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Recruitment Guide Series: Perfecting Your CV The purpose of this guide is to help you to create a high quality CV to improve your success when applying for professional opportunities. If you have any further questions about this advice or need any support from us regarding your CV, please do get in touch with us at: undergraduates@socialmobility.org.uk

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What is a CV?

CVs are used by employers recruiting for a role to filter job applicants who have the necessary skills and experience. Therefore, your CV is your way of proving to the employer that you would be a suitable candidate for the role.

A CV can be used in the following situations:

Applications for jobs, graduate schemes, internships, and academic roles Spontaneous applications to employers (i.e. not in response to a specific

recruitment advert) Sharing with contacts at networking events

Many large employers now request submission of an online application form instead of a CV, but usually these forms cover the same information as a CV. You can apply the advice in this document to online application forms too.

Getting started

Over the course of your career, you’ll update, edit and adapt your CV for many different applications, so starting off on the right foot and staying organised is essential. Follow these tips to get started:

Invest time: Begin by setting aside time to create or review your CV. Don’t wait until you have the pressure of an upcoming application deadline as this will not produce your best results!

Check your sector: Do some research into your sector to identify any CV rules specific to the sector- see here for some sector specific resources. Make a note of specific industry ‘buzz words’ being used in different articles, employer websites and job descriptions – you can later try to build these into your CV.

Do your research: If you’re applying for a specific opportunity, make sure you’ve researched the organisation and role, paying particular attention to job descriptions and person specifications. Find out more about how to approach this research here.

Stay organised: Save copies of your CV in a logical place on your computer, using the same location each time. As you update your CV or adapt it for a specific role, rename it with a new date but keep the old version in case you need to revert back. Consider saving your CV on an online drive such as Google Docs or Dropbox so that you can access it from anywhere at short notice.

Create a generic CV which you can tailor for different opportunities. Plan your reviews: You should aim to review your CV every couple of months

so that it is ready to send off to any opportunities with a short deadline. August is a good time to update your CV ahead of application season in September.

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You should also add to your CV each time you gain new experience through an internship or job. Set phone or calendar reminders so you don’t forget!

Structure and layout

Your CV should be carefully and clearly laid out. To ensure this make sure you:

Be concise in your writing- Don’t list every exam you have ever taken or every experience you have ever taken part in. The best CVs are economical with words and select the most important information to emphasise your skills and achievements

Prioritise your information – be positive and highlight your strong points first within each section, e.g. when listing your A-levels, put your highest grade first.

Use a logical order, e.g. education before work experience. Group information about a particular topic together and organise it under appropriate headings, e.g. education and qualifications are together. Consider using lines to clear mark each section.

How long should my CV be?

Your CV should cover no more than two sides of A4 paper. In some sectors, such as investment banking and law, a one page highly focused CV is preferred. These are highly competitive sectors and employers, faced with so many CVs, do not have time to read a long document. The exception to this is an academic degree, which will usually have an extra page about publications and conferences.

Traditional CV

A traditional (or reverse chronological) CV outlines your career history in date order, beginning with the most recent experiences (reverse chronological order). This approach is detailed, comprehensive and biographical. This CV works well for students with a mixture of education and work experience. You can see an example below and another one here.

Skills-based CV

A skills-based CV is highly focused and relates your abilities to a specific job or career area by highlighting your major skills and achievements. Your skills profile should be prominently positioned. Start with your most significant and relevant experiences. Use a different situation for each skill. Closely target the CV to the specific job by using the same headings in your skills profile as those used in the job description. Find example skills-based CVs here and here.

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On the next few pages you can see a breakdown of each section and our advice on how to format these.

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Content

Regardless of how you choose to structure your CV, you should aim to include the following key information. You may include to include extra sections too, such as a personal statement or skills profile.

Personal details - Full name, address, mobile number, email address.

Ensure the contact details you list on your CV are up-to-date. If you are staying in temporary university accommodation, it is wise to use your parents’ / carers’ address, though do make it clear in your CV or cover letter where you are willing to work.

Use an email address that you check regularly and keep an eye on your junk email folders too.

Avoid using a university email address as these usually expire after graduation. Make sure your email address sounds professional.

Only include links to your website or LinkedIn page if you are confident about the quality of these profiles.

For UK roles, avoid including your age / date of birth or a photo as employment law means employers cannot take these into account.

Education and training: Include your education and qualifications along with dates. Once you have gained A-levels/Highers, there’s no need to list each GCSE / National 5 subject and grade separately. Summarise the overall grades and only mention Maths and English specifically.

Work experience: List work experience of any kind – placements, internships, part-time jobs, volunteer roles – where you have gained skills relevant to the roles you are applying for. For each experience, list the organisation, job title and dates. Begin with

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a line describing the organisation very briefly, with a focus on what makes them special. Add a few key lines or bullet points detailing your responsibilities during the post, selecting those most relevant to the application. Think particularly about how you may have helped the organisations you've worked with to improve. Did you help to improve one of the organisation's processes? Did you suggest an idea for a new project?

Example: Internship, EDF Energy. April 1st – 15th 2013 Two-week placement with one of the UK’s largest energy suppliers. Main tasks:

Independently led a research project investigating new potential plant locations, including desk research, and interviews with internal and external stakeholders.

Created new administrative process for storing interview transcripts more efficiently.

Produced a findings report based on research and presented recommendations back to manager and colleagues.

Project was incorporated into an overall proposal presented to management team.

Achievements and interests: Keep this section snappy. Include specific hobbies, clubs and sports teams, with particular focus on those relevant to the role. Your involvement with the SMF should fit under this section. If you have non-professional

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awards, such as the Duke of Edinburgh award, you could include them here. Add any volunteering commitments not covered under Work Experience fit here too.

Example: Mentor, University of Leeds. June 2014 – present Voluntary mentoring role providing support to new undergraduate students at my university. Duties include:

Using active listening and interpersonal skills to develop a relationship with mentee and understand any concerns.

Problem-solving and identifying solutions based on my own experience or by sign-posting to other services.

Compiling concise monthly reports of relationship to feed back to organisers.

Additional skills: Include any skills not already mentioned elsewhere, such as technical skills, languages, or knowledge of specific software. Add specific qualifications or where you gained the experience. E.g. Fluent Italian speaker (following 9-month study abroad in Rome).

References: You aren’t expected to write your references at the bottom of the CV but do ensure you have asked a few people (i.e. your tutor or manager) if they are happy to be your reference and have their details ready for when you are asked to provide them.

Tailoring your CV Try not to think of a CV as a one-size-fits-all document – employers expect your CV to be tailored to the opportunity you’re applying for. Submitting a CV which has not been adapted for the role will often result in your application being immediately discarded. Follow these tips to tailor your CV:

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Produce a generic CV which can serve as a template for each application. Then look closely at the job description / person specification of the specific role you’re applying to. List each of the main skills / competencies the employer is looking for and make sure your CV provides examples which demonstrate these skills.

Use key words related to the specific sector or role you’re applying for, ideally taken from the job description. If you mirror the language used in the job advert and back it up with examples you make the recruiter’s life easier!

Be selective about which information you include in you CV for each application – include only the information that is most relevant to the specific opportunity.

If you’re regularly applying for opportunities from different sectors or types of roles, it is sensible to keep different versions of your CV for these purposes.

Style The STAR Model

The recruiter will be looking for certain skills and competencies when assessing your application. You need to provide evidence of how you have gained the skills that you claim to have. Use the STAR Model to talk about your experiences:

Situation – What was the situation? Keep it brief but specific.

Task – What were YOU asked to do? Again, keep it brief but specific.

Activity – What did YOU actually do? What was your role? What actions did you take? Use active language and avoid falling into the trap of describing what your team did (‘we’) rather than what you did.

Result – What was the outcome? What did YOU achieve? What was improved? Qualify and quantify.

Example: Customer Service Assistant, John Lewis Part-time role dealing with customer complaints within John Lewis’ sector-leading department.

Sole responsibility for email complaints within the electronics team (SITUATION) and tasked with improving email response time (TASK).

Researched current email response time and identified barriers to fast response, including busy periods. Compiled a proposal for addressing this by planning support during busy periods (ACTIVITY). Resulted in a 20% faster response time over the following 6 months (RESULT).

Remember - don’t lie! Lies about skills or experience on your CV are usually obvious to experienced recruiters and can be very damaging to your chances. Focus on

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bringing out the skills you already have – if you’re lacking experience then contact the SMF to see how you might gain that experience!

Watch your language!

Be specific in the words that you use and avoid descriptive words/phrases, e.g. ‘various’, ‘some’, ‘lots’, ‘many’. Instead, you should quantify your achievements, e.g. if you raised money, say how much; if you met a target, give the exact number.

Keep sentences short and precise. If a sentence runs into three lines, it is probably too long. If you want to use paragraphs, keep them short as big blocks of text should be avoided. Use bullet points to keep your sentences short and easy to read. Each bullet point should focus on a single idea or achievement.

Use simple language – avoid jargon, technical terms and acronyms that might not be understood. CVs are a record of what you have done so experiences should be written about in the past tense. Always check spelling, punctuation and grammar, including correct capitalisation, e.g. BSc. Use positive, active language to create impact and demonstrate what YOU have achieved. Find some example words below:

Personal Qualities:

Versatile Resourceful Motivated Dependable Experienced Enthusiastic Proactive Enterprising Innovative Adaptable

Teamwork:

Collaborated Supported Participated Recommended Motivated Mentored Facilitated Coached Volunteered Encouraged

Communication:

Recommended Presented Liaised Influenced Advised Negotiated Persuaded Interviewed Mediated Encouraged

Leadership:

Delegated Co-ordinated Directed Represented Instructed Supervised Managed Trained Guided Organised

Organisation:

Prepared Planned Processed Calculated Devised Produced Revised Maintained Researched Developed

Achievements:

Awarded Mastered Delivered Volunteered Suggested Attained Selected Improved Resolved Nominated

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Fonts, colours and graphics

Use standard font that is easy to read and looks professional, e.g. Calibri (the font this document is in), Arial or Times New Roman. Use the same font throughout your CV. Font size may vary but should be around 11 or 11.5 for the body text and 12 or 14 for headings.

Use subheadings to draw the recruiter’s attention to relevant experience by grouping it together under an appropriate subheading, e.g. ‘Relevant Work Experience’, ‘Education’, ‘Activities & Roles’, ‘Skills & Interest’. Use bold to make titles stand out, e.g. job titles, school names and employer names.

Keep your CV in black and white. Avoid graphics unless they are appropriate for the job. Avoid shading because the text might be lost or hidden if your CV is photocopied. Do not include a photograph with your CV.

Don’t forget that employers will see the file name of your CV when you send it to them. Name each version of your CV very clearly with the date it has been finalised and your full name, e.g. ‘John Smith CV – July 2015’.

Send your CV in PDF format, particularly if you use a Mac or non-Windows software or suspect that the employer might. PDFs ensure the formatting of your document doesn’t change on the employer’s computer software.

Further Guidance

General resources

University of Manchester CV Guide Barclays Life Skills CV Tips and CV Builder Career Connect Creating a CV National Careers Service CV Builder Sector Specific CVs Labelled examples Prospects CV Guide CV templates to fit every stage of your career Sector-specific resources

Accountancy CV and Interview tips (ACCA) CV hints and tips (ICAEW) How to create an interview-winning CV (ICAEW)

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Architecture CV advice (RIBA) Architecture and design graduates – How to secure your first position (Archinect) Writing creative CVs (University of Kent)

Banking & Finance How to write a CV for banking (Guardian) Sample graduate investment and banking CV (Target Jobs)

Biology & Chemistry Science CVs (Jobs in Science) Graduate special: How do I write a scientific CV? (The New Scientist) Next steps after a Bioscience degree (Biochemical Society)

Business Sample CV: Management Development (University of Manchester) Sample CV: Marketing Executive (University of Manchester)

Consulting Writing the perfect consulting CV (Target Jobs) The perfect CV for banking and consulting (Oxford Careers Service)

Engineering & Physics The physicist’s guide to writing your CV (Institute of Physics) Example Physics & Astronomy CV (University of St Andrews) How to write the perfect graduate engineering CV (The Engineer) Convince engineering recruiters you’re perfect for their graduate job (Target Jobs)

International Adapting your CV for international applications (Hays) GoinGlobal: Advice and opportunities (GoinGlobal)

Law Law CV Template (All About Law) 10 ways to get your legal CV noticed by top law recruiters (Target Jobs) Example Law CV (Prospects) Writing a CV (The Law Society)

Media & Communications Creative CVs (University of Leeds) CVs for Media Careers (University of Birmingham) BBC: Writing the perfect CV (BBC) Creating a graduate CV for media and journalism jobs (Target Jobs)

Medicine NHS advice on applications and interviews (NHS) Preparing the perfect medical CV (BMJ)

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Tips for your medical CV (BMA) Guidance on your CV (GMC)

Politics Creating a winning CV (W4MP) How to write a CV for international development (The Guardian) How to write a CV for charity and fundraising roles (The Guardian)

Research and Academia Creating an effective academic CV (Vitae) Example academic CV (University of Oxford)

Teaching Teaching application and CV checklist (Target Jobs) Example teaching CV (Prospects) CV and cover letter examples for teachers (The Guardian)

Technology Example IT CV (Prospects) Technical CV examples (Prospects) Tips for a good graduate technical CV (Target Jobs)

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Final CV Checklist

Before submitting your CV to an employer, use the checklist below to make sure you’re ready!

Getting started

Checked for sector-specific CV rules Researched role, organisation and sector Set reminders to update CV

Structure

Appropriate length (1-2 pages maximum) Reverse chronological order used (most recent experiences first) Logical order used to group similar information together Appropriate subheadings used to section information Most relevant and important experiences prioritised Traditional CV structure followed OR Skills-based CV structure followed

Content

Personal contact details are up-to-date Professional email address is used Age / date of birth and photo not included Education and training section included Employment section with key relevant tasks included Achievements and interests section included

Tailoring

Tailored to match the role and organisation or sector Includes key words from the job description and person specification Includes only the most relevant experiences and information

Style

Statements are supported with evidence and specific examples Used STAR model to evidence skills Positive, active language used to describe achievements Written in past tense Specific words used to quantify achievements Accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar Short and succinct sentences used Bullet points used (new bullet point for a new experience/achievement) Bold used for subheadings and titles Standard font used (Ariel, Times New Roman, Calibri) Body text size 11, heading text size 12-14 Black font colour used CV named with date and full name and saved in a logical folder Saved in PDF format