applying for a job and is your chance to make a good impression! 5. Put telephonic references for the companies that you have worked at previously. People will generally phone these people, rather than look for others, so to a certain extent you can get prospective employers to phone people who will give you good references. Looking for a job is like marketing yourself. You need to be as proactive about marketing yourself, as you would be if you were selling a product. And people will only buy a product if they know if exists and it is value for money! You should take the time to read the following up online (the web):- • How to Update a CV • Check with referee that I can put them on my CV • Load new CV onto five websites • Send updated CV to all the agencies that I have seen in the last year • Check websites for jobs weekly • Submit CV for at least three jobs a week • Resolve to phone the potential employer, rather than hide behind emails • Resolve to phone one employment agency a week • Market your CV to a company each week • Market your CV on social media. Have you got a facebook and LinkedIn page? • How to stay motivated while seeking employment
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 13:35:13 +0000
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