Writing Effective CVs

8/11/2019 Writing Effective CVs

1/11

Writing EfectiveCVs

D1-English 1-10-Writing Efective CVs Silvia Girimonti


2/11

Adapted rom www.caterer.com

Skills required

As the hospitality jobs o ten re!"ire very speci#c set o s$ills% it isa&visable to create t'o CVs( a general CV or the in&"stry an& a CVspeci#c to the role or 'hich yo")re applying*

What are employers loo$ing or+

Employers are loo$ing or people 'ho can a&& val"e to their b"sinessby &emonstrating e,ceptional service an& commitment* o".ll bee,pecte& to meet an& greet a variety o c"stomers an& becom ortable &ealing 'ith all sorts o novel sit"ations* A lot ohospitality jobs 'ill also re!"ire yo" to be on yo"r eet or longperio&s o time*

/or these reasons% employers 'ill be loo$ing or people 'ho are

Willing to serve others

olite an& rien&ly

Clean an& neat

2eam players

3ealthy an& #t

Able to thrive "n&er press"re

http://www.caterer.com/http://www.caterer.com/


3/11

Willing to be 4e,ible in their 'or$ing patterns

5n a more senior position% s"ch as a hotel manager% yo")ll bee,pecte& to

6anage a team

Demonstrate commercial sense 'ith promotions an& mar$etingcampaigns

7ecr"it an& train staf

6anage an& report b"&gets an& #g"res



4/11

PAR !" Writing #our CV

2he #rst thing to i&enti y is e,actly 'hich s$ills the employer isloo$ing or* /or e,ample% ront o $ouse staf % s"ch as conciergesan& resta"rant 'or$ers% 'ill nee& c"stomer service s$ills( 'hereasbac$ o ho"se 'or$ers 'ill 'ant to highlight their pro#ciencies 'ithcoo$ing% cleaning an& organising* Write down a list o #our skillsso #ou can re er %ack to it w$en compiling #our CV.

Personal details

6a$e s"re yo" incl"&e yo"r correct a&&ress% telephone an& email&etails* o" &on)t nee& to incl"&e yo"r &ate o birth% nationality orethnic origins an& yo" sho"l&n)t nee& to incl"&e a photo either*

Personal statement

Al'ays remember to concentrate on 'hat yo" can ofer thecompany% not the other 'ay ro"n&* 7emember also to re er bac$ tothe job a&vert or &escription to ma$e s"re yo" highlight yo"r relevants$ills an& e,perience* &on't %e scared to t$ink outside t$e %o(yo" may have &one vol"ntary 'or$ or comm"nity projects an&learne& val"able trans erable s$ills in the process*

Skills overview

2his is arg"ably one o the most important areas on yo"r CV* Al'ays$eep in min& the ollo'ing points 'hen 'riting it

3o' &oes yo"r e,perience #t in 'ith yo"r employer)s nee&s+

3ave yo" receive& any recognition or a'ar&s or yo"r 'or$ inthe past% e*g*% employee o the month+

Do yo" have any relevant statistics or #g"res that &emonstrateyo"r achievements+

/rom a linguistic point o view % there are 237EE &iferent ormsthat yo" can "se to en"merate yo"r s$ills

1. ast participle e*g*% communicated efectively with a greatrange o customers.

2. resent participle or ger"n& e*g*% communicating efectivelywith a great

3. 8o"ns e*g*% efective communication with a great

http://www.caterer.com/careers-advice/cvs/what-are-transferable-skills-on-a-hospitality-cvhttp://www.caterer.com/careers-advice/cvs/what-are-transferable-skills-on-a-hospitality-cv


5/11

Career $istor#

Again% a vital part o yo"r hospitality CV* Emphasise the parts o yo"rcareer history that are most relevant to the position yo")re applying

or* /or e,ample% i yo")re c"rrently in a bar job% b"t are applying orthe position o concierge% tal$ abo"t yo"r c"stomer service s$ills an&yo"r ability to comm"nicate an& efectively serve a broa& range oc"stomers*

Education and training

Asi&e rom any aca&emic !"ali#cations% employers 'ill 'ant yo" to

tell them abo"t any training yo")ve "n&erta$en% s"ch as oo& sa etytraining% or health an& sa ety co"rses* Since yo")ll be &ealing 'ith thep"blic or most jobs in hospitality% &on)t be shy abo"t mentioningthings li$e #rst ai& co"rses either*

Volunteer and c$arit# work

Employers 'ill be impresse& i yo")ve got e,perience in r"nning orparticipating in charity campaigns% as it sho's commitment an& a'illingness to see a project thro"gh to the en&* 5t also sho's that yo"are mat"re an& have a sense o responsibility to the general

comm"nity* 9"t please &on)t lie:Additional skills and e(perience

2his is or anything else yo" eel might be relevant to the job* o"co"l& mention any other lang"ages yo" spea$% any s$ills ore,perience 'ith oo& preparation or coc$tail ma$ing% any cashhan&ling s$ills% even a typing spee&* Al'ays remember to lin$ it bac$to the job yo")re applying or* 2here)s little val"e in mentioning yo"have a typing spee& o ;0 'or&s per min"te i yo")re applying to be a'aiter:

Personal attri%utes

9"il&ing a career in hospitality means having the rig$t attitude an&personalit#) 'hich is 'hy incl"&ing a personal attrib"tes section canreally &emonstrate ho' yo" 'o"l& be val"able to a partic"laremployer* 5t)s not essential to incl"&e this section% especially i yo")vecovere& it in yo"r personal statement% b"t it)s certainlyrecommen&e& i yo" have little or no relevant e,perience*

ersonal attrib"tes might incl"&e

Well presente&



6/11

Con#&ent comm"nicator

7esponsible% reliable an& honest

/ast learner

"nct"al

Re erences

A simple )re erences available on re!"est) 'ill s"


7/11

5t.s !"ite easy to get this 'rong% b"t a han&y little tric$ is to replaceits 'ith $is ?or hers@ an& see i the te,t still ma$es sense*

/ts is simply a gen&erless version o $is an& $ers * 5 the sentencestill ma$es sense% yo".ve got the right one* >i$e'ise 'ith it s j"streplace it 'ith it is to test its coherence*

5ncorrect /ts easy to get a job in hospitality 'hen yo" have theright CV*

5ncorrect A !"ali#cation 'on.t g"arantee yo" a job on it s o'n(yo" also have to have the right attit"&e*

Correct With so many job a&s% it s not s"rprising thatCaterer*com is the 8o* 1 choice or hospitality recr"itment*

Correct A hospitality CV sho"l& impress employers as m"ch asits o'ner 'o"l&*

,istake 2" Apostrop$es and plurals"

o" sho"l& 8EVE7 "se an apostrophe be ore the S in a pl"ral% even'hen pl"ralising abbreviations li$e DVD or CD*

5ncorrect 5 thin$ there may be a e' t#po s on my CV*

5ncorrect 5 have &iferent CV s or &iferent job applications*

Correct 2here)s no reason 'hy yo" sho"l& have to incl"&ephotos 'ith CVs.

,istake 3" $eir) $e# re and $ere

Also the possibility o spelling t$eir 'rongly even i yo" manage to

"se it in the right conte,t: $e# re is a contraction o t$e# are (t$eir is possessive% meaning %elonging to % an&t$ere is a location*

5ncorrect $eir are more possible mista$es 'ith these three'or&s than 'e can list here:

Correct Where are t$eir CVs+

Correct $e# re over t$ere.

,istake 4" Accept vs. E(cept

o" sho"l& accept the job ofer% e(cept i yo" &on.t 'ant it*

http://www.caterer.com/sitecore/content/catererhttp://www.caterer.com/sitecore/content/caterer


8/11

,istake 5" Could a) s$ould a) would a

A mista$e people o ten ma$e is 'riting 'or&s as they so"n&* 5t.s easyto get convince& that $ave sho"l& be spelt o % since 'e say it say so!"ic$ly* 9"t never let it creep into yo"r 'riting:

5ncorrect 5 'o"l& o got that job intervie' i 5 ha&n.t ma&e all thosespelling mista$es on my cover letter*

Correct es% yo" 'o"l& $ave.



9/11

,istake 6" +oose vs. +ose

>oose is an a&jective% lose is a verb 'e.& all li$e to have a bit oloose change% b"t 'e)& hate to lose it* An& yo" &e#nitely 'o"l&n.t'ant to lose o"t on a job beca"se o poor spelling*

,istake 7" /t s all a%out #ou 0not #oursel 1

5ncorrect Will that be =B or #oursel 8

5ncorrect o" have to motivate #ou to get all the 'or$ &one*

Correct o" sho"l& sen& an email to #oursel as a remin&er*

Correct As 5 mentione& previo"sly to #ou9

Al'ays% al'ays as$ someone 'ith a goo& grasp o English to rea&yo"r CV over be ore yo" sen& it*

PAR 2" /nefective CVs

3ere there is a list o :ve t$ings t$at are guaranteed to put an#recruiter of. 2a$e a loo$ at yo"r CV no' an& see i yo".ve incl"&e&

any o them!. ;ne(plained gaps

2here.s nothing more s"spect on a CV than an "ne,plaine& gap% s"chas a e' months bet'een jobs% or a year a ter college be ore yo"r#rst job* 9"t i yo" &i& something li$e travelling an& broa&ening yo"rhori ons% that)s great: se it as a positive thing an& &on)t shy a'ay

rom mentioning it*

*. ;nnecessar# negatives

8o &o"bt there.s a very goo& reason 'hy yo" le t yo"r last job( an&it)s probably beca"se yo" realise& yo" 'ere e& "p 'ith the job oryo" ha& nightmare colleag"es* 9"t &on.t try to e,plain it on yo"r CV*

"st state the act that yo".re no' available or 'or$% an& i the iss"ecomes "p at intervie'% then go into the &etails* 3o'ever% never criticise yo"r ol& company at intervie'*

2. /rrelevant detail

5t.s goo& to incl"&e personal interests an& hobbies* 5t sho's yo" havea li e o"tsi&e 'or$ an& are a 'ell-ro"n&e& person* 9"t be'are oincl"&ing too m"ch irrelevant &etail*



10/11

3. Vague claims and clic$


11/11

Employers every'here val"e these s$ills beca"se they mean yo" cansolve problems an& satis y c"stomers an& it.s no &iferent 'henyo".re loo$ing or hotel an& resta"rant jobs* Goo& interpersonal s$illsan& organisational ability are probably the most important abilitiesyo" can ofer% along 'ith high energy an& the enth"siasm to 'or$ asa part o a team* An& &on.t orget the essentials

"nct"ality

Goo& time management

Attention to &etail

Ability an& 'illingness to enlist help 'hen necessary

Willingness to accept responsibility

o" can &evelop all o these in j"st abo"t any role* 5 yo".re j"ststarting o"t% yo" can e,plain ho' yo" &evelope& them &"ring yo"re&"cation or as part o hobbies an& activities* 2o get a better i&ea othe re!"irements% loo$ at a&verts or the sort o hospitality jobsyo".re intereste& in* See 'hat s$ills are mentione& 'hich &o yo"have an& 'hich &o yo" nee& to 'or$ on+


Writing Effective CVs

Documents

Transcript of Writing Effective CVs