30 Minutes to Prepare the Perfect CV

By Lynns William

The aim of your CV
The aim of your CV is simply to get you to an interview. To achieve this your CV needs to:

• display your relevant skills and qualities clearly
  
• attract interest
  
• make a good impression

Planning your CV
The purpose of your CV is to motivate a prospective employer to want to interview you. A good CV will show that you:

• understand the requirements of the job
  
• have the specific skills needed
  
• have the right sort of experience
  
• have the necessary personal qualities

Three key points:

• Keep it short - no more than two A4-sized pages, made up of short succinct sections illustrating your skills and experience
  
• Keep it clear - make it easy to read with clear section headings and a well-organised layout that presents the information in a logical, easy to follow style
  
• Keep it relevant - state your achievements, highlight your skills and experience, and cut out unnecessary details which will only obscure stronger points eg negative or out-of-date information

Include:

• wide margins
  
• clear and logical spacing
  
• discrete capital letters, underlining, bold print and italics to emphasize key points

Avoid:

• obscure, hard to read typefaces or fonts
  
• fancy borders and other decorations
  
• alterations and amendments on the page ( if anything needs to be changed, correct the original and print off a new copy )
  
• photographs, personal citations, or anything gimmicky and unprofessional

When sending out your CV

• send it well before the closing date
  
• send it to a named person. If you don't have a name, ring the company switchboard and ask
  
• include a cover-letter written specifically for that job
  
• like your CV, the letter must be printed in a clear, unfussy typeface on good quality plain white paper or cream A4 paper
  
• you can also use the cover-letter for points specifically asked for in the job advertisement that you wouldn't normally put in your CV eg current salary
  
• send letter and CV unfolded in a white A4-size envelope

Compiling your CV

-- Page One --
- Name, address, telephone number, e-mail address

• put all these information in a block paragraph, similar to how a name card would look like

- Personal statement : include this where it will help show your relevant skills and aptitudes more prominently

• personal profile - a short statement of around 30 words outlining your key personal characteristics
  
• Career profile - a concise outline of your career highlights and work experience
  
• Career objective - a statement about the specific career or employment position you're aiming for

- Key points : highlight your most important skills, achievements or qualifications by putting them in a separate, easy-to-read , hard-to-ignore section. Depending in what is most relevant to your position, you can entitle this section:

• Key Skills - outlining your main skills relevant to the job you're applying for
  
• Key qualifications - stating your academic, technical or professional training relevant to the position
  
• Key achievements - showing your chief career accomplishments and suggesting your ability to achieve similar results in the post you're applying for

- Your current job - the rest of your career history can follow overleaf. Include:

• dates of employment
  
• name of employer
  
• job title
  
• a short description of your responsibilities
  
• your key achievements in that position ( if not stated in previous sections ). Point out advantages such as:
  
  • increased productivity
    
  • increased sales or profits
    
  • improved customer relations
    
  • reduced staff turnover
    
  • improved design
    
  • increased efficiency
    
  • winning an award
    
  • improved public profile
    
  • improved employee relations

-- Page Two --
- Career history

• continue on the details of your employment history. The further back in your career, the less the details required

- Education and relevant training

• work-related training gained in your job
  
• academic qualifications
  
• professional qualifications
  
• vocational training
  
• technical writing

- Misc skills that may be relevant

• language skills - define as conversational, business, bilingual or fluent
  
• computer skills - name packages used eg Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop etc
  
• first-aid training
  
• driving license

- Personal details

• your date of birth
  
• interests and hobbies - give brief details especially if they add to or support your stated skills and qualities
  
• special details ( depends on the job requirements )
  
  • nationality if a foreign national or dual nationality
    
  • registered disability
    
  • marital status or gender
    
  • if you're prepared to relocate
    
  • if you're a non-smoker
    
  • clean driving license ... etc

Targeting your CV
To make your CV really relevant, take a close look at the ad. Look out for:

• what they want
• what you've got
• how to match your CV to their needs

From your own skills, qualities and experience

• emphasize those specifically requested
  
• use words and phrases that appear in the ad

Job-specific CV
Different jobs require different emphasis on strengths

The Clerical CV

• specific, practical clerical, administrative and organizational skills
  
• experience
  
• proficiency
  
• abilities to follow procedures and work efficiently with others
  
• dependability

The Sales and Marketing CV

• ability to sell
  
• successful track record
  
• drive and enthusiasm
  
• confidence in your skills
  
• integrity
  

The Technical CV

• qualifications and training
  
• specific technical skills
  
• experience, competence and expertise
  
• dependability and accuracy
  
• methodical, organized approach
  
• ability to work with others as part of the team

The Management CV

• personal qualities that make you a good manager
  
• skill at managing and motivating others
  
• ability to get results
  
• problems-solving skills
  
• interpersonal skills
  
• experience, capability and dependability
  
• drive and determination, and your enthusiasm, energy and commitment

The Creative CV

• track record of effective, creative solutions
  
• understanding of your specific field or discipline
  
• background and experience
  
• ability to work both independently and as a part of a bigger team
  
• flexibility and reliability

The Practical CV

• practical skills and capabilities
  
• hands-on experience
  
• reliability
  
• competence
  
• ability to follow instructions and procedures
  
• ability, also, to think for yourself and use your intelligence
  
• vocational or job-related training

Special Considerations
Scanning : increasingly more companies are using software to carry out a preliminary scan of CVs. If you're aware that your CV is likely to be scanned:

• use plain white paper and print on one side only
  
• use a clear, standard 11- or 12-point font (such as Arial or Optima)
  
• put your name at the top of each page, not just the first one
  
• don't staple or clip pages together
  
• send it unfolded in an A4 envelope -- the scanner may try to read any fold lines
  
• avoid columns (the OCR reads the text from left to right)
  
• add a space in between slashes so that the slash doesn't touch the letters (e.g., IT / IS)
  
• bullet points, italics, bold, underlining and horizontal/vertical lines are okay, as long as the lines do not touch any of the letters.

-- the key words the scanner will be looking for are:

• occupations - teaching, engineering, public relations, retailing, financial management, quality control, customer care etc
  
• positions - manager, programmer, editor, engineer, director
  
• specific skills and qualifications - Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, BSc, ISO90000, etc
  
• workplace skills - designed, evaluated, represented, organized, formulated, developed, etc