CV Confidence

CV Confidence
Clare J aques 2003-2006

All rights reserved. You may circulate this book, free of charge, to friends, family and work
colleagues, as long as you do not edit it in any way.
All contents remain copyright of Clare J aques and Interview Stuff.
Clare J aques 2006 Interview Stuff 1

Table Of Contents

1. What A Great CV Or Resume Can Do For You.............................................................. 5
Evaluate My Current CV...................................................................................... 6
Get Someone Else To Write It?......................................................................... 10

2. The 12 Powerful Questions........................................................................................... 12
What Is My Unique Advantage?........................................................................ 18

3. Why Should I Customise My CV / Resume? ................................................................ 23
Who Am I Writing This CV For? ........................................................................ 26

4. Do Your Homework ..................................................................................................... 30
Where Can I Look?............................................................................................ 36
What The Recruiters Really Looking For ......................................................... 39
5. What The Recruiter ReallyLooking For......................................................................... 39
Reading Between The Lines ............................................................................. 42
Collect Ingredients For My Master CV.............................................................. 47
6. Collect Ingredients For My Master CV.......................................................................... 47
Main Elements Of Your Master CV................................................................... 48
CVs Use Unique Grammar................................................................................ 56
Common CV Problems...................................................................................... 69
7. Common CV Problems ................................................................................................. 69
How To Handle Problems ................................................................................. 70
8. The Worst CV Mistakes And How To Avoid Them....................................................... 77
The Worst 5 CV Clichs.................................................................................... 77
Top 10 CV Mistakes.......................................................................................... 79

9. Getting The Words Right............................................................................................... 84

10. Finishing Touches....................................................................................................... 89
Keys To An Easy-To-Read CV.......................................................................... 90
What To Include................................................................................................ 95
Which Bits To Chop Out.................................................................................. 102
Pulling It Together ........................................................................................... 104
Getting A Second Opinion............................................................................... 105

11. Compelling Cover Letter ........................................................................................... 107
Excellent Cover Letter Resource..................................................................... 115

12. Application Checklist................................................................................................. 118

13. And Finally............................................................................................................. 121

14. Exercise Templates................................................................................................... 123
Sample CVs And Resumes............................................................................. 140

Its up to you whether you work through CV Confidence in sequence or just pick the exercises that
seem most relevant to you. Bear in mind that some of the exercises build on previous topics, so you
may need to go back and do some background thinking. The instructions make it clear where this is
the case.

Introduction

By being focused and having a structured
approach to writing your CV, it can be much
easier and less stressful than the traditional
last-minute panic at 2 a.m., the night before
the submission deadline.

You can find the evidence you need to support
your job application even if you need to get
creative and look outside of your standard
work experience.

CV Confidence takes you through a structured
process for creating your interview-winning CV
and starting your interview preparation.

Although the term CV is used, most of the
information applies equally well to a resume or
job application form.

Where specific resume resources might be
useful, weve included links to relevant
websites.

Interview Stuff Supports Action Against
Hunger
CV Confidence is
available free of charge.
It's important to us that
you can get hold of the advice you need,
whenever you need it.
It's also important to us to support our
nominated charity, Action Against Hunger.
So if you've find this guide useful, we invite you
to make a donation to Action Against Hunger.
Of course, it's entirely your decision and
there's no pressure. We simply offer this option
because some people like to "pay it forward".
CV Confidence takes you through the four
basic stages for writing an interview-winning
CV:

Lay the foundations
Review your current CV (if you have one),
work experience and qualifications from
the point of view of your target audience
(the recruiter). Learn how to predict what
a recruiters really looking for.

Pull together your Master CV
This document will be like the store
cupboard of ingredients for any job
application. It makes it much quicker to
pull out the relevant evidence for each job
you apply for. This section also covers the
typical mistakes people make that cost
them interviews and show you how to
avoid them.

Finishing Touches
If youve laid the foundations and pulled
together your Master CV, then tailoring
your application for a specific role
becomes an easy process. This section
gives you advice on how to select what to
include and what to chop out.

Creating a Compelling Cover Letter
Many a CV has been let down by a bland,
formulaic cover letter. This single-page is
your chance to create a great first
impression and get the reader interested
in you. That gives you a huge advantage
over other candidates.


1

What A Great CV Or Resume
Can Do For You

Your CV is so much more than 2 sheets of
paper or 1000 words.

Make it do its job and get you the interview.


1
What A Great CV Or
Resume Can Do For You
It gets you the interview.

Why its so much more
than 2 sheets of paper
and 1000 words
Your CV will introduce you to your potential
new employer and get them interested.
It will get them curious before the interview.
They read hundreds of CVs. Make sure yours
is one they will remember! It can get you onto
the A list as the number 1 preferred
candidate, before the interview.
What will this do for you?
It can make the interviewer positively biased
towards you. They are more likely to look for
the positives in your interview, overlooking the
negatives.
Isnt this the kind of competitive advantage
youd like to have?
Your CV is designed to get you an interview.
But its impact can reach so much further:

Your self-confidence will soar
as you start to focus on what you have
done well, rather than dwelling on
negatives. This can also help you improve
your working performance, getting you
even better annual reviews.

Your customised CV will show your
potential employer how you can meet
the needs of their organisation.
It will demonstrate what you can add to the
role. It will also give them an idea about
how you would fit in with the team and how
you can rise to the challenge of making the
role your own. A generalist CV wont do this
for you.
Your CV helps you prepare for the
interview.
As you read through it beforehand, you can
pre-empt the questions they will ask. You
can influence this further by deliberately
writing your CV to provoke certain
questions! This helps you prepare for the
interview and feel more confident. It often
becomes a script that forms a basis for
interview discussion.

A great CV can cut weeks or even
months off your job-hunting process.
It saves you not just time, but effort, money
and painful disappointment. You will only
be applying for jobs you really want and will
stand a much greater chance of getting
them. If your current CV hasnt got you the
job you want, then its costing you cash;
both in lost pay rises and in attending
interviews for jobs youre not getting.

When you get the job offer, you can use
your CV as leverage to optimise your
position, once negotiations start.
A great CV could even lead to a 10%+pay
rise and an increase in benefits package. A
poor CV has been shown to lead to a
smaller pay rise. Can you afford to have a
poor CV and throw away that extra
income?

Your CV is an investment in
your future.
A great CV can help you create
the future you want.
Are you ready to start creating
your future now?


Evaluate My Current CV
Time to be objective

What is a CV?
Curriculum Vitae =Latin for Course of
Life
A brief account of ones education,
qualifications and previous occupations
(Oxford English Dictionary)
An employers first contact with you. (Note:
their second is often your voicemail, so
check out your message!)
A 1-2 page summary of the key skills,
achievements and competencies you have
developed so far, tailored to the job for
which you are applying
A summary of your professional history
An honest, free-flowing, positively phrased
account of your suitability for a particular
position
A tool to sell you to the recruiter

What a CV is NOT
Your entire life history
All the details about every job youve ever
had
A novel
A boring and predictable list of events
A blanket, formulaic, one size fits all
application

What is a CV for?
Marketing your strengths, not shouting your
weaknesses
Making the most of what you have
achieved
Getting you the number one position on the
interview pile. Dont just aim for an
interview. Why not aim to be the number
one preferred candidate at the start? It
makes an amazing difference.
Giving you confidence when applying for
jobs, because you know youre suitably
qualified
Inspiring you to perform at your best in
interview, where your CV will often be used
as a basis for discussion
Encouraging the interviewer to be curious
about you and wanting to get to know you
better; inspiring the recruiter to want you on
their team
Giving the recruiter strong enough evidence
that you could do the job theyre offering

Do you already have a CV? For the purpose of the next exercise it doesnt matter if its a bit out of
date. The point of this is just to get a sense of what its like to review a strangers CV, so you can start
to rewrite your CV from the recruiters perspective. This means youll be including the information they
need in the way they want to see it. It gives you a big head start over other candidates.
You may find it easier to have a trusted friend or colleague review your CV for you it can be quite
difficult to step outside ourselves and review a document about our personal history.

Exercise 1: Evaluate Your Current CV
Dont worry if some of your answers to these questions leave you feeling your CV needs to improve:
its going to! These questions are simply designed to help you see where you need to make changes
and to help show you how much your CV will have improved, by the end of this process. J ust give the
exercise your best shot whichever questions you complete, they will help you improve your CV.

Imagine yourself as the recruiter or HR executive.
Imagine opening the email or envelope and starting to read your CV.
Bear in mind that it has a matter of seconds to make an impression.
Click here for a blank form

What would your first impression of the candidate be?

How easy is it for you to find the information youre looking for in the CV?

What does the CV show as the candidates strengths?

Exercise continues on next page

As a potential employer, what might your concerns be?

How would you rate this CV? (Marks out of 10) /10

What would your overall impression of the CV be?

How likely would you be to remember this applicant, in general?

What is the 1 thing you would remember about the applicant?

Would you call the candidate for an interview? Why is that?

Well done for completing this exercise.

Some people find this the hardest exercise in
this book, because you have to be objective
about a document that you have spent hours
preparing and were often not used to
critiquing a CV. It can be difficult for us to
accept that our hard work in pulling the
document together might be hindering our
chances of getting interviews and job offers.
Accepting that you need to improve your CV is
the first step towards creating a great CV that
will get you the job you want.

Its useful to capture what you have learned
from this exercise, before moving on to the
next section. So spend a few moment
answering the next two questions.

What surprises or insights did you have from
this exercise?

Are there any areas on your CV that you want
to pay particular attention to, when we get to
the next phase of preparation? Write them
here, to make it easy to remember.

Would you like a second opinion?

Steve Holmes from CV
Services offers a free CV
review to job hunters.

Career Assist offer a resume review service.

Having reviewed your current CV, were ready
to move on to structuring the new, improved
version.


Get Someone Else To Write It?
Tough Decision

Writing your CV or resume yourself is
undoubtedly the best option.

However, there are times when you want or
need outside help.

The positive side of using a
bespoke CV writing service is that
you will get a CV that does justice
to your experience and could
increase your chances of getting
an interview.

The potential risk is that your CV or resume
isnt written by an expert, but is churned into a
formulaic template by a typist.

Here are some top tips for using a CV /
resume writing service:

1. Ask to see samples of the company's work.
2. What background does the writer have?
Make sure its not just typing, but includes
copy-writing or recruitment, if possible.
3. Make sure you understand how they create
your CV. Bear in mind the finished product
will only be as good and interesting as the
information you provide.
4. Make sure you know your CV inside out. It
could be really embarrassing to get to the
interview and be "found out" for not having
written your own CV.
5. Get advice on how to tailor / customise your
CV for each role. If the agency doesnt
recommend this, dont use them!
6. Expect to pay for quality. You should get at
least 30-60 minutes on the phone, so they
can get to know you and your experience.
7. If youre not happy with the results, use the
companys refund guarantee and go
somewhere else. Never send off a CV
youre not happy with.

Steve Holmes from CV Services is an expert
who has written thousands of job interview
winning CVs.
His approach can be somewhat blunt and is
definitely down-to-earth,
but he knows what hes
doing.

Ryan Healy is from
Professional Resume
Writer has a proven
track record in
creating resumes that
get job offers.

At the end of the day, only you can decide who
to ask to write your CV / resume. Trust your
instincts!

The next section takes you back to basics;
thinking about your key strengths and helping
you uncover what you have to offer a future
employer. These questions can be quite a
confidence boost, as they allow you to focus
on the positive aspects of your career to date,
writing about your achievements and what
value you added.

2

12 Essential Questions

The 12 powerful questions that make CV
writing simple

How to include your spark and get the
readers attention.


2
The 12 Powerful Questions
That Make CV Writing Simple

(and theyre great for interview preparation)

Most people write their CVs by
producing a list of relevant
jobs, responsibilities and
qualifications and trying to squeeze them onto
two pages.

Thats ok, as long as you dont mind having a
CV that looks the same as the other 100 the
recruiter is reviewing.

Time and again we ask recruiters what theyre
looking for in a CV, when deciding who to
interview. The answer comes back:

A spark
something that gets them
intrigued; makes them want to
find out more.

In fact, even a candidate who doesnt have the
textbook experience for the role might get an
interview if their CV gets the reader hooked.

Recruiters tell us theyre often prepared to
consider taking on someone who is under-
qualified, if its clear theyll add something to
the team or develop their role.

Aside from the function-specific skills and
experience you will be expected to
demonstrate, recruiters are looking for a more
general understanding of your personality and
character. But its important to be subtle about
how you do this; your own, personal spark
might be work related or to do with your
hobbies. The next few sections will help you
identify it and include it professionally in your
CV.

The following 12 questions make writing your
CV much easier and faster. It is worth
spending time thinking about your responses,
because you will find they form a fundamental
part of writing your CV.

By knowing the answers to these, you will find
yourself easily able to identify key
achievements for your CV and being able to
give quick, compelling answers in an interview.

J ust imagine never again having to endure the
embarrassing silence, as you desperately rack
your brains for an example to illustrate your
skills!

Think about being able to impress the
interviewer, as you clearly stay relaxed under
pressure, where other candidates would be
fighting for answers.

Exercise 2: The 12 Questions
Take a few moments to think about your responses. You may need more space than is provided.
1. Outline of my career so far:

2. My strengths are


3. My development areas / weak points are

4. Which key things have I learned (either concrete skills or about my personal attributes)?

5. What have been my biggest achievements?

6. What wouldnt have happened, if I hadnt worked in my current / previous roles?


7. What do I have to offer my next employer?

8. What evidence can I provide to back up my claims?

9. What will my current boss miss about me when I leave?

10. What will my colleagues say about me when I leave?


11. What will my direct reports say about me?

12. Why do I want to change jobs?

The answers you have given will have started
to trigger thought processes that will make
writing your CV much easier and faster. They
can provide a framework for the examples you
want to give, illustrating what you bring to your
new employer.

At this stage, its a good idea to reflect on your
responses.

Go back through the previous 12 questions
and use a highlighter or coloured pen to mark
any significant points or surprises.

Think about how you might want to weave
some of these into your CV or cover letter. As
you are marking the key points, keep in mind
the context of the industry or profession in
which you want to work and think about which
parts of what you have written would
particularly appeal to potential employers.
Make sure you have focused on positives for
this exercise.

There may be some negative aspects that
have surfaced, but the aim here is to
concentrate on identifying what you are doing
well, to make it easier to get the job you want.

If you find you have written down too many
negative things (i.e. you arent feeling
confident and optimistic at the end of the
exercise), then re-do it, only writing down
positive, supportive comments.

Notice how much difference that makes.

Whats next?

The next stage is to pull out what it is that
you have to offer that separates you from
other candidates.

In todays competitive job market, applying for
a job is just like marketing a product. As top
marketers say, you have to differentiate
(prove how your product is different from your
competitors) or your product doesnt stand a
chance.

In this case, the product you are marketing is
you.

If you cant show that you are different from the
other candidates, you are less likely to get the
job. You need to be able to quickly and easily
show what you have to offer the company that
no one else has.

And its a fact:

you have a unique blend of
experience, job skills and
personal characteristics,
which no one else can offer.

Thats your Unique Advantage.

So how can you work out what your Unique
Advantage is?

The next exercise guides you through this
process.


What Is My Unique Advantage?
How to capture that spark

Imagine you bumped into the manager
recruiting for the job you want in a lift or on an
escalator. You have 30 seconds to explain why
they should recruit you, rather than all the
other applicants.

What would you say? The last thing you want
to be is tongue-tied.

These days, with fierce competition, you need
to differentiate yourself from other applicants.
Theres a strong chance that a number of
candidates will have suitable qualifications and
experience for the job, so how can you make
sure they choose you, above the others?

Help them see the advantages of
recruiting you.

What is it that makes you different?

When you distil these advantages into a
phrase or a few short phrases, they can guide
you through the CV and cover letter writing
process. Its critical that these concepts are
captured in the words of your application.

These essential words will potentially form part
of the opening paragraph of your CV. They
may appear in your cover letter and they can
be the essence of you that is cleverly woven
through-out your application, so its worth
giving them some thought.

How do I work out my Unique Advantage?

You need to work out what it is that makes you
the person that you are. And how you are
different from other people.

Its not always easy to work out, if youre just
sitting and thinking, so the next exercise
guides you through a process that produces
results. There are many ways to find your
Unique Advantage, but this is one of the
simplest.

You may find it easier if you have trusted
friends or colleagues to ask, to help stimulate
ideas. You could also refer back to previous
appraisals or performance reviews.

Think back to feedback youve had from
people. What did they say when they told you
that you were doing well?

Exercise 3: Unique Advantage
Go through the 12 questions from the last exercise (2: The 12 Questions) with a coloured pen
and mark the things that are unusual in your skills. What sets you apart from other people?
What in your history could provide that unique spark that will catch the recruiters attention?
When you have pulled out the key points, jot them on index cards or in the boxes below.

If you employ me, you get If you employ me, you get





When you look at the boxes of your differentiating attributes, which seem most compelling?
Note: it may be different for different jobs, so you may need to revisit this exercise for each
application.

Relax and jot down some short sentences or phrases that would capture the key points you have
highlighted.

Phrases that capture the real me and my talents:

Which of these phrases grab your attention? Which sum you up the best? These are the features
that form your Unique Advantage. If you want, you can distil them into a single phrase or
sentence.
Write them in the box below or on a separate card. Keep them in front of you whenever
you are working on your CV.
They will help you keep focussed on the real you, which will help your key selling points shine
through every section of your CV and will get you closer to the job you want.

My Unique Advantage is:

Keep this in front of you whenever youre
working on your CV or interview preparation.


3

Why Should I Customise My
CV?

Sure-fire strategies to make sure your CV
doesnt end up in the bin.

And it only takes a couple of hours


3
Why Should I Customise
My CV / Resume?
How to max your interview chances

By this stage, you should have
a clear idea of the kind of role
or the type of company you
would like to work for.

There are two main ways of submitting your
CV for a job application:

1. Have your CV on a CV database (usually
through a recruiter or job search engine),
so the same CV is sent for all applications.
2. Submit a unique, tailored CV for each job
application, which highlights your specific
experience thats relevant for that role.

If you have the choice, we recommend option
(2) tailoring your CV for a particular
application.

Why?

Because each job is different, requiring
different skills and experience. If you subtly
include the most relevant information in your
application, you increase your chances of
getting an interview.

We were involved with the recruitment process
for a Head of Market Research vacancy with a
major household brand. The job advert
attracted over 100 responses, which was high
for that level of position. Some applicants had
sent relevant CVs, clearly focusing on the
company and the specific roles requirements.
Almost all of these made it into the consider
seriously pile.
Some applicants had sent blatantly standard
CVs and cover letters even addressed to
Dear Sir, although the female HR advisors
name was in the job advert.
Many applicants were interested in Marketing,
rather than Market Research, and had no
relevant experience they hadnt bothered to
check the job description in the advert. They
had simply seen Market in the job title and
probably wanted to work for the company,
rather than do that particular job.
None of them got interviews. Yet, had they
explained why they wanted to transfer into
Market Research and highlighted their relevant
experience, they might have got through.
One candidate included an opening paragraph
that included the sentence, Ive always
wanted to work in IT procurement Instant
rejection.
This type of mistake is not uncommon, when
blanket applying for jobs. If you wont go the
extra mile to check and subtly tailor your CV,
then a potential employer wont believe you will
put in the extra effort if you worked for them
and youre less likely to get the job.

Employers want to feel that youre interested
about them and their business; and not just
trying your luck with every job ad you come
across. You can make things much harder for
yourself by giving the impression you cant be
bothered to make even an hours effort to fine-
tune your CV.

If theyre not taking us
seriously, why should we bother
with them?
was a quote from one HR
manager.

Even with option (1) database submission,
theres more flexibility now than there used to
be. Many sites will allow you to submit multiple
CVs, because they understand that you want
to bring out the best in your experience for
each role you apply for.

If the agency youre applying through requires
a standard CV, remember that this to makes
their job easier and speed up the recruitment
process. If theyve got a client banging on the
door for CVs now, then they might not want to
hang around for you to spend a week polishing
your best prose.

In this case, the best start is to customise your
CV as much as possible for the industry and
types of role for which you want to apply.

If the recruiter comes to you with a particular
job in mind, you can usually persuade them to
accept a tailored CV by explaining to them that
it is in their best interests: they get paid for
filling the vacancy if you provide a tailored
CV, you are more likely to get the job and they
are more likely to get their fee.

By completing the Pull Together Your Master
CV sections of this book, youll be in a
position to produce a professional, well-tailored
CV in just a couple of hours, so you wont be
slowing down the recruitment process.

Will they really notice?
We recommend you write your CV with a
specific role or company type in mind. Why?

Because a recruiter can spot a one size fits
all CV from a great distance.
In todays tough job hunting world, there can
be hundreds of applicants for each position.

Employers arent just looking for someone with
the right skills and experience. They also want
someone who will fit in to the companys
culture and who is enthusiastic about working
there. If they see a standard CV and cover
letter, it means your CV will have to work even
harder to overcome the less favourable first
impression.

Spending a little time preparing,
before writing your CV, can make
the difference between ending up
on the maybe reserve pile or the
must interview list. Where would
you rather be?

But doesnt tailoring my CV take time?
Yes.
The solution? Only apply for jobs you
actually want.

It may sound strange, but thousands of people
apply for jobs they dont really want. It can
happen quite easily.
When job hunting, you can get into a frame of
mind where you think that the more roles you
apply for, the more job offers you will get.

In the unlikely event that this happens, youll
probably get offers of jobs you dont really
want. And the time you have spent at
interviews for these positions is time you could
have spent focusing on and following up
applications you were excited about.

This is a particularly common theme when job-
hunting via the internet. Often you cant even

tell which company is offering the vacancy. In
these situations, it pays to try to find out more,
before applying.

Usually, if you contact the agency direct and
can show youre a highly suitable candidate,
they will give you more information.

Sometimes they have had to introduce a policy
of not telling candidates the companys name,
because people have bypassed them, by
applying direct.

In these situations, you should use your best
influencing skills to reassure the recruiter and
find out who the company is. After all, no
matter how attractive the description, you
wouldnt agree to buy a house without seeing
exactly where it is. Similarly, the most
appealing job at the wrong company wont
meet your needs.

You will save yourself so much time, worry and
energy by only applying for jobs that you are
interested in and where you can demonstrate a
number of the skills required.

Do you really want to have to keep taking days
off to go to interviews, only to find you are
wasting your time?

Selecting which jobs to apply for takes a little
time, but it pays dividends because you will
have a more enticing CV, get more interviews,
perform better in those interviews and get job
offers for positions that you actually want!

How can I work out which jobs to apply for?
There is a great online test you can take, to
help you decide which jobs would be most
suitable for you. Its been developed by MAPP
at Assessment.com.

All you have to do is fill in a questionnaire and
theyll email you a free report on the career
and roles that would most suit you.


Who Am I Writing This CV For?
Writing for your audience is
essential

Are you writing a CV with a particular
position in mind?
Are you writing a CV with a general job
function or category in mind, to tailor if
necessary?
We dont recommend writing a generalist Ill
do anything CV. If youre still not sure what
you want to do, then its worth having some 1:1
coaching to help you discover the types of role
you would enjoy and which would move you
closer to your dream job.
Even if your generalist CV is excellent, there
will be plenty of other applicants who have
written their CV with a specific role or at least
job function in mind. Do you really want to
give them a head start?

Are you writing your CV in response to a
particular ad?
If yes, then work through the next sections as
they are written, based on the job advert you
have chosen.

What Do I Do If I Havent Found An Ad Yet?
Before writing your CV, you should at least
have a good idea of the type of position you
want to apply for (e.g. finance, marketing,
sales, manufacturing, engineering design,
management), or its more difficult to write a
good CV.

You can use the rest of the exercises in this
section to find out more about the
qualifications, experience and characteristics
required by key employers for these markets.
This is a great start for preparing your Master
CV, prior to job hunting.

With each exercise, think more generally about
the profession you want to work in. Apply the
questions to your ideal company. This will help
you prepare your CV and will be good
background research for interviews.

Its a good idea to read through the company-
specific sections anyway, as these will help
you prepare for your job interviews.

You have seen an advert or job specification that interests you. What next?

Exercise 4: Vetting A Job Advert
Make a note in the table below of what specifically excites or intrigues you about the role. This may be
something about the function, the challenges offered, the benefits package, having a team to manage
or the companys image, or many other reasons.

Would this job move you closer towards your outcome? Its important to ask this particular vetting
question, because you can almost guarantee that, at some point, the interviewer will ask you where
you see yourself in 5-10 years time. They want to see how this role fits into your career plan. If it
doesnt, they might think youll only do the job for a short time, before leaving to work elsewhere. This
is likely to reduce your chances of getting a job offer.


What, specifically, interests, intrigues or excites me about this role?

Is there anything I dont like or disadvantages about this role?


Being honest, is this role a good match for what I wanted to do next?

How does this position fit with where I want to be going long-term? Would this choice support my 5-
10 year vision? *

Do I still want to apply for this job? Yes No Not sure

Be honest with yourself! If this job wont move
you closer to your outcome and doesnt
support your 5-10 year vision, then you need
to review what it will give you. Or maybe you
need to reconsider what youre looking for?
* This is a critical question, because it should
be the driving force of your applications.
Review it for every application. Its effectively
your long-term goal.

Once you have decided you want to reply to a
job advert, many people would draft a quick
cover letter and send off their CV. You can
dramatically improve your chances by doing
some detective work first.

Its time to research the company.

4

Do Your Homework

Why researching the employer is so vital to
your job application.

How to use the information to help you get an
interview..


4
Do Your Homework
Why doing your homework is so
important

Youve decided to apply for a
position in a particular company.
You have the job advert or
description and could start to
write your CV now.
But spending a little time finding out more
about the company will deliver seven main
benefits:

1. Help you better understand what the
companys ideal employee would be
like, so you can make sure your CV
illustrates your suitability (big head start!).

2. It can help you decide whether you want
to work for the company.

3. You should have a good idea whats
important to you about a working
environment. Its important to check out
whether a potential employer will be able to
satisfy these needs, before you apply.
Imagine going through the whole
recruitment process, being offered the job,
then realising you dont want it. That would
be a waste of time, effort and money, which
could have been better spent chasing a job
you actually want. Worse still, you might
even accept the job and quickly find you
werent happy, causing you to start the job
hunting process again and have an
awkwardly short job to explain on your CV.
4. You can get more excited about your
application and put more energy into it,
if you have researched the company and
really decided youd like to work there. This
will shine through in your CV, cover letter
and any contact you have with the
company. Employers like people who are
enthusiastic about their business.

5. Understanding more about the company
culture can even influence the layout of
your CV. Some companies want a more
conservative layout than one for, say, a
graphic design agency. Bear in mind the
culture and expectations of any
intermediary (e.g. a recruitment agency).

6. Knowing more about the company can
influence how you handle the interview
and the types of questions you will ask the
interviewer. It gives you a head start over
other candidates, because you will be able
to give examples that are relevant to the
companys market and competitive
environment. Showing an understanding
of the companys potential business
challenges is one of the easiest ways to
impress in a cover letter or an interview.
It shows enthusiasm and business insight.

7. The interviewer will expect you to have
done your homework , if you are
applying for a professional position, for
which there has been much competition.
You can disadvantage your application by
claiming to be passionate about the
company and its brand, but not even
bothering to look through its website.

8. You never know when your CV might
lead to an impromptu telephone
screening interview so, if youre serious
about a job, its worth being prepared!

Dont worry if you cant answer all the
questions. Some of them may not be relevant
to the industry you work in. Its a good idea to
refer back to this exercise and add to your
answers, as you discover more about the
company or industry.
Exercise 5: How much do you know about
the company?
Depending who youre hoping to work for,
chances are you already know quite a lot
about them.
Maybe they are a household name. Maybe
theyre a local employer and you know people
who work there. Whatever your level of
awareness of the company and its market, its
worth spending a few minutes brainstorming
what you already know.

If you dont know much about the company
yet, potential research sources are given later
in this chapter.

The questions below are a starting point. Feel
free to add questions of your own.

What is your current impression of the company? What do you like or dislike about it, based on
your current level of knowledge?

What is the public reputation or image of this company?

What is the main business of the company?


Do you know anyone who works there who you could talk to about the company? Do you know
anyone who knows anyone who works there? Make the most of your contacts!

What size is the company? (number of employees, turnover, international subsidiaries, etc)

How is the company currently performing? (e.g. market share, profits, other relevant measures,
are there any plans for expansion / takeovers)

Where would the advertised role fit within the companys structure and plans?


What do you know about its culture?

Does the company have a published vision or mission statement?

What do you know about what its like to work there?

What is the likelihood of your top values being satisfied by working there?


How would the company describe its ideal employee? What types of skills and characteristics
would they have?

Are there any buzz words that the company or industry uses in its literature. (You might include
these in your interview).

What would be the pros and cons of working for this company?

Question: Do I still want this job?
Yes
No
Not sure
Be honest with yourself!

What Do I Want To Find Out
The importance of narrowing your
research

Do you want to find out more about the
company, before making a decision?
What did you learn from completing the
previous exercise?
You dont need to know everything, before
applying for a job or going for an interview.
Time is often a constraint, so its important to
find a balance between researching the
company, preparing for the next stage of
your application and maintaining your
performance in your current job.
Go through your answers to Exercise 5 with a
highlighter pen highlight the questions that
particularly interested you or were important
for the job application.
Do you have adequate answers to all the
questions you highlighted?
List below the areas you still want to research.
This will help you maintain focus and make
sure your research doesnt turn into too large a
project!

Essential:

Nice to have:

Remember youre only at the
application stage.

You want to find out about the
company, but you may want to
wait until youve actually had an
interview offer, before you go into
too much detail.


Where Can I Look?
Essential sources of information

With the internet, finding out about a company
has never been easier. This section covers
some of the sources of information that are
readily available. If you dont have internet
access at home (and cant surf to research
future employers at work), then it is available
at internet cafes and in local libraries.

Research Resources
Contacts who work at the company
Family & friends
Telephone the recruiter
Company reports
Company website & Specialist websites
Newspapers and magazines
Mystery shopping (e.g. in-store / telephone
/ product research)

Telephone The Recruiter
Its perfectly acceptable to phone the recruiter,
before applying for a job or going for an
interview. If youve applied through a
recruitment agency, they may well have good
insight into the recruiting company. However, if
you can, it may be better to talk directly to the
prospective employer.

Company Literature & Website
Brochures
Sales letters
Adverts
These may be available in magazines and
newspapers, in the shops, from their website
or by phoning their customer services team. If
its a company that markets directly to the
public, then friends and family may have seen
adverts or sales letters and might be able to
help.
The companys own website is often your best
initial port of call. Most large companies have a
press office, which will send out relevant
background information, if you call them. Bear
in mind, however, that their response can be
slow.

What Do I Do With The Information?

Decide whether you still want to go ahead
with your application? Is the company one
you want to work for?
Go through your research notes and pull
out any information that you think is not
common knowledge. These facts may be
useful in a cover letter or interview
situation, because they will help you give
more relevant replies to questions and
show your business intelligence.
Use the information to conduct a SWOT
(Strengths / Weaknesses / Opportunities /
Threats) analysis (or similar) of the
company or the market. This will help you
turn the information you have researched
into insight and will put you head and
shoulders above other candidates.

In summary:
Researching the company you want to work for
is easier than ever before. It doesnt have to be
in great detail, prior to applying, but it is useful
to complete properly, if you are offered an
interview.

By learning more about the company and the
market, it enables you to subtly include the
right buzz words in your CV and show a
greater understanding of the contribution you
could make, when writing your cover letter. It
gives you an advantage over candidates who
havent bothered to find out about the
company.

Researching a company (and subtly showing
your knowledge) demonstrates that you are a
motivated self-starter with plenty of initiative:
characteristics valued by the majority of
employers. Showing you have these skills is
important and compelling to a future employer,
rather than just writing them as potential
clichs in your CV.

Small companies are well worth researching
too, as you are likely to know less about them
and will want to decide whether you really want
to work for them. So much less is publicly
known about them that few candidates will be
able to show the knowledge you will
accumulate. This will count positively for you in
your CV and at an interview.

Whats next?
Youve decided to apply for the job and have
researched the company. Now its time to
discover how to work out what the recruiter is
really looking for.

5

Whats The Recruiter Really
Looking For?

Find out how to second-guess their needs.

Make it easy for them to choose you.


5
What The Recruiters
Really Looking For
Make it easy for them to choose you

Who is the recruiter?
The recruiter in this
context is the person who is
vetting your CV. It might be
someone in a recruitment
agency, drawing up a short-
list of candidates. Or it might be someone in
the potential employers Human Resources
team, your potential future manager or even
the person you are replacing. Or it can be all of
these.

What are recruiters really looking for?

Despite what candidates might
think, recruiters are human.

They want to work with real people, not robots.

As well as the deciding whether youre the
right person for the job, a recruiter will want to
like their chosen candidate. This may not be a
conscious need. But theyll be reading
between the lines of your CV to assess
whether they would want to work with you.

Thats why its such a waste that so many CVs
make their owners look either unprofessional
(due to careless mistakes) or like robots (due
to a list of facts, with no human side).

The key to a great CV is being both
professional and human, whilst subtly telling
the compelling story of why you are right for
the job.

Recruiters want to see the real
you; not hype, exaggeration or
image.

Recruiters, like most of us, dont like
making decisions.

It can be a difficult and stressful process. The
recruiter is choosing a single person from
many applicants and is responsible for
choosing the right person. They have to live
with that decision. Many people dont like
making decisions and recruiters are no
exception.

Make it easy for them to choose you for
interview! Help them easily assess your
suitability and show them quickly how you
match the profile they are trying to recruit.

How?

By writing your CV from their point
of view, giving them the
information they need, in a way
thats easy for them to pick out..


What are the big questions a recruiter will
be asking themselves, during the 30
seconds in which they scan your CV?

Do you demonstrate the skills and
characteristics the position needs? Its not
enough just to write the keywords in your
CV, you need to prove that you have those
skills, through the examples you give.

Do you have relevant experience?

Can you back this up with evidence?

What other transferable skills do you have?

What value did you add in your previous
roles?

Will you fit in with the team and the
company?

Can you adapt to the role?

What benefits will you bring with you?

Will people like working with you?

What makes you different from other
candidates?

Nobody is a perfect candidate. And if your CV
made out that you were, the recruiter would
probably be suspicious. Most recruiters are
looking for someone who can grow and adapt
to the role, who shows a spark that makes
them different to the other candidates.

The exercises in this book will help your CV
achieve that for you.

Your aim is not just to secure an interview, but
to reach the preferred candidate position, prior
to the interview, to be at the top of the A list.

Why is the A list position so important?
Research has illustrated this.
Two classes of average-grade students were
picked for this experiment. One class was
given to a teacher who was told they were the
brightest, highest potential students in their
year. The other class was given to a teacher
who was told they were under-performing, low
achievers.
At the end of the school year, the higher
class had dramatically out-performed the
lower set.

Why is that?

Our brain receives an estimated 2 million
pieces of information at any time: from the stuff
we consciously notice, through to things like
the air pressure and our breathing rate. It has
to filter this information to prevent us from
being overwhelmed.
These filters operate at many levels from the
physical data the body collects through to the
words people use. It impacts the way we think
and the way we feel about others, too.
Once you have formed a belief or opinion
about something or somebody, your brain
tends to filter out or dismiss the information
that doesnt support that belief. This impacts
what we think and how we behave.


So in the example of the school teachers, they
had been given beliefs or opinions about the
ability of the students. Their brains then started
noticing things that confirmed these beliefs, so
the situation became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

A similar thing can happen in job interviews.

If a recruiter is interviewing
someone whose CV put them on
the reserve list or a CV with
careless mistakes in it, the
candidate has to work much
harder to avoid rejection.

This is because the recruiter has a less-than-
wonderful impression of the person and will
probably be less well-disposed towards them
than other candidates.
They might not even be consciously aware of
this. They will be more likely to notice the
wrong answers and mistakes you make,
out-weighing the positives.

Similarly, recruiters will normally
have a short-list of A list
candidates to interview; their
favourites, who have a head start
in the interview process.

The recruiter is more likely to feel relaxed,
curious and positive towards you. Any
mistakes you might make are more likely to
be dismissed or given the benefit of the doubt,
while positives are amplified. You are more
likely to sail your way into the job.
No matter how hard a recruiter tries to be
objective and unbiased in an interview, these
subconscious filters will be running.

We have actually seen this happen.

During the CV screening process in a major
British manufacturing company, the manager
of the vacant role came across a CV that had a
spark.
The candidate had some unusual work
experience that made him memorable and
interesting, convincing the manager he would
fit well in the company and role. His
qualifications and skills werent the strongest in
the pile, but he still entered the interview
process as the preferred candidate on the
A list.
In the interview, he performed well. However,
all three short-listed candidates failed the
assessment centre.
The recruiting manager was so convinced that
his preferred candidate was ideal for the role
that he called him back for a second
assessment centre, whilst the other applicants
were rejected. The A list candidate got the
job.


Reading Between The Lines
How to decode a job advert

How to read between the lines of an advert
and pull out what theyre really looking for.

How do you know what they want and what
evidence do they want to see?

The following exercise helps you see through
the jargon and hype of a job ad and work out
what the recruiter is really looking for.

It means that you will have the opportunity to
demonstrate the competencies and experience
they want, whilst other candidates are merely
regurgitating the clichs from the job
description, with little evidence to back up their
claims.

The exercise ties together both the job advert
and the research you have done on the
company and its market.

It forms the basis for deciding
which information and examples to
include in your CV and cover letter,
meaning the reader will be drawn
to your application.

You will be one of the few candidates who is
actually writing from the recruiters perspective,
rather than the candidates.

Exercise 6: How To Read Between The
Lines Of A Job Advert

What are the key skills / talents / experience
they are looking for?

There are key words or phrases that a recruiter
will be looking for in your application. In an ad,
these give hints as to the skills that are needed
and the evidence they might want to see. Re-
read the job advert, your notes from your
research phone call and your company /
industry research.

If you dont have a specific job advert in mind,
research the function you are interested in and
find out information about potential employers.

Use this information to make a list of the key
characteristics and experience the job
requires. Brainstorm a list of the key skills,
qualifications, experience and characteristics,
then complete the exercise below.


Skill Essential / Optional Key Words / Phrases
to include in your CV
What Evidence Are They
Looking For?
How Can I Demonstrate These Skills?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Skill Essential / Optional Key Words / Phrases
to include in your CV
What Evidence Are They
Looking For?
How Can I Demonstrate These Skills?
8.
9.
10.
11.

When you have completed this exercise,
imagine you are the recruiter and critically
review your Evidence column.

Would the recruiter agree with your
conclusions?

This exercise is a good way to pull
out the needs of your potential
future employer and think about
how you can prove you meet those
needs.

Most candidates dont bother to do this,
instead sending off a CV that is their best
guess.

There are few things more flattering than
someone who has taken the time to
understand what you really want and then
shows how they can meet those needs.
Wouldnt it be great to do that for a recruiter?

Theres a lot of truth in the saying, They dont
care how much you know, until they know how
much you care.

By working out how you can help them, you
are showing them you care and getting them
emotionally hooked, wanting to meet you.
People buy on emotion and support that
decision with logic.

The output from this exercise enables you to
confidently create a CV that will arouse
curiosity in the reader, making them want to
know more and putting you on the A list.

We will come back to this later in this book,
when you will use your thoughts to decide
which information to highlight in your CV and
cover letter, ensuring it makes compelling,
relevant reading; speaking to the recruiter.

Congratulations on finishing laying the
foundations for your CV. The next stage is to
compile all the information you need for your
Master CV, to make tailoring job applications
painless.

Clare J aques Interview Stuff 2006 45

6

Collect My Master CV
Ingredients

How to make it easy to tailor your CV to each
application.

Spend an evening itll save you days of work!


6
Collect Ingredients For My
Master CV
Make it easy to customise quickly

How do I pull together my Master CV?

Were going to do this section by section,
including all the major topics you would
typically be asked for in your CV, to allow you
to pick and mix for any job application.

The order in which the sections are covered
works well as a CV format. However, there are
no strict rules and the best format will depend
on the type of role for which you are applying,
as well as your level of experience and your
personal preference. After all, its your
document.

For example, some people prefer to include
the Achievements section within their career
history, whilst others like to separate it, to give
it greater prominence.

For the purposes of compiling a Master CV, we
have included it under the career history,
because it is easier for you to work with it in
that format, during the drafting stage.

You can pull out key achievements to include
as headlines earlier in the CV, if you want to.

If you choose this option, make sure you
remember to provide a context and evidence
for each achievement and make them relevant
to the application.

Main Elements Of Your Master
CV
Essential items to include

Main elements of your Master CV
1. Page Header
2. Contact Details
3. Personal Summary
4. Career History / Professional
Background / Professional History /
Professional
5. Skills and attributes
6. Training
7. Professional Memberships and
Qualifications
8. Education and Qualifications
9. Additional Skills
10. Personal
11. References

Note: If youre doing a resume instead of a
CV, you might want to check out these
online resume format resources, then return
to this document to find out what to put in each
section.

Ronan Kennedys resume and
cover letter samples.

Career Assist offers resume templates.
Neil Williamsons Resume
Layout Pro will help you
with your resume design.

Quick reminder: what a CV is NOT

Your entire life history
A novel
A boring and predictable list of events
A blanket, formulaic, one size fits all
application
Difficult to write

Whats my objective?
This wont be included in your CV, but its
useful to have it at the top of your Master CV,
to remind you what youre aiming for and help
you stay focused on whats relevant. You can
use input from all the previous exercises to
help you write your objective.

For example, say you dont have the textbook
perfect skills for a role, your objective might be
to convince the reader that you area a fast
learner and would soon pick up what you
needed.

If, on paper, youre over-qualified, your CVs
objective might be to show how your additional
skills could support the team in the role.

My objective for my CV is

Remember: the purpose of your CV is to
arouse curiosity and get you a preferred
candidate interview. Be genuine, human and
ruthless your CV is not the place to start
practising your novel-writing skills: not even in
the Master CV.

If its not relevant, dont include
it.

The wording you use in your Master CV will be
used in your final CV, so this is the point where
you take the time to get it right.

1. Page Header
Your page header needs to include your full
name, in a bold font, typically 2 points bigger
than your main text.

Its up to you whether you align it left, right or
centre. Make sure your name is shown in the
same way, in the same place of both pages of
your CV. Although you might send it in stapled,
it is highly likely to be photocopied and you
want to avoid the risk of confusion between
your CV and another candidates.

There is no need to add the words Curriculum
Vitae or CV, because it is obvious what the
document is for.

2. Contact Details
Make sure your contact details are on both the
front page of your CV and in your Cover Letter.
Many people like to put these at the bottom of
the second page. However, you want a
recruiter to be able to contact you easily, to call
you for interview, so save them the effort of
turning pages and include your address,
email and phone number at the top of the
front page. You can save space by avoiding
the standard address format and writing it in
one line.
See the example on the next page.

Its worth avoiding using your work email for
contact, as this can be perceived as
unprofessional and catch you out if your email
is monitored. Hotmail, Yahoo and other email
accounts are free and easy to open. Make
sure your email address conveys a sense of
professionalism. For example,
J ohnSmith@mail.com would be fine, but
Funky123@yahoo.com might convey the
wrong impression in a professional job
application.

If youre giving a phone number with voicemail,
do a quick check on your outgoing message
and make sure its one youd want a potential
employer to hear! Make sure anyone you
share the phone with (e.g. at home) knows you
might be getting a call from a recruiter, so they
can answer the phone appropriately.

John Smith
Home Address 22 My Street, Anytown, Midfordshire, GL51 4XX
Direct Lines 01285 XXX XXX / 07735 XXX XXX
Email J ohnSmith@XYZ.com

3. Personal Summary 3. Personal Summary
This section is optional. Some people like it,
others hate it.
This section is optional. Some people like it,
others hate it.
However, whether or not you include it in your
final CV, its worth drafting for your Master CV.
It might help you with your cover letter and is
certainly useful for interview preparation.
However, whether or not you include it in your
final CV, its worth drafting for your Master CV.
It might help you with your cover letter and is
certainly useful for interview preparation.
Many recruiters find it useful, giving them an
overview of the candidate, before they read on
into the detail. However, it must be well-written
and avoid using clichs (see the section in this
book on the Top 5 Clichs and How To Avoid
Many recruiters find it useful, giving them an
overview of the candidate, before they read on
into the detail. However, it must be well-written
and avoid using clichs (see the section in this
book on the Top 5 Clichs and How To Avoid
Them).
The personal summary is the opening
paragraph of your CV and is a 4-5 line
synopsis, selling your Unique Advantage. Its
effectively a mini advert for you. Its purpose is
to get the reader hooked, before they even get
to the detail of your CV.

This summary is written from the preparation
you did in the sections:
The 12 Questions That Make CV Writing
Simple (Exercise 2)
Unique Advantage (Exercise 3)
Values
Your recent work appraisals

You include the top selling point(s) that make
you ideal for the job. It is worth spending time
getting this right; drafting and editing it. Ask a
trusted friend or colleague for their opinion.

This is the point to let your true communication
skills shine through.

Distilling your Unique Advantage
into 4 or 5 inspiring lines is a
challenge that illustrates your
skills much more effectively than
the phrase Im an expert
communicator ever could.

The summary needs to flow and have
memorable hot buttons in it, to grab the
recruiters attention and make them want to
know more.

One option you have in this section is to
consider writing it in the 3
rd
person (as though
someone else were talking about you). Most
people currently use 1
st
person (I am; I did;
talking about yourself). This is entirely personal
preference. Its important that you are
comfortable with this paragraph, or it wont flow
properly.

Recruiters can get bored of reading I and
my all day, causing all CVs to blend into one.
If they havent consciously registered your
name at the top of your CV, there is a risk that
days later they will attribute your excellent
summary profile to another candidate.

By writing it using your name, rather than I, it
helps them remember who you are. It also
saves you having to include the item gender
in your personal information section.

You can also use the present tense for much
of this paragraph, particularly when describing
your personal qualities. This gives the reader
the subliminal (and true) impression that these
are characteristics you still possess, which will
be transferable to your new role with them,
rather than being restricted to your current
company.

For example:

I did this, I did that, I am the other. My
achievements are

could become

J ohn did this, he did that and J ohn is
the other. His achievements are

You dont need a title for this
paragraph.

Opinions are mixed on the use of titles such as
Personal Summary, Objective or Profile.
Some think theyre modern, others think
theyre clichs.
So its probably best to avoid using a title. Its
obvious to the reader that its an introduction
and summary, so save yourself a line and miss
out the title.

Professional
The title given to this section can be quite
varied. The examples above are typical
choices.
Whilst deciding what to include in this section,
you should remember that some people prefer
to include the Achievements section within
their career history, whilst others like to
separate it, to give it greater prominence. For
the purposes of compiling a Master CV, we
have included it under the career history,
because it is easier for you to work with it
during the draft stage.

Many CVs are too function- and duty-based,
focusing on the day-to-day content of the
historical roles.
Recruiters often arent as interested in your job
title as they are in what you actually added to
your company. This is because the job
functionality might not be transferable, but your
skills and attributes are. The exception to this
rule is recruitment where specific functional
experience is expected. The readers of your
CV are interested in what you achieved,
delivered, learned and added to your team, as
well as what was written on your business
cards. Be aware of this when writing your
career section.

Another challenge is that job titles can be
confusing.
For example, the term Executive can be used
for anyone from a Chief Executive to a Sales
Executive and no longer gives an
understanding of the true nature of the role
and its responsibilities.
Someone working as a manager in one
company may be called a director or a
technical expert in another.
Therefore it is important to briefly explain what
your role was, if there is any possibility of

confusion.
Dont expect a recruiter to be able to mind-
read or understand the jargon specific to your
previous employers.

Chronological vs. skills-based CV?
If you are writing a traditional format
chronological CV, i.e. one where your skills
and achievements fall under the Career
History section, then this will be the longest
section of your CV.

A traditional format CV is easier to write if you
are continuing with your current career and
want your CV to tell a chronological story.

However, if you are writing a skills-based CV,
your Career History will just include the outline
of your positions, as the majority of your skills
and achievements will already have been
listed in a separate section. A skills-based CV
is useful if you are changing career direction
and want to illustrate your transferable
competencies, or if you have considerable
work experience and want to pull out your key
achievements more obviously.

Click here for example CVs

The key items you could include in your career
history section are:

Job title or role description (subject to
the comments above)
Date job started and finished. Month and
year are sufficient. For a long career, often
just the year will suffice.
Company outline. For a lesser-known
company or a division of a well-known
company, it can be helpful to set a context
by briefly telling the reader, for example,
the companys main product, its annual
turnover and the number of staff. Keep this
to one line, maximum.
Functional description: what, specifically,
were you responsible for? What was the
context of your role?
Achievements. Make sure you provide
context, evidence and relevance; written
in punchy bullet points.

It doesnt have to be daunting.

Exercise 7: How To Select Your Evidence

Look at each of your historical jobs or positions
with a company in turn, starting with the most
recent.

If you had more than one role within a
company over time, split the jobs into whatever
chunks seem most appropriate.

Stand back and ask yourself the questions
below, providing evidence for your claims,
wherever appropriate.

This will give you a great head start in writing
your Master CV, allowing you to market your
skills and achievements in a way that is
relevant and compelling to a future employer.


J ob Position & Company e.g. Director of UK Marketing, XYZ Widgets
How did my involvement add
value to my team /
organisation?
Developing team to self-sufficiency in advertising
procurement, from briefing to campaign evaluation.
What changed as a result of
me being there?
New strategy for print ad space buying, leading to 20%
reduction in costs.

Which major challenges /
achievements was I involved
in? What was my
contribution?
Launch of new brand XYZ. The brand manager was working
for me. I took the role of mentor.
What were my (teams)
greatest successes?
What was I accountable for?
Innovative TV ad campaign came in 10% under-budget,
increased brand awareness 8%, grew market share by 20%.
Initial TV idea was mine. My role: developing / supporting
team to implement project. Responsible for final approval.
Which skills did I develop in
that role?
Budget management, mentoring and coaching, departmental
strategic planning, team succession planning.
What was I the driver for? Challenging assumptions and bringing in systems to measure
the impact of our work on market share and bottom line profit.
Where did I excel? Staying calm and level-headed in a crisis.
Which personal attributes did
I develop?
Dealing with politics, evaluating my personal performance
with minimal feedback, delegation.

How did I shape my role? Started as a marketing manager with 5 direct reports and
finished as a Director, with a team of 15, due to 2 promotions.
Which of these are most
relevant to the positions for
which I am applying?
Marketing Director:
TV ad campaign
Strategic planning
Mentoring & succession planning
Headline (see the next page
for help on writing this)
Developed the marketing team from tactical thinkers on a
declining brand to strategic planners, producing increased
market shares in all segments, in a challenging consumer
environment.

You should complete this exercise for each
of your major career roles.

It takes a little time, but will give you almost all
the information you could possibly want to
include in your Master CV, making job
applications and interviews easier and less
stressful.

Once you have compiled this information (also
great interview preparation!), it is useful to
write a headline, to summarise the value you
added to each role. You can then follow this
with a few bullet point lines, giving more detail.

Why do I need a headline?
Recruiters often scan your CV in less than 30
seconds. They make a preliminary interview
decision in that time. Giving them clear
headlines will help them scan your CV,
meaning they at least catch the key benefits
you offer.

Practise writing headlines that get the reader
interested enough to want to read the rest of
your paragraph. They dont have to be as short
as a newspaper headline. Its more important
that theyre interesting and convey the
essence of what benefits you bring to your new
employer, as a result of that role. 17-21 words
is a useful maximum length.

An example of a headline for the example in
the last exercise is:

Developed the marketing team on a
declining brand from tactical thinkers to
strategic planners, producing increased
market shares in all sectors.

What would your headline be for the job you
worked with in Exercise 7? There is no right or
wrong. Its just a way of grabbing the readers
attention, making them want to find out more.

CVs Use Unique Grammar
Know when to bend the rules

Its easy for a CV to end up full of I and my,
which can be repetitive. The good news is that
CVs are allowed to bend some of the grammar
rules that apply to other business documents.

In your CV, it is quite acceptable to use bullet
pointed lists with incomplete sentences, to
avoid the repetition of I and to save space.
The key to giving these impact is to start the
bullet point with a verb (an action).

Your bullets need to provide:

Context
What was the situation /
environment? Where? With
whom? Why?

Relevance
Does it add to your application? If
not, ditch it.

Evidence
How can you prove your
contribution? Can you measure it?
Is there evidence? Can you
demonstrate it?

For example,
I ran a customer satisfaction survey that
measured the change in levels of
customer satisfaction after we had
made a product instruction manual
change.

could become

Designed and implemented a customer
satisfaction study, which quantified the
impact of improved communication
materials.

How would this change your impression of the
candidate?

This type of change will make the recruiter ask
questions, which they can follow up in
interview. You can pre-empt these questions,
which will give you more confidence in the
interview.

It also shows the skills you demonstrated as
being transferable. This helps the recruiter
start to imagine how you could apply them
within their company, rather than thinking your
skills are only relevant to, in this case,
instruction manuals.

Once they can imagine you working for their
team, youre half-way to the job offer!

Exercise 8: Bullets And Headlines

What bullet points could you write for the job you worked with in exercise 7?

What headline would you write to capture the essence of what benefits you bring to your new
employer, as a result of that role?

Complete this for each of the roles on your CV.
These answers will allow you to quickly and
easily pick the relevant points from your
Master CV to produce a tailored CV for each
application.
Keep copies of your notes, because they are
great for revision, prior to interviews. You can
almost guarantee that the type of questions
asked in these exercises will come up in your
interview . Preparing in this way means you
can answer much more confidently, giving
more relevant examples than other candidates.

5. Skills and Attributes
What are the key competencies, skills or
attributes required by the role for which you
are applying? (Review Exercise 6). These are
the critical characteristics or types of
experience that an employer is hoping to find
in the person they recruit.

For a chronological CV, these should be
covered in your opening summary paragraph
and throughout your career history.

Its worth ticking them off on a list, as you
cover them in your CV, to make sure you
havent left any out.

For a skills-based CV, these can be listed as a
separate section, in which case they usually
come before the Career History. You want to
pick the top 3 to 5 competencies. You can
present them in whatever format seems best
for you.
A typical format might be:

Skill / Attribute
Headline (optional)
Supporting bullet 1
Supporting bullet 2
Supporting bullet 3

Skills-based CV example:
Team Development And Strategic
Management
Developed the marketing team on a
declining brand from tactical thinkers to
strategic planners, producing increased
market shares in all segments, in a
challenging consumer environment.
Coached the team to develop and
implement Brand Ys 2002 TV advertising
campaign, leading to an 8% increase in
brand salience1 and a 20% growth of
market share.
Introduced structured marketing planning
and budget review processes, which
directly contributed to a 20% reduction in
print ad space costs and allowed for
departmental succession planning.

Remember:

Context

Evidence

Relevance

1
Note: brand salience is used in marketing to
describe brand awareness. It is an industry-
specific word. It is up to you whether you
include this type of word or rewrite them in
common English. Bear in mind, however, that
a marketing director may take words such as
salience as evidence that you are
comfortable with industry terms.

Remember the guidelines about context,
relevance and evidence. This is a great
opportunity to show the transferable qualities
you would bring to your new role.

Make sure you avoid clichs: if you think
laterally (or use a thesaurus), there is always a
way to rewrite a sentence, avoiding overused
phrases. See section The Worst 5 Clichs And
How To Avoid Them for hints on steering clear
of the clichs that make recruiters cringe.

6. Training
This is your opportunity to tell a recruiter about
any significant training you have completed.
The key is to present only training that is
relevant to the position.

For soft skills training (e.g. interpersonal skills
or meeting facilitation), simply stating that you
have been on the course is unlikely to be
enough to tick the box, as most recruiters will
have had experience of colleagues getting
through training courses without actually
changing their behaviour afterwards. If you list
such courses, it is worth backing them up with
evidence in your Skills / Attributes section or
subtly illustrating your use of them in your
achievements.

The best courses to list are those that led to
qualifications, particularly if these are
recognised outside your current organisation.

When listing training, you can give the topic,
the key skills, the training provider and the
course date and duration (if 3 days or more).

For example:

Six Sigma Black Belt Training, XYZ
Company, 4 months, winter 2000.

Space is limited on your CV, so beware of
falling into the trap of listing every course you
have ever attended. Providing evidence of the
new skills you gained from the training creates
a much stronger CV than one that is light on
achievements and high on training.

Remember to be strict about what you include.
No matter how interesting it was for you, a
recruiter doesnt want to know about the -day
health and safety induction you did when you
started your first job!

Be ruthless and apply common sense to
this section.

Only include what is going to add
value to your CV.

If there are courses which are expected in
your industry, they should included. Bear in
mind that talking about training takes up space
on your CV, so make sure it adds to your
appeal.

7. Professional Memberships And
Qualifications
Many professions have professional governing
bodies.
If you are a member of any of these, it is
essential to list them in your CV, along with
your membership level, as it gives the recruiter
an indication of how seriously you take your
career.

If you have any non-academic qualifications
that are pertinent to the role, this is the place to
list them.

For some careers, these qualifications are
essential or at least highly advantageous, e.g.
Chartered Accounting qualifications, CIM
exams for marketing professionals, CIPD
qualifications for HR professionals, Chartered
Engineer status for engineers.

Make sure you have done your research, so
you understand which professional
memberships might be expected in your
chosen profession.

The longer you have worked, the less detail
you need to include in this section.

The guidelines are:
Put your major qualification first.
Highlight the subject and education level in
bold.
Include the awarding school or college, the
date of the qualification and the grade.
Include the title of any thesis or research
only if it is relevant to the position for
which you are applying.

Its important to be consistent. For example, if
you include your A level grades, but miss out
your degree grade, it will probably make a
recruiter suspicious.

You would normally write the subjects you
studied back as far as A level, but unless your
work experience is less than 3 years, you
would not normally include your GCSE / O
level subjects, instead just stating the number
of passes.

Education
BA (Hons) Business Studies and French
University of Cardiff (with study year in Lyon, France)
1992, Class 2.1

A Levels German (A), French (B), Maths (B)
Anytown Sixth Form College, Anytown, Midfordshire. 1988

GCSEs 9 Passes at grade A-C
County High School, Anytown, Midfordshire. 1986

Most people have other skills, relevant to their
job application. These could include:

Driving licence
Useful to mention for roles which state they
require travel, such as sales positions.

Computer literacy
Include the names of the packages and your
skill level. Make sure you spell the softwares
name correctly its common for candidates to
claim to be expert at Excel, but spell it without
the c, which can cause a recruiter to doubt
your ability.

Languages
Include languages that you speak at a
functional level

3 words of Greek learned on
holiday doesnt count and you
never know where a little
exaggeration might lead!

You can classify your proficiency as fluent,
excellent, good or basic knowledge.

Use your common sense to decide which
Additional Skills to include. If there are
competencies that you identified in Exercise 6
but havent yet demonstrated in your CV,
check whether there is anything you can add
to this section.

10. Personal
This is one of the most contentious sections in
CV writing. Opinions vary on the inclusion or
exclusion of the topics below.

Date of birth
Sometimes people are concerned that their
age might influence their application (either too
young or too old). Whilst you can omit your
age from your CV, a recruiter can usually work
this out from your work experience and your
school dates. So its up to you. If you want to
include it, then write it as a date of birth, rather
than giving your current age.

Gender
Again, people can be nervous about how their
gender will influence their application. If you
have a name whose gender is not obvious, it
can be useful to include your gender, simply to
save embarrassment later in the process.
However, if you have written your summary
paragraph in the 3
rd
person, then there is no
need to include this extra information.

Marital status
There is no need to include either marital or
parental status on your CV.

Nationality
Again, you are not obliged to include your
nationality. However, if you require a work
permit or visa to work in the country in
which the job is based, you should mention
this at some point in either your CV or your
cover letter.

Relocation
Willingness to relocate either nationally or
internationally can be a useful addition on your

CV, if its relevant to the job. Use your
judgement to decide whether you should
include this. If it is a selling point, then it may fit
more comfortably in your cover letter. Only
write it if you mean it.

Current Salary
Dont include your current salary or future
salary aspirations in your CV, unless
specifically requested in the job advert. In this
case it may be appropriate to include it in the
cover letter. Be aware that many employers
check with your old HR department what your
current salary is, so dont exaggerate. But do
include all benefits and bonuses.

Hobbies
To include or exclude? Debate rages. There
are those who say that work (CV) and home
(hobbies) should be separate and that extra-
curricular activities play no role in the
recruitment process. However, they can start
to show your human side and can be an ice-
breaker in an interview. We recommend
completing Exercise 9, to help you decide
which hobbies to include and how to make the
most of them.

If youre going to include your pastimes, then
you should make it deliberate and use them to
your advantage, rather than just writing a
potentially dry list of words. The reader may
make assumptions about your personality,
based on your hobbies, so be aware of this
before you write.

How can I make my hobbies work for me on
my CV?
The traditional way to write about hobbies in
your CV is usually:
Hobbies
Mountain bikes, reading, travelling, yoga,
photography.

This list may arouse curiosity in the mind of the
reader, but doesnt really tell them much about
you and may be considered a waste of two
precious lines of space.

Its much more effective if you use your
hobbies to demonstrate key competencies
required by the position for which you are
applying.

How do I decide which of my hobbies to
include?


Exercise 9: Getting Value Out Of Your
Hobbies
This exercise helps you identify the skills you
have developed in your extra-curricular
activities and use them to your advantage in
the job-hunting process.

Review Exercise 6 How to read between the
lines of a job advert and review the key skills /
competencies required for your job application.
Pay particular attention to any which are in
need of a bit more evidence. List them in the
table on the next page.

Then think about what you enjoy doing outside
work. What exactly do you do? Which skills do
you use? Write them in the table on the next
page. For example, your mountain biking might
actually involve organising weekend trips for
friends to try out new routes.

Reading might actually be a way of proving
your language skills, if you regularly read
foreign language books and magazines. This
can be particularly useful if you learned the
languages after leaving school and hold no
formal qualifications in them.

Being treasurer of a local club or society could
be the key to proving your commercial and
financial awareness, if you havent had the
opportunity to demonstrate this in any of your
formal work experience.

J ob Competency Hobby

The next step is to look across and see which hobbies fill in the skill gaps from the rest of your CV.
Draw lines to link them.

See the next page for an example:

J ob Competencies Hobby

Staying calm in a crisis
Mountain biking
Running competitions
Arranging weekends away for friends and the
France trip for the last 3 years.

Organisational skills
Photography: taking & printing black & white
photos
Patience
Creativity
Attention to detail

Financial & commercial awareness

Reading: English, German and Spanish novels

Fluency in European languages
Cricket
Treasurer of local village club
Playing in the team

Yoga
Meditation
Physical fitness
Concentration

Review the list and rewrite your hobbies in a similar manner to the Skills and Attributes section.

So, for example, if your evidence of organisational skills needs a boost, look at which of your hobbies
show those missing skills:

Mountain biking

could become
Mountain biking: organising and competing in off-road events and co-ordinating European
trips.


The key is to take a fresh perspective on your
hobbies and be subtle in how you link them to
the jobs skills, or the impact will be lost.

A word of warning: beware the urge to
exaggerate.

It will make you nervous in the interview and
could cost you the job! If you include items
such as reading, cinema or theatre, then
be prepared to be asked what you last saw /
read and what your opinions are about it.

Err would not be a useful answer!

This method is particularly useful if
you are looking to change career
or maybe on paper are under-
qualified for a role, maybe at the
start of your career or after a
career break.

Its an opportunity to prove your suitability
through the transferable skills you have
developed outside work. So although it takes
up more space than a traditional list of
hobbies, it can add significant value to your
CV.

Another good reason to include a hobby is if it
is unusual.

It can give your application a spark, helping
you stand out from the other candidates and
making the reader more likely to remember
you. However, do bear in mind the possible
negative impact of some hobbies!

Be cautious about including too many extra-
curricular pastimes, as this can be (usually
unfairly) interpreted as meaning you dont
spend enough time thinking about work!

11. Referees
Details of referees available upon request.

You shouldnt include the contact details for
referees, unless specifically required in the job
advert, in which case it is appropriate to
include them at the end of the cover letter,
saving space on your CV.

It is perfectly acceptable to provide details only
once you have been offered the position.

However, every company has its own
preferences, so make sure you have asked
your referees permission to use them, in case
they are contacted sooner than you expected.

It can be useful to give your
referees a copy of your CV and let
them know which jobs you are
applying for, so they can tailor
what they say to support your
application.

These 11 sections form the basis of your
Master CV. Once you have completed this, the
task of tailoring your CV and cover letter for
each specific job application becomes simple.
It is worth spending time getting the phrasing
right on your Master CV, so you dont have to
rewrite anything when you pull together your
custom CV.

Congratulations!

Youve completed most of the work needed to
pull together a Master CV.
By now, you should have a comprehensive
document, which you can easily tailor for
individual job applications.

To help you create an even more powerful
Master CV, the next few sections cover some
techniques for getting the words right:

Common CV problems and how to
handle them
The worst 5 CV clichs and how to
avoid them
The 10 most common CV mistakes


7

Common CV Problems And
How To Handle Them

Make sure you avoid the CV-trashing mistakes
that could cost you the interview.


7
Common CV Problems
And how to handle them

No one has a perfect CV history.

Most of us have either had something about
our working career that we want to brush over
or a skill we couldnt demonstrate as well as
the recruiter might wish. This section covers
the most common CV problems and discusses
what you can do about them.

The key tips for this section are honesty,
combined with common sense. Theres no
point in lying on your CV.
Even if you dont get found out, itll make you
nervous in the interview and youre likely to
ruin your chances of getting the job.
The way to get round CV problems is to avoid
putting up signposts to help the reader find
them. Theres a lot you can miss out, if you
need to. Or you can include problems, as
long as you have a plausible explanation.

The main areas covered in this section are:
Too little experience for the role
Too much experience for the role
No degree or low grades
Gaps in working history
Currently out of work
Redundancy
Fired from a previous job
Career history not obviously relevant (e.g.
change of career)


How To Handle Problems
Essential Not-To-Be-Missed Advice

Too little experience for the role

Maybe you think youre too young or too
inexperienced to apply for a job that you want.

Rather than worrying about this, submitting
your CV anyway and having it rejected, take a
moment to step back and objectively review
the situation.

Am I really too young?
What is it that makes me think that?
Is the experience required in the job advert
reasonable? (Sometimes the required
years of experience can be flexible).
What makes me want this job, even though
I suspect I might not be considered?
Can I demonstrate having previously risen
to a challenge that people thought was
beyond my experience level, yet
succeeding?

If, after answering these questions, you really
want to apply for the role, then contact the
recruiter and ask them whether they would
consider you.

If you do decide to apply, there are plenty of
tips on hobbies, which will help you show
how transferable your skills are, despite the
potential lack of formal experience.
Emphasise other characteristics that are
desirable for the role and dont shout about
your perceived lack of experience. If you get
an interview, you are in a strong position to
justify why they should consider you.

Think about other areas of your life where you
can exhibit the skills required, such as socially,
at school or college or at home. Youll be
surprised how easy it is to demonstrate
worthwhile skills, if you use a little lateral
thinking.

In situations such as this, it may be advisable
to use a skills-based CV, which focuses on
your attributes and skills as opposed to your
work history. A chronological CV (time-based
description of your working history) would
emphasise the gaps you are trying to cover up
and is not advised. (See examples).

This strategy works.

We worked with someone who had 10 years
experience in Finance, who wanted to move
into Strategic Planning. He had no formal
experience, so knew he would have to give a
compelling reason to be considered. By
following the steps outlined above, he
successfully applied for a managerial role.


Too much experience for the position

There can be many reasons for feeling you are
over-qualified for a position. Sometimes its
personal choice, e.g. wanting to improve work-
life balance, other times its not. Either way,
this shouldnt be a barrier to getting the job you
want.

The key in this situation is to pre-
empt the recruiters questions,
concerns or objections and
address them either in your CV or
cover letter.

It is critical that you explain why you believe
you are suitable for the role and why your
additional level of experience makes you the
ideal candidate. You should also explain why
you want the job.

Maybe youre looking to spend more time with
your family and therefore want to step down
from an executive position? Maybe youre
looking to change industries and want to
cement your skills? You know why you are
choosing to apply for the job, so make sure it is
obvious to the recruiter.
They might be worried that you will accept the
position as an interim solution and keep job
hunting, leaving them in the lurch a few
months down the line.

Or maybe theyre concerned about how you
would work with a line manager and peer
group which is potentially younger and less
qualified than you. Be prepared to have strong
answers to these questions in an interview.

No degree or low grades

Some professions require university
qualifications. Obvious examples are medicine
and dentistry.

However, sometimes a degree is requested
because it is usual in that company. The
requirement may or may not be flexible. The
recruiting manager may be open to employing
someone with great experience and skills but
no degree or a degree grade below the
threshold requested.

Follow a similar approach to the too little
experience section.

Look for what you can offer the
company instead of a degree and
contact the recruiter to discuss
your application.


Gaps in working history

For whatever reason, gaps in career history
can feel awkward on a CV.
The worst thing you can do is try to
hide them. Recruiters arent stupid
and they can add up. Its a
guaranteed way to miss out on a
job interview.

If you get the job and they subsequently find
out, then falsifying information on a CV may be
used as grounds for failing a probationary
period and hence dismissal.

So what can you do?

One option, which works for a long career with
only a few months of non-working time, is to
miss out the months on your career history,
showing only the years. This instantly conceals
short gaps. However, be prepared to be
challenged on this in an interview.

If the gaps are legitimate, you could simply
explain them. Think about what you were
doing during that time. Were you developing
any new skills that might be of benefit to future
employers?

Work gaps or career breaks are more
acceptable in todays commercial climate than
in the past.
It is becoming common to take a sabbatical to
travel or study.
Women routinely return to work after maternity
breaks.
Redundancies at all levels mean that more
people have experienced unemployment in
this challenging job market.

The key is to show what you did with your
time. Think about the new skills you learned.
There will be some: just think laterally. What
added value or personal characteristics can
you offer an employer as a result of being out
of work?

Work through Exercise 7 How To Select Your
Evidence.

Although it is suggested as a tool to identify
what you achieved in your different jobs, the
exercise can be successfully used for drawing
out what you have gained from being out of
work, to show your situation in a more positive
light. It may also do wonders for your self-
esteem.


Currently out of work

This is something that you need to be honest
about.

You dont want your CV to shout it from the
rooftops, but if you do the standard fix of
writing start date to present, you will get
caught out at some point..

Depending on how long you have been out of
work, this technique can make your CV seem
dated and may count against you. This
becomes more obvious if your CV includes lots
of dates for your achievements and they
suddenly dry up.

We once reviewed a CV from a lady who
claimed to have been working as a buyer for a
major supermarket at the time of writing her
CV. Her credentials were excellent and she
was invited for interview. At the time, the
supermarket was under threat of a
controversial take-over by one of its
competitors. During her interview, when she
was asked how it was affecting morale, she
gave convincing answers.

However, when she was asked to comment on
how she thought it had impacted her
departments buying strategy, she admitted
that she hadnt worked there for six months,
since before the take-over news. Employers
like to recruit people with integrity, who they
can trust. She didnt get the job, mainly
because she had covered up the truth.

The suggestions above for gaps in working
history apply equally well to currently being
out of work and can show an employer how
you are making constructive use of your time.

There are plenty of things you can
demonstrate you were doing. Maybe you were
self-employed, if you have been doing
temporary contracts. J ust think about the
adaptability you had to show to make the
contracts work!

The key is to think laterally about
the extra benefits you could bring
to the company, as a result of
having been out of work.


Made redundant

Whatever you may feel, there is no shame in
this.

Some people feel there is a stigma attached to
redundancy. The only way this will be a
problem in job hunting is if it is a problem for
you.

There is no need to mention it in
your CV or cover letter.

Be prepared to talk about it, if asked, during an
interview, but make sure you have a positive
attitude and explain the situation
objectively.

This can actually show high levels of
commercial awareness and maturity, which are
skills valued by employers.

Fired from a previous job

Having been fired doesnt need to be
mentioned in your CV or cover letter. However,
it may come up in interview. If it does, its
important that you have a good explanation.

Most people are fired due to
personality conflict. If this was the
case for you, then be prepared to
show a recruiter how you have
objectively analysed and learned
from the situation.

If you were fired for a reason such as gross
misconduct, then you need to think carefully
about the events that led to the situation and
be able to convince a recruiter that it wont
happen again.

There is no point in trying to cover up being
fired, because your future employer will check
out references and probably find out.

Even if they dont, industry is a small place and
interesting news travels fast. You never know
just who your future employer knows.


Career history not obviously relevant (e.g.
change of career direction)

Do you want to convince the recruiter that they
should give you a chance to apply your skills to
a new career? This is easier now than it used
to be, but still requires some subtle influencing.

The main advice would be:

Thoroughly research the potential
occupation, so you have a good
understanding of the skills, qualifications
and characteristics required.
Assess which transferable skills you have
developed in your career to date and
emphasise these with a skills-based rather
than chronological CV.
If you can, get yourself some official
training in the profession even if it means
home study. It shows your commitment.
Make it easy for the recruiter to see why
they should consider you.
Provide evidence of being adaptable and a
quick learner.
Show your compelling motivation in your
cover letter, where you should explain why
you want to change career and illustrate
your commitment to your new direction.
Use the word because, rather than but
or despite. Convince them why they
should give you a chance because of your
unusual background, rather than despite it.
Believe in yourself and your ability to take
on your new career.
These are the main CV problems. The
common theme is that by staying positive and
thinking laterally about the skills you have
developed as a result of the problem, none of
these need to be an issue on your CV. A bit of
lateral thinking usually provides an answer.


8

The Worst CV Mistakes And
How To Avoid Them

Make sure you avoid the CV-trashing mistakes
that could cost you the interview.


8
The Worst 5 CV Clichs
And How To Avoid Them

What do we mean by clichs?

Clichs in CVs are phrases that any candidate
could use to mean almost anything.

They are often copied from the job advert and
are rarely substantiated with evidence. Theyre
overused and they dont do you justice.

This section covers some of the most
commonly overused clichs and gives tips
about how you can show you have that
characteristic, but without getting your CV
marked down.

The top fix for removing CV clichs is:
Dont say it, show it!

1. Responsible for
This is overused and can often be
meaningless. Responsible for what?
Did you really do it all on your own? It can
make you look like youre taking the credit
for your teams work. If you led the team,
then thats a more powerful statement to
make.
Only use responsible for if you back it
up with proof. It can be a useful phrase
when setting the context for your
achievements and showing your role in the
project.
Use with care!
2. Team player
What does this actually mean? Do you
expect a recruiter to suddenly believe this,
just because you have used the words?
They will be looking for examples that show
you are a team player. Make the most of
your achievements as an opportunity to
illustrate this.
Or maybe you play a team sport outside
work? Its also useful to balance it with
proof that you can work independently, if
the role requires this. Think, before you
throw in this phrase.
3. Good communicator
This ones a bit like marking your own exam
papers! The recruiter doesnt care how
good a communicator you think you are.
They want to be convinced. The problem is
that many people think they have good
communication skills, but the people they
are communicating with might disagree.
The best way to show your communication
skills is with a beautifully-written CV and a
great interview performance.
4. Self-starter
Again, this one is a bit too much of a self-
evaluation. How do you know youre a self-
starter?
Yet its easy to prove it, through subtle hints
given in the main body of your CV. Allow
the recruiter to draw this conclusion from
reading your CV and meeting you, rather
than writing it on a poster for them.
5. Highly motivated
If this description has been used on your
performance review, by all means quote it.
Otherwise, avoid this clich.
Your motivation and enthusiasm should
shine through, from your CV and cover
letter. You shouldnt need to say it..

Can you think of any more clichs that you
have seen or used in job applications? Make a
note of them here and think about your plan to
avoid them.

Clichs I want to avoid:


Top 10 CV Mistakes
That most applicants make

How many of them does your CV have?

The majority of CVs have at least one
mistake in them. This can be the fastest
way to get your CV rejected.

This section includes some of the most
common mistakes that recruiters spot in CVs.

Simple mistakes irritate recruiters.

They expect candidates to be professional
when applying for a job. That means careful
proof-reading and attention to detail.

If you make any of the 10 mistakes listed here,
you may be judged accordingly.

Some recruiters will give you the benefit of the
doubt if you have made one or two small
mistakes. Others have strict rules about
rejecting CVs that include even one mistake;
particularly if the particular role requires
attention to detail.

1. Spelling mistakes, sloppy grammar
and inconsistent punctuation.
When applying for a professional position,
basic spelling, grammar and punctuation are
expected to be good, particularly if you have
used a computer to type up your CV. Mistakes
here will make you look lazy, careless or
poorly educated.

Typing errors may not be picked up by your
computers spell-checker. Common examples
are form instead of from and off instead of
of. The only remedy is to proof-read your CV
before sending it.
A good way to proof-read a document you are
familiar with is to read it backwards, sentence
by sentence, so you arent tempted to skim
over it. It works!

If these are areas you find difficult, you should
make full use of grammar and spell-checkers
and then ask someone you trust to proof-read
your CV.

These mistakes can send your CV on the fast-
track to the shredder.

2. Phonological ambiguities or words
that sound the same, but have different
meanings

Spell-checkers wont spot words that sound
the same, but mean different things. Make
sure you proof-read carefully. Common
problem words are:
where / were / wear
their / theyre / there
hear / here
its / its
see / sea
piece / peace
some / sum

3. Inconsistent Formatting
Choose a format for your CV and stick to it.
Make sure your margin sizes are the same
throughout the document and that your layout
makes it easy to read.
If your CV appears to be disorganised, it will
be harder to follow and understand.
Remember, you may only have 30 seconds to
impress.

Check your use of capital letters, for example,
in titles. Decide how you will use capitals and
be consistent use them correctly. Also be
consistent on whether you put full stops at the
end of bullet points. Inconsistency shows a
lack of attention to detail and a hurried,
carelessly written CV.

4. Format gone AWOL
Some formatting can print out differently on
different computers.
Consider saving your CV in an earlier version
of Word, rich text format or even Adobe
Acrobat (free trials on their website), to
preserve your formatting. Using indents or
tables, rather than spaces, to create layouts,
can help preserve a professional format..

5. Vague with details
Recruiters read hundreds of CVs and become
experts at spotting what youre trying to make
disappear.
Obvious cover up strategies include inaccurate
or missing dates and inconsistently omitted
exam grades, e.g. giving your A level results,
but not your degree classification. It can look
like youre hiding something.
6. Hard to work our why youre best for
the job
You may have only 30 seconds to make your
impression and a recruiter is unlikely to go
through your CV in great detail on the first
reading. Theyre more likely to be scanning it,
looking for key skills and hot buttons.

Make it easy for them to put you in the A list
pile. Remember: when buying a product or
service, a confused mind always says no.

Make sure your CV makes it clear why youre
a good candidate to interview.

7. Generalised, not customised for the
role
The best way to get your CV dismissed as
having insufficient experience is to send a
standard CV for every job. Sometimes it will
work. But usually it wont.
You know that your skills havent been clearly
communicated when you dont get an
interview, even though you thought you were
perfect for the job.
Its always worth spending half an hour
checking your CV contains evidence of the
requirements listed in the job ad, even if you
dont spend time researching the employer.

The other option you have is to at least make
sure your cover letter is customised, explaining
why you are suitable for that particular role.
If you dont do either of these, then the
recruiter may perceive you as someone who
sends out blanket applications on a random
basis. They might assume that you dont care
about their company. And employers like to
recruit people who are enthusiastic about their
organisation.

8. Under-qualified candidates
Recruiters can spot under-qualified candidates
at a great distance.
They know that, for every job they advertise,
they will get a pile of people with little relevant
experience, who havent even made the effort
to explain how their transferable skills would
make them a suitable candidate. This wastes
recruiters time and can make them annoyed.

A Blue Chip UK brand was trying to recruit
researchers into its Market Research team. Of
the 100 applications they received, 60 of them
had no relevant experience, having marketing,
IT or sales backgrounds. They had never been
to a focus group, let alone managed research
projects.
They didnt even make an attempt to explain
this in their CV or cover letter and the
applications showed a complete lack of
understanding of the profession.
Their CVs went straight in the reject pile.
It was clearly a case of applying for any job at
the company, because they wanted that brand
in their career history and would probably want
to move within the organisation, as soon as a
more suitable post came up.

If you suspect you might be under-qualified,
read the section on for effective strategies.
Above all, be realistic.

9. Too job-ad focused
Recruiters get thousands of CVs that focus on
the candidates needs, rather than the
recruiters.

Think about who your audience is, when you
write your CV. Its not an autobiography to
pass down the generations in your family, so
only include what is relevant to the person to
whom the application is addressed. But avoid
just regurgitating phrases from the job advert.

Your CV should go beyond the job description
and restating the words in the ad. It should
make it easy for a reader to understand what
you would bring to the role and how that meets
their needs. This is a chance for you to shine
and show off your excellent written
communication skills.

10. Rushing it
It really shows when you pull your CV together
in super-quick time. Think about the
consequences

If you have completed the Master CV, then its
realistic to edit your CV and cover letter in less
than an hour. Otherwise, it will usually take
much longer.

Recruitment agencies may need to demand
your CV now, or youll miss your chance.
This may not actually be reality. J ob
applications tend to have set closing dates
which rarely run to half hour accuracy.

If you need a few extra hours, ask for them.
The deadline may even have been created by
the agency, rather than the recruiting
company. We all have deadlines to work to,
but most people will find slack in their timetable
for a strong candidate.
Even if you want an extra evening, which
means you would miss the deadline, try
contacting the company directly and explain
that you have just seen the job advert and
would like to email / fax / post your CV the next

day. Youd be surprised at how often they say
yes, particularly if you do a good job of
arousing their interest on the phone.
Recruiters arent stupid: if they think they can
get their ideal candidate by waiting an extra
day, they normally will.

Now you know the 10 mistakes, you can be
prepared. You know what youre looking for!
So theres no excuse to include any of them in
your CV or cover letter. This gives you an
advantage over other candidates.

You can concentrate on avoiding these
mistakes and have the opportunity to use this
list as a checklist, prior to sending off your
application.

Top tip: Proof read your CV one last time
before you send it off even if youre already
bored of reading it. That way youll know you
havent let yourself down by making any of
these mistakes!


9

Getting The Words Right

Using the right language in your CV.


9
Getting The Words Right
Make your CV easy to read

Have you ever had the experience of reading a
book and realising you have read a particular
paragraph 3 times, but still not understood it?

It can be frustrating, because the language
used is perfectly simple, but it just doesnt
seem to go in! Do you want your CV to be like
that?

Often the cause of the problem is the use of
long paragraphs and over-long sentences,
which may be spell-binding for the writer, but
require considerable concentration from the
reader.

But before we go any further, we want to
dispel a common myth about CV reviewers.

Will your CV be reviewed by someone
carefully reading every word, giving it
their full attention?
No.
Is it more likely to be reviewed by
someone with a desk drowning in
paperwork and a phone that never stops
ringing? Or maybe someone who has
taken 100+CVs home, to review in front
of the TV?
Yes.

The first reading of a CV is usually a 30
second scan, which puts candidates into one
of three piles:
yes no maybe

Which one do you want to be in?

Having sorted out your content with your
Master CV, what can you do to increase your
chances of getting in the yes pile?

The first step is to put yourself in the position
of the reader, even if it means you have to sit
in a different chair and use a posture you
wouldnt normally use!

Why?

Because this will help you keep your focus on
their needs, rather than yours.

This subtle change of emphasis can make
your CV dramatically more appealing, because
you are writing from their perspective. Very few
candidates do this. Most are writing from their
own perspective, thinking about what they
want and need, with little thought for the end
reader and recruiter.

The language tips in this section are designed
to help you automatically tell your story the
way the reader wants to hear it. However, it is
always worth taking a step back in your final
review, to notice how the recruiter will perceive
your application. Youd be surprised what
changes when you do this.


Language

The language you use in your CV should be
intelligent and elegant. It should have impact,
telling your story in a way that grabs the
readers attention.

Its not a Booker Prize entry, which makes
things easier, because you can use
abbreviated sentences to keep it simple and
punchy.

It should subtly explain why you are the
candidate they need, without seeming to be
arrogant or overly confident. It needs to arouse
curiosity in the mind of the reader, rather than
making them want to yawn.

Your CV is your chance to share your
individuality, your unique creativity and your
excellent communication skills. Dont say it,
show it! You can express your abilities and
demonstrate your true potential.

So how can I do all that?
There are 5 main things you can include:
Headlines
Concise, appropriate language
Short sentences and paragraphs
Relevant industry terms
Answers from the CV preparation
exercises

What you want to avoid:
Verbose and boring paragraphs
Formulaic, meaningless clichs
Overuse of I and my
Irrelevant details

Remember:

A confused mind always says no.

So your number one priority has to be
communicating in a way that is so easy to
understand, it leaves no room for confusion.

The good news about using the right language
for your CV is that youve already done most of
the preparation, if youve worked through the
exercises in this book.

All you should need to do at this stage is a little
brushing up of key phrases and headings. Do
all of this in your Master CV, so that the
changes will automatically carry through to
your tailored CV.


Headlines

Headlines catch the attention of the person
scanning through your CV.

Headlines in a CV arent like those in a
newspaper. They are actually short sentences
that you put in bold font, to make them easy to
find.

As a rule of thumb, they shouldnt be more
than 21 words long. Your headlines are your
chance to distil your main messages into
concise statements that you know will be read,
even if the person only spends 30 seconds
looking at your CV.

Practise writing them and ask an appropriate
friend or colleague for feedback.

A good headline is interesting enough to make
the reader want to read the following
paragraph.

You should have all the headlines you need, if
you have worked through Exercise 8 in the
section on Master CV preparation.

Concise, appropriate language

Your CV isnt the place to be demonstrating
your ability to write poetic prose or technical
reports.

Avoid over-use of adjectives and flowery
descriptions of achievements.

A CV is a business document that is read by
the hundred, so the recruiter wont thank you if
you make them wade through pages of
verbose commentary, no matter how
interesting or relevant it is.

Your language should be:
Concise chopping out words makes it
easier to read; also saves space!
Factual imagine your CV is a legally
binding document avoid
ambiguity
Focused be ruthless about only including
what is strictly relevant

A concise, yet informative, CV is the ultimate
demonstration of your ability to assimilate and
summarise information, combined with
excellent written communication skills.
Employers value these skills highly.


Short sentences and paragraphs

If you think a sentence might be too long, it is.
Find a way to split it in two.

For fast, easy reading, sentences should
average about 17 words.

Paragraphs should be short, consisting of no
more than 3-4 sentences.

Where possible, break up information with
bullet points, to add impact to your comments.
Bullet points can break the traditional rules of
English grammar by starting the phrase with a
verb (action word), rather than I or my. This
makes them easier to read, understand and
remember. (See Exercise 8).

At all times, bear in mind the short attention
span of the person reading your CV for the first
time, as they are wading through the pile of
applications. Do everything you can to make it
easy for them.

Relevant industry terms

Subtle use of this terminology can show
knowledge of the field, but overuse could worry
a recruiter, as they might think you cant
communicate using normal English. So dont
overdo jargon and do explain any
abbreviations you use.

The first person to scan through your CV might
be someone in, say, the Human Resources
team, who might not be familiar with the
acronyms that are common in specialist roles.

However, some companies even do
computerised searches for key words, to filter
through large numbers of applicants, so you
have to include them.


10

Finishing Touches

How to make your CV look professional and
easy to read.


10
Finishing Touches
Nearly there!

Congratulations on completing the Master CV
section. Youre now in a position to quickly pull
together an interview-winning CV for any job
you want to apply for.

This section shows you how.

It covers:
Top tips for an easy-to-read CV
What to include
Which bits to chop out
Pulling it together
Getting a second opinion


Keys To An Easy-To-Read CV
Make it easy to understand

Many a great CV is disadvantaged by being
hard to read. It doesnt matter how amazing
your achievements were or how great your
personal qualities are; if the recruiter cant read
them easily, they might never find them and
you wont get the job.

In the last section, we covered the language
tips that give a CV impact, making it
compelling reading. In this section, were
concentrating on the way your CV looks on the
page. This has almost as much influence over
readability as the words you use.

Have you ever experienced reading a book
that was printed on that rough, slightly grey,
cheap feeling toilet paper, where the Times
New Roman type font seems to smudge into
the page? Did you find that book easy to read?

Or maybe youve come across a report that
was written in such a small font and cramped
style that there were no spaces between the
very long paragraphs and the sentences were
really long with improperly long words and by
the end you felt like you needed to come up for
air because it was all so hard to understand?

How would you feel if you only had 30 seconds
to make a major decision, based on something
formatted like either of those examples? Would
you like to avoid your future employer being
put in that position?

The five top tips for an easy-to-read CV will
help you make sure you never put the recruiter
in that position.

1. Layout
2. Fonts
3. Shading and borders
4. Sample formats
5. Paper


Layout

Your CV should be no more than 2 pages (plus
1 page cover letter), unless it makes
compelling reading and you really have more
to say. If a third page will make it clear that you
have had a long career and have the skills and
experience for a job, then use it. Otherwise
dont!

Its tempting to over-run, but being able to pull
out the core information and summarise it
succinctly is a skill valued by employers. A
cramped CV is hard to read and may be
rejected.

Decide on your CV layout and stick to it.

Make sure its appropriate to the role /
profession. For example, some occupations or
companies might prefer a more conservative
layout whereas others, for example where
youre expected to show your creativity, might
require something more unusual.

Margins

Your margins should be the same width
throughout. They would typically be 2.5cm (1
inch), but this isnt compulsory.
Youre unlikely to want them to be larger, as
this costs you space. But make them much
smaller and the page might feel cramped.

Bullets

Bullets should have the same indentation
throughout.
Choose a format that looks elegant,
professional and clean, which flows well, being
easy on the eye. Keep your paragraphs short
and use bullets to break up blocks of
information.

Indents

If you are using indents regularly in your CV,
consider using the indent button on Word,
rather than spaces, as these can produce
strange results when printed from someone
elses computer.
You might even consider using a table, if you
are having problems with formatting.


Email Considerations

If you send your CV by email, you can either
do it as a file attachment (most likely to
preserve formatting, but may get lost) or send
it in the main body of the email.

If choosing the attachment option, consider
saving your CV in an earlier version of Word
(check the Word help file), as this is then
more likely to be supported by the recruiters
PC.

Make sure your filename includes your
full name

its easy to forget to do this, but helps the
recruiter. Its also useful to include the
company name, so you can keep track on your
system of which CV you sent to whom!

If sending your CV in the main body of your
email, this can be easier for the recruiter, as
they dont have to open a file. However, it is
likely to destroy your formatting, which makes
it harder for the recruiter to read.

Your lines should be no more than 60
characters long, or they will truncate, with full-
line-partial-line being separated by > signs. It
can look terrible and be difficult to read. If this
is the route you need to take, then design your
format for this, rather than trying to adapt a
carefully honed document retrospectively.

Fonts

Your CV is not the place to get creative with
fonts. Simple and readable are the keys here.

Choose at least 10 point font. 11 point can be
easier to read in some fonts. If your CV is likely
to be faxed, go up 1 point size.

There is no approved font for a CV. However,
simple sans serif fonts, such as Arial, are
easy to read and some say it can photocopy or
fax more effectively than Times New Roman.
Its down to personal choice. Some more
modern fonts, such as Tahoma, arent
available on everyones PC and can format
differently on different computers, meaning
your hours of careful formatting suddenly look
awful on someone elses screen.

You might want to avoid using italics, as some
people find these difficult to read. It can better
to use bold or underlined type face to
highlight key phrases.

If you use bold or underlining to highlight key
points, this can make your CV easier to read.
However, use them sparingly and
deliberately.

Make sure you have a scheme for how you
use them and stick to it. For example, dont
use bold for one headline and underlining for
the next. It looks messy and shows poor
attention to detail.

Shading and borders

Opinion is divided on this, with some people
feeling that clever formatting is trying to hide
poor content, whilst others believe it shows
computer literacy and creativity.

There is no reason why you shouldnt use
shading and borders on your CV, if you have
time to play with the formats and you feel more
comfortable with its appearance. It is one way
you can make your CV stand out visually.

Bear in mind that your CV will be photocopied
for interviewers, so make sure that any
shading doesnt make the text illegible, once it
has passed through several iterations of
copying or even fax machines. This also
applies to coloured fonts: be aware that they
may not copy well.

Sample formats

There are many sample CV formats available
from books, the internet, recruitment agencies,
your local employment office or careers
advisory centres. You can even turn to the
Resume Wizard in Word.

Use these for inspiration, to create your own
style. Some of these may be over 10 years
old and you dont want your CV to look
dated. Also, blatantly copying them may mean
you may have what you think is an unusual
format CV, but thousands of others are also
using it.

The key is to pick something that works for you
and the information you want to include.

Here are some useful, up-to-date online
resources.

Steve Holmes offers
sample CVs, complete
with a really useful critique
and explanations of how
to do things better.

Car
eer
Assist offers both resume and cover letter
templates.

Neil Williamson has
developed these useful
resume layout tools.

Ronan Kennedy offers
plenty of sample resumes to
provide inspiration.


Paper

Always print your CV on good quality paper
with a good printer.

There are those who say that its the content
that counts, but first impressions are important
and show that you are taking the application
seriously.

Coloured or highly textured paper can be
difficult to photocopy, so its worth restraining
yourself and use 90-100g/m
2
non-textured
white or pale cream.
Armed with these simple CV tips, combined
with the preparation you have put into your
Master CV, youre now ready to complete the
final phase: writing your CV.

The work you have already put in means this
becomes a simple, potentially fun task, pulling
out key points from your Master CV and
tweaking them to flow well in your final version.


What To Include
The final edit

As a reminder from Collect My Master CV
Ingredients, here are the typical sections you
might use in your CV:
1. Page Header (your name)
2. Contact Details
3. Personal Summary
4. Career History / Professional Background
/ Professional History / Professional
6. Training
Qualifications
10. Personal
11. References

The first thing you should do when writing your
final CV is decide on your layout. This may
change, as you complete your CV, but it gives
you a framework to start with, which will impact
your decisions on what to include or exclude.

The next step is to decide what information
you must include, but which isnt specific to
the job application you are working on. For
example, contact details and personal
information fit in this category. Type this
information in your CV first.
Why? So you know how much space you have
left.
The 2-page rule isnt a law, but its strongly
recommended, unless you have a long career.
You can only squash the essentials so much.
By allocating them space first, it makes sure
you dont spend ages composing your main
body, only to find its too long.

Which sections might fall under the essential
information category? Review the list of
generic items below and tick those which are
essential, needing to be included in your CV.

Page header (your name)
Your contact details
Professional memberships and
qualifications

Education and Qualifications
University
College
School

Additional skills

Personal Details
Date of Birth
Gender
Marital status
Nationality
Relocation
Current salary
Hobbies
Other

References
Available on request
Referee contact details
Put these in the cover letter

Copy and paste these items from your Master
CV into your tailored CV. Take a moment to
make sure they are not taking up too much
space and that you are comfortable with your
chosen layout. It is worth spending time getting
this section right, because it can remain
unchanged on all future applications, so you
only need to do it once.

At this stage your CV might look something
like the one below:

John Smith
Home Address 22 My Street, Anytown, Midfordshire, GL51 4XX

MAIN BODY OF CV
(Work experience, achievements, etc.)

Professional Membership
CIM Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing

Education
BA (Hons) Business Studies and French
1992, Class 2.1

A Levels German (A), French (B), Maths (B)
Anytown Sixth Form College, Anytown, Midfordshire. 1988

GCSEs 9 Passes at grade A
County High School, Anytown, Midfordshire. 1986

Additional Skills
Languages French (fluent), German (excellent), Spanish (basic knowledge)
Computer Good working knowledge of MS Office packages and industry databases

Personal Information
D.O.B. 08.08.72 Nationality British
Gender Male Marital status Single
Relocation Willing to relocate worldwide

Hobbies
Mountain biking: organising and competing in off-road events and co-ordinating club European tours.
Cricket: Team member for league matches. Treasurer of village club; responsible for financial planning
and maintaining management accounts.
Reading: French, German and Spanish novels and magazines.
Travelling: recent trips include Argentina, China and New Zealand.

Referees
Details available upon request.

How much space do you have left?

Are you comfortable about your essentials
taking up as much space as they do?

Is there anything you want to change, before
you move on? If you look at the format in J ohn
Smiths CV, there are things he could
compress, if he needs to. For example, he
could make his education take up less space
by combining lines.

Instead of using 10 lines for education, the
reformatted version could use 5 lines, with 2 of
them having line spaces after them, to help
break up the text, making an equivalent of 6
lines.
This means J ohn has 4 extra lines spare,
which might allow him to include 2 extra
achievements in the main body of his CV.

He could also compress his personal
information into 1 line, by using 3 columns
and assuming that the reader will know his
gender from his opening summary paragraph.
His willingness to relocate (assuming this is
relevant to the position) would have more
impact if mentioned in the cover letter, than in
his CV.

Further space could be saved by cutting some
of the detail from his hobbies. For example,
does he need to include his mountain biking, if
he can also illustrate his organisational skills in
his cricket hobby?

These are the types of questions you can ask
yourself, to make sure your CV is elegant, but
concise, making it easier to scan read.

J ohns space saving essentials could
become:

John Smith
Email J ohnSmith@XYZ.com Phone 01285 XXX XXX / 07735 XXX XXX
Home Address 22 My Street, Anytown, Midfordshire, GL51 4XX;

MAIN BODY OF CV

EXTRA SPACE SAVED BY REFORMATTING
NOW AVAILABLE FOR OTHER INFORMATION

Professional Membership CIM Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing

Education
BA (Hons) Business Studies and French, 1992, Class 2.1
A Levels German (A), French (B), Maths (B); Anytown College, Midfordshire. 1988
GCSEs 9 Passes at grade A; County High School, Anytown, Midfordshire. 1986

Additional Skills


Personal Information British

Hobbies
Reading: French, German and Spanish novels and magazines.

Referees Details available upon request.

By keeping the tab formatting consistent, J ohn
has saved 10 lines of space, but kept a
readable CV.

Once you are happy with the format of your
essentials, you can decide which other
headings you want to include.

Which extra items from the list below do you
want to include?

1. Page Header
2. Contact Details
3. Personal Summary
Professional
6. Training
Qualifications
10. Personal
11. References
12. Other

It can be useful to complete the sections on
your career, skills and training, before editing
your personal summary (3). This is because
you will often find inspiration in sections 4, 5
and 6 that would change what you write in 3. If
you put the finishing touches to your summary
first, you are likely to want to change it
anyway.

To decide what to include in sections 4, 5 and
6, its time to review some of the CV
preparation exercises.

The best exercises to revisit are:

Research phone call
Company research
How to read a job ad
How to select your evidence

As you go through these, make a note of any
important points you want to make sure you
include in your CV, to save you worrying about
remembering them. These might be key
achievements, main competencies, industry
terms or good phrases.


Exercise 10: Deciding What To Include

Important items I want to remember to include:

Having reviewed the job you are applying for against these exercises, print out your Master CV and go
through it with a coloured pen or highlighter, marking the elements you want to include.

Copy and paste these across to your tailored CV file.


Exercise 11: Identify Potential Gaps
Scan through your CV against the criteria you analysed in the exercises. Is everything covered? Are
there any potential gaps?

What could you do to fill those gaps?

Add any extra evidence you need to, to ensure
you are demonstrating the benefits of
employing you as clearly as possible.

If you make any changes to the text of your CV
at this stage, consider whether they are
changes that only apply to this particular CV,
or whether it would be wise to make them on
your Master CV, too, to save doing them again
next time.


Which Bits To Chop Out
Or how to be ruthless!

At this stage, your CV may be too long.

The next step is deciding what you could miss
out.

This is possibly one of the hardest things
to do, because all the achievements and
characteristics you have included
required so much hard work, that it can
be frustrating, not to be able to include
them.

But they dont have to end up on the cutting
room floor. You can use these extra gems to
make your cover letter compelling.
Rather than deleting them, simply paste them
into a separate file, so theyre there when you
come to write your letter. Or you can refer to
them in your interview.

How do I decide what to miss out?
There are three reasons to cut things from
your CV:
1. Not relevant to the application
2. Duplicated elsewhere
3. Need to save space / its getting long-
winded

The first thing to do is to scan your CV for
duplication. The reason for scanning rather
than depth reading is because its easier to
spot duplication at an overview level, than
when working with detail.
If you spot any duplicated examples of
experience or skills, think carefully about
whether you need both of them. Do they add to
each other, reinforcing your message? Or do
they make your CV seem repetitive?

If they are repetitive, take one of the examples
out - or see if there is some way of combining
them.

Remember that you can always fall back
on your additional examples in your
interview.

It makes a much stronger impression in an
interview situation if you can come up with
examples that arent on your CV. It makes the
interviewer realise that your CV is the tip of
the iceberg of your abilities and the
interviewer will start to automatically expand
your answers.

Review what you have included under training,
hobbies and additional skills. Can you justify
everything you have written as being relevant
to your application?


How to be ruthless

One way of helping yourself to do this
objectively is to imagine that every word in
your CV costs you money, say 1, and you
only have 1000 to spend. Its up to you how
you spend it.
Your aim is to maximise the power and impact
of your CV. So is there anywhere that you
could save 50, to better spend it somewhere
else?

Can you really justify every single entry?

Are your Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award from
20 years ago and your school violin exams
really relevant to the job? Be strict with
yourself over this.

If youre still struggling, then go through each
of your examples and rate then from 1 to 5,
with 1 being a poor example and 5 being
outstanding.

Dont include any example that scores less
than 3/5. Remember that the purpose of your
CV is to highlight your strengths, not lay open
your weaknesses.

If you still need to cut space, then go back to
the essentials section. Is there anything here
that could be abridged or deleted?

If you have tried all this and your CV still wont
fit on 2 pages, then consider altering your
format, to give yourself more space.
But beware making your CV look cramped,
cluttered and difficult to read.
If your career has been more than 10-15
years, then you may feel you need a third
page. If this is the case, then consider it a last
resort.
It is, however, better to use 3 pages than to
compress your CV into 2 pages that are hard
to read.


Pulling It Together
Making it flow

The next step is to critically review the flow of
your CV.

Reading it out loud is a great way of
doing this.

If you find you are stumbling over words or
phrases, then the recruiter will, too.
Does it make sense?
Do you need to make any changes, to make it
easier to scan?

Is it interesting?

Are your headlines and bullets still
appropriate?

This is the stage to be brutally honest with
yourself or ask a suitable friend or colleague
for input.

The flow of information should be logical, not
jarring.

When you have tweaked this, re-read your CV,
paying attention only to the headlines
(imagining youre scanning it for the first time).
Do the headlines make sense? Do they flow?
Do they convey your key selling points? If not,
then work out where the gaps are and consider
editing them.
The final step of pulling together your CV is to
tweak your personal summary.

You should have drafted this in your Master
CV preparation, but you may wish to change it
slightly, to illustrate the qualities you bring to
the specific job for which you are applying.

What impression would the recruiter have of
you, if this were the only section they read?

If you notice anything that doesnt work as a
section in your CV, then remember to change
it in the Master CV, too, so you dont have to
rework it again next time.

When you have finished your tweaks, save
your CV, print it out and take a break.

You will need a fresh mind for the final
reviews.


Getting A Second Opinion
How to spot mistakes

Getting A Second Opinion

Now you should have a CV that meets the
needs of the recruiter, looks great and fits tidily
on 2-3 pages.

So surely you just send it off?

Not quite.

Remember The CV-Shredding Mistakes?
Check your CV in detail for these. Ask a
trusted friend, relative or colleague to do the
same, if possible.

You could throw away your hours of hard work
and your chance of getting the job you want,
just because you didnt spot careless mistakes.

It can be really hard to see them, because our
mind naturally skips over mistakes and
corrects them for us. An extreme case of this
was proven by a British University.

Read the paragraph below for an insight into
how readily our mind compensates for
mistakes.

Aoccdrnig to rseearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy,
it deosnt mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a
wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt thnig is taht frist
and lsat ltteer is in the rghit pclae. The rset can
be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit
a porbelm. This is bcuseae we do not raed
ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a wlohe.

So how can I spot the mistakes in my CV?
Do this from a printed version of your CV,
rather than a computer screen.

One technique that works well is to read it
backwards, sentence by sentence. Start at the
end and read each sentence in turn. Why does
this work? Because it breaks the pattern of
auto-pilot scan reading of a document we are
familiar with, which can trick us into missing
errors.

Once you have done this, you
have finished your CV!

Congratulations!

Time for a short celebration, then you can put
your CV on one side and move on to write your
compelling cover letter.


11

How To Write A Compelling
Cover Letter

Your cover letter is the most important part of
your job application.

How to use it to make a great first impression.


11
Compelling Cover Letter
How to make a great first
impression

In this section you will cover:

What is a cover letter?
Why is it so important?
How do I prepare my cover letter?
What should it include?
Great cover letter language
Mistakes to avoid
How to add extra finesse

If this is all too much at this stage, check
out J immy Sweeneys really useful cover
letter resource.

Imagine receiving a piece of advertising
through the post. The deal theyre offering you
might be great, but unless they have written it
in a letter that grabs you and makes you
realise how much you need and want their
product, their offer will go straight in the bin.

Your cover letter faces a similar challenge.

It includes a powerfully written description of
why you are ideal for the job. But if you send it
with a formulaic, uninteresting cover letter,
then youll be making the job harder for
yourself and cutting your chances of getting an
interview.

The good news is that a cover letter is simple
to write, if you have completed the preparation
in the earlier sections of this book.

What is a cover letter?

Your cover letter introduces you to the reader.

It gets them curious to read your CV and can
help switch on their positive filters (see "What
The Recruiter's Really Looking For").

Its so much more than Hi, my names J ohn.
Id like to apply for the job; CV attached.
Thanks.

Why is a cover letter important?
It is usually a recruiters first contact with you.
Its your first chance to market yourself.
It should speak directly to them, treating them
as a person, selling the benefits of employing
you at both the logical, rational level and at an
emotional level.


How do I prepare my cover letter?

Start by thinking about your objective for your
cover letter? What do you want it to do for you,
in relation to this specific job application?

My objective is:

Whats your Unique Advantage? Review your
answers to Exercise 3 and write your Unique
Advantage for this role. Make sure it is truly
relevant to the position for which you are
applying.
My Unique Advantage is:


Exercise 12: Three Reasons To Consider
Me

Imagine the ideal person they are looking for
and show how you fit their needs. What are the
top 3 reasons why they should consider your
application for this particular role?

1.

2.

3.


Preparation completed!

Now its time to move on to writing the content
of your cover letter.

What should my cover letter include?
A cover letter typically includes 5 sections:
1. Correctly addressed to the named
recruitment contact
2. J ob reference and source of advert
3. A strong opening
4. An explanation of why you are interested in
and suitable for the position
5. An action close

1. Addressed to the named
recruitment contact

The format of your letter should match your CV
(e.g. font, margins, line spacing, etc).
Start by including your contact details in
standard business letter format at the top of
the letter. You could either include these
centred or left aligned at the right hand side of
the page.

Then write the title and address of the
recruitment contact, usually left aligned at the
left hand side of the page.

Open the letter with:

Dear

Avoid using Dear Sir / Madam, as this can
imply a lack of interest in the recruiter.

You should make an effort to find the name of
the recruiting manager or contact and use their
name, as it is given to you. If you cant get their
name, then feel free to be creative and
address your letter to Dear Recruiting
Manager, or similar.

For example, if they say they are called J eff
during previous conversations, then write
Dear J eff.

If they call themselves Mr. J eff Morgan, then
write Dear Mr. Morgan.

It is safer to err on the side of caution and
use the title and surname, rather than risk
offence by being overly familiar. Use your
judgement, based on your knowledge of the
company.


2. Job reference and source of advert

After the greeting, you should include the job
description, reference number and source,
usually as a bold heading.

Bear in mind that a company may be recruiting
many positions at any one time, so make sure
your application ends up on the right pile.

Including the source where you saw the advert
is courteous, but not compulsory. It helps the
recruiting department evaluate the success of
different advertising, to make future campaigns
more effective.

3. A strong opening

Dont state the obvious in your opening
sentence. It is a waste of an opportunity to
make an impact. Avoid clichs such as:

I am writing to apply for - thats obvious
In reference to your ad - youve just
referred to that in the line above
I would like to be considered - this
can be interpreted as submissive

Try to avoid the first word of your letter being
I, unless the sentence refers back to the
recruiter. There is an example of this below.

If you have already spoken to the company
about the position, then feel free to mention
that in your opening.
Openings you could adapt include:

Further to our telephone conversation on
XX.XX, I am pleased to enclose my CV for
your attention.
(Safe, but friendly)

Following our conversation on Monday XXth, I
suspect I may be just the candidate you are
looking for.
(Slightly cheeky and arouses curiosity)

I read your advert in The Daily Telegraph this
morning and I am excited at the opportunity of
bringing my experience to this role.
(This shows enthusiasm and quick turnaround
of work. Add to this an obviously tailored CV
and theyll be impressed! Excited may be too
strong a word for you be creative and use
what feels right.)

I would like to be considered for the exciting
opportunity we discussed on the telephone on
Monday.
(A different slant on a safe bet)

These are just ideas and there are hundreds of
ways to open your letter. Our aim here is to
provide examples, so you can see the contrast
between a clichd opening and an original first
sentence.

If this is something you find difficult, then keep
an eye open for strong opening sentences in
any letters you receive. If you see one you like
that works, write it down and keep it in your CV
preparation file!

4. Explain why you are interested in
and suitable for the position

This is where you use one or two paragraphs
to summarise your Unique Advantage and the
3 reasons why they should employ you for this
position.
Make sure you strike a balance between your
skills and what you could do for the company.
You need to make sure they can see how you
match the filter criteria from the job advert,
i.e. the basic qualifications or experience,
without which you are unlikely to be a suitable
candidate.

This section should show you are enthusiastic
and genuine.

It should be relatively easy to write, given the
preparation you have already completed.

It is perfectly acceptable to use bullet points, to
make information easier to read. Make it
simple for them to see why they should choose
you.

Make sure this section is interesting and
compelling. Avoid the temptation of trying to
regurgitate your entire CV in just 10 lines! This
is a great opportunity to add those extra points
that had to be cut from your CV to get it down
to 2 pages, or to add highly relevant
information that there wasnt space for within
your CV.

To add a little extra finesse, you could
reference some of the understandings you
have gained from your company research. Are
they facing any important challenges or
preparing for exciting opportunities that arent
common knowledge, which would affect this
role? If relevant, you could mention these in
this section.

As a guide, this main section would typically be
less than 200 words.


5. An Action Close

What is an action close?

It avoids your letter fizzling out and losing the
positive ground you have gained.

Its a way of closing your letter with energy and
positive momentum, to keep the reader curious
as they move on to your CV. Use a verb
(action word) to instinctively start the reader
focusing on doing something about your CV,
rather than just putting it down in one of the 3
piles and moving on. It has a future-focused
element and adds a punch to the end of your
letter, which will differentiate it from other
candidates letters.

There is no right or wrong for the closing line,
just high vs. low impact. Experiment until you
find a sentence you are comfortable with.

Examples of closes to avoid:
Thank you for your time.
(This reminds them of the effort involved in
recruiting and may affect their mood!)

Thank you for considering my application.
(Very polite, but not distinctive)

Please feel free to contact me if you want any
further information.
(Although this is polite, it is overused and
states the obvious)

Examples of action closes:
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
(Focuses them on action)

I would welcome the opportunity to meet you
and your team.
(Shows you are interested in them)

I am available for interview at any stage in the
next 4 weeks.
(Shows flexibility, but also instinctively
encourages a fast decision)

The easiest way to contact me is via my
personal mobile: 07735 XXX XXX
(Shows you are thinking about making things
easier for them and gives them the message
that they want to call you)

Sign off

You have the option of formal or informal sign-
off. Use your judgement, based on what you
know about the company, to decide which to
use.

The general rules for a formal sign-off are:
If you have used the persons name in the
letters greeting, sign off with Yours sincerely,
If you dont know their name, sign off with
Yours faithfully,

For a less formal sign-off (be cautious if you
use this, depending on the companys culture),
consider Kind regards,

It is perfectly acceptable to use a formal sign-

off for a job application.

Extras

If the employer has requested contact details
for referees or information about your current
package, then separate it out from your sales
section, by adding it at the end of your letter.

Proof-reading
All the general proof-reading and error
avoidance tactics covered in sections CV-
Shredding Mistakes and Getting A Second
Opinion are just as important for your cover
letter as they are in your CV. Make sure you
go through it carefully, checking the flow and
correcting any mistakes.

Finally, print your cover letter on the same type
of paper as your CV.

Proof-read it one last time, then sign it. It may
seem obvious, but youd be surprised how
many candidates forget to sign their cover
letter, which immediately shows a lack of
attention to detail and lets down their
application.

See the next page for an example of a cover
letter.

Excellent Cover Letter
Resource
The instant cover letter creator

Your cover letter is often seen as the "poor
relation" of your CV / resume. Yet it's a vital
part of the application process.

In fact, there are techniques you can use to at
least double your chances of getting a job
interview, just by tweaking your cover letter.

The good news (for you!) is that very few job
hunters bother to focus on their cover letter.
They rattle off the usual "Dear Sir / Madam"
with a few awkward paragraphs, to fill the
space. For them, a cover letter is secondary to
the CV.

Yet a strong cover letter acts as a mini
marketing tool for your CV. It can get the
reader hooked - and draw their attention to the
3 reasons why you're a strong candidate for
the role.

It helps show your "spark", get them
interested and make them want to meet
you. It's really tough for a CV to do this on its
own.

All this might sound a little daunting. You might
be asking yourself, "Where do I start?".

Fortunately J immy Sweeney has jumped in to
help.

He's a marketing and copy-writing expert with
over 20 years' experience in selling other
people's products. He's turned his expertise to
the field of helping people sell themselves - for
job applications.

He's developed the Instant Cover Letter
Creator to help you write an excellent cover
letter in (he claims!) just 3 1/2 minutes.
J immy says:
Here's a sad fact: Less than one tenth of one
percent of all the cover letters I've ever read,
has piqued my interest enough where I said to
myself, "Jimmy, you must call this person for
an interview right now, before it's too late!"
That is a RARE cover letter indeed!
Most cover letters make employers work way
too hard trying to figure out whether they
should call a person for the interview.

He's developed tools to
help you create a cover
letter that does justice to
your skills and experience,
rather than being a
potentially forgettable
introduction to your new employer.

So if you'd like to find out more, it's worth
checking out his Instant Cover Letter
Creator. He's so confident it will help you get
more job interviews that he even offers a 100%
money back guarantee.

We've thoroughly reviewed this product and
are confident you'll find it useful.


Clare J aques Interview Stuff
Example of a cover letter:
John Smith
Email : J ohnSmith@xyz.com 01285 XXX XXX / 07735 XXX XXX
22 My Street, Anytown, Midfordshire, GL51 4XX
Lucy J ones
Human Resources Manager
XYZ Widgets
Newhampton Industrial Estate
Oddington
Surrey. GU45 3XL

Dear Ms J ones,

Ref: 0312AX New Business Manager, Daily Telegraph on 15.12.2005

Following our conversation on Monday 19
th
, I suspect I may be just the candidate you are looking for.

Main body constructed from answers to Exercise 12 & explaining why you are interested.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet you and your team, to find out more about this exciting
opportunity.

Yours sincerely,
John Smith

Current Package Basic salary xx,xxx. Benefits: company car, health insurance, contributory
pension, 25 days vacation.

References Mr. Peter Brown (current line manager)
Design Quality Manager, Anytown Components, Glebe Road, Cheltenham,
Gloucester. GL5X 4XX.

Mrs. Emily Tanner (my IMechE mentor)
34, High Road, Stroud, Gloucestershire. GL5X 3XX
2006 116

12

Application Checklist

Make sure theres nothing youve forgotten.


12
Make sure youve remembered
everything

Congratulations! You
have finished your CV
and cover letter!
Its time to go through
the final application
check list.

As you do your final checking, here is a
reminder of some of the top tips:

1. Target your CV and cover letter to the job
you are applying for. Be ruthless about
what you include and what you leave out.
Write for the reader, not for yourself.

2. Use an elegant layout that you are
comfortable with and which is appropriate
for your CVs content.

3. Avoid the 10 most common CV mistakes

4. Use enough industry-specific vocabulary
to show expertise, but without filling your
CV with incomprehensible jargon. Think of
it as being like using herbs and spices in
cooking: a little makes a big difference; too
much makes it inedible. Include the key
words theyll be looking for. You want your
CV to talk to the recruiter at an instinctive
level.

5. Provide evidence of your achievements
and tell the truth.

6. Review and rewrite your Master CV
every 6 months. Not only does this mean
youll always be ready, should that
opportunity suddenly come up, but it is
great for your annual review and salary
negotiations!

Before you send everything off

Is it addressed to the correct person? Check spelling.
Have you checked it for errors?
Is it focused on the employers needs?
Does it show clearly what you can offer?
Does it arouse curiosity?
Does it have an easy to read layout?
Is its appearance consistent with the type of role you are applying for?
Is it concise and punchy?
Does it have a strong, positive cover letter?
Would you call yourself for an interview?

Re-read your application one final time.

Then send it!

It goes without saying that you should send
your CV in a high quality envelope (preferably
A4, so it doesnt need to be folded. Folding is a
good way to guarantee that it will look tatty
when its been photocopied a few times).

Also, address it neatly & correctly, checking
spelling and post codes (written, typed or
printed: doesnt matter). Above all, use a first
class stamp!!! A second class stamp doesnt
say much for your enthusiasm.

If emailing your application, put your cover
letter and CV in a single file, so they dont get
separated. Its a good idea to send a hard copy
too. Tell them to expect this, in your email.
Even if your email gets through, so many
people have email backlogs these days that
you can never be sure when they will read
your application.

Congratulations! How are you
going to celebrate?

13

And Finally

Top tips to help you double your chances of
getting an interview.


13
And Finally
Whats next?

So youve completed
your background
thinking, written an
interview-winning CV
and created a compelling cover letter.

Your application is in the post (be it electronic
or snail mail).

So whats next?

Waiting for an interview

If youve already spoken to the recruiter, then
you may know what their timings are. It can
often take weeks from the application closing
deadline until a company makes decisions
about who to interview, but that doesnt mean
you have to sit and twiddle your thumbs.

As long as youre not hassling the recruiter, its
ok to call them, to find out when decisions will
be made. :You can always use an excuse such
as Ive got a lot of business trips coming up,
so I wanted to check whether I might be called
for interview with you, so I can plan around
that.

Recruiters like applicants who are keen, but
dont step over the line and start bothering
them.

If they tell you they havent made any
decisions yet, then ask them when would be a
good time to call back, to find out more. And
dont call them again before that time.

Once youve got your interview date, then
youre in a perfect position to move onto

Interview Stuff

Itll take you through top interview preparation
techniques, as well as how to calm nerves and
maybe even enjoy the process. See you there!


14

Exercise Templates

Blank copies of the exercises. Easy for you to
print out and use.


14
Exercise Templates

Blank forms to use whenever you
want

Print these forms out to complete the exercises as often as you need to.

Exercise 1: Evaluate Your Current CV............................................................................ 124
Exercise 2: The 12 Questions......................................................................................... 126
Exercise 3: Unique Advantage........................................................................................ 130
Exercise 4: Vetting A J ob Advert..................................................................................... 132
Exercise 5: How much do you know about the company? ............................................. 134
Exercise 7: How To Select Your Evidence ..................................................................... 138
Sample Chronological CV : Applying for Director of International Marketing............... 140
Sample Skills-Based CV................................................................................................. 142


Exercise 1: Evaluate Your Current CV

What would your first impression of the candidate be?

How easy is it for you to find the information youre looking for in the CV?

What does the CV show as the candidates strengths?

As a potential employer, what might your concerns be?

How would you rate this CV? (Marks out of 10) /10

What would your overall impression of the CV be?


How likely would you be to remember this applicant, in general?

What is the 1 thing you would remember about the applicant?

Would you call the candidate for an interview? Why is that?

Back to Evaluate Your Current CV


Exercise 2: The 12 Questions

1. Outline of my career so far:

2. My strengths are


3. My development areas / weak points are

4. Which key things have I learned (either concrete skills or about my personal attributes)?

5. What have been my biggest achievements?

6. What wouldnt have happened, if I hadnt worked in my current / previous roles?


7. What do I have to offer my next employer?

8. What evidence can I provide to back up my claims?

9. What will my current boss miss about me when I leave?

10. What will my colleagues say about me when I leave?


11. What will my direct reports say about me?

12. Why do I want to change jobs?

Back to The 12 Questions


Exercise 3: Unique Advantage

Use the boxes below or you could use index cards, if youd like more space.

If you employ me, you get









When you look at the boxes of your differentiating attributes, which seem most compelling?
Note: it may be different for different jobs, so you may need to revisit this exercise for each
application.

Relax and jot down some short sentences or phrases that would capture the key points you have
highlighted.
Phrases that capture the real me and my talents:

Which of these phrases grab your attention? Which sum you up the best? These are the features
that form your Unique Advantage. If you want, you can distil them into a single phrase or
sentence.
Write them in the box below or on a separate card. Keep them in front of you whenever
you are working on your CV.

Back to Unique Advantage

Exercise 4: Vetting A J ob Advert
What, specifically, interests, intrigues or excites me about this role?

Is there anything I dont like or disadvantages about this role?

Being honest, is this role a good match for what I wanted to do next?


How does this position fit with where I want to be going long-term? Would this choice support my 5-
10 year vision? *

Do I still want to apply for this job? Yes No Not sure

Back to Vetting A J ob Advert


Exercise 5: How much do you know about the company?

What is your current impression of the company? What do you like or dislike about it, based on
your current level of knowledge?

What is the public reputation or image of this company?

What is the main business of the company?

Do you know anyone who works there who you could talk to about the company? Do you know
anyone who knows anyone who works there? Make the most of your contacts!


What size is the company? (number of employees, turnover, international subsidiaries, etc)

How is the company currently performing? (e.g. market share, profits, other relevant measures,
are there any plans for expansion / takeovers)

Where would the advertised role fit within the companys structure and plans?


What do you know about its culture?

Does the company have a published vision or mission statement?

What do you know about what its like to work there?

What is the likelihood of your top values being satisfied by working there?


How would the company describe its ideal employee? What types of skills and characteristics
would they have?

Are there any buzz words that the company or industry uses in its literature. (You might include
these in your interview).

What would be the pros and cons of working for this company?

Question: Do I still want this job?
Yes
No
Not sure
Back to Research The Company

Exercise 7: How To Select Your Evidence
J ob Position & Company
How did my involvement add
value to my team /
organisation?

What changed as a result of
me being there?

Which major challenges /
achievements was I involved
in? What was my
contribution?

What were my (teams)
greatest successes?
What was I accountable for?

Which skills did I develop in
that role?

What was I the driver for?
Where did I excel?
Which personal attributes did
I develop?

Back to Select Your Evidence


Example CVs And Resumes

We have included 2 sample CVs for you to review.

However, if you have time, its really worth checking out the latest information on the following online
CV and resume resources.

Steve Holmes offers sample CVs, complete with a really useful critique and
explanations of how to do things better.

Career Assist offers both resume and cover letter templates.

Neil Williamson has developed these useful resume layout tools.

Ronan Kennedy offers plenty of sample resumes to provide inspiration.


Sample Chronological CV : Applying for Director of International Marketing

Home Address 22 My Street, Anytown, Midfordshire, GL51 4XX John Smith

J ohns proven track record in empowering and developing teams makes him an ideal choice for a
senior role in Alpha-Beta Marketing Services. He is looking to move to a Director-level position in an
international role, with responsibility for a portfolio of brands. His broad experience in all aspects of
marketing means would add measurable value to Alpha-Betas team. J ohns fluency in French and
German, as well as his proficiency in Spanish, would be an asset in growing the international
business.

Professional History
XYZ Widgets, Midfordshire, UK
XYZ Widgets are the world leaders in Widgets, with a workforce of 5,000 worldwide and an annual
turnover in excess of 900m.

1999-present Head of UK Marketing
Team of 15, with 5 direct reports; Marketing budget in excess of 5m.
Developing the UK Marketing team to increase self-sufficiency and implementing systems to
measure the ROI of our activities.
Developed the marketing team from tactical thinkers on a declining brand to strategic
planners, producing increased market shares in all segments, in a challenging consumer
environment.
Coached the team to develop and implement Brand Ys 2002 TV advertising campaign,
leading to an 8% increase in brand salience and a 20% growth of market share.
Introduced structured marketing planning and budget review processes, which directly
contributed to a 20% reduction in print ad space costs and allowed for departmental
succession planning.
Implementing systems that challenged previous assumptions and enabled measurement of
the impact of our activities on bottom line profit.
Mentored the teams to deliver effective strategic planning for the launch of New Product
Development activities.

1997-1999 Brand Development Manager
Responsible for a team of 5 Marketing Managers, covering the XYZ Widget portfolio.
Award winning print campaign and successful re-branding of XYZ portfolio.
Delivered the 1998 award-winning print campaign, which increased sales by 15%.
Increased brand salience by 5% from summer 1998 to spring 1999.
Counteracted competitor launches of New Products by re-branding and re-launching the XYZ
Widget portfolio.
Developed team members to become confident Marketing Managers, with their own spheres
of responsibility.
Led the Employee Consultative Committee from 1997 to 1998, implementing improvements in
working hours and measuring employee satisfaction.

1995-1997 Marketing Manager, Widget B

Responsible for communication strategy development and implementation of new products.
Key role in development and launch of Widget B.
Key contact between the Marketing, Competitor Intelligence and New Product Development
teams, helping to define the consumer needs for Widget B.
Developed and implemented the communication strategy for Widget Bs launch.
Member of the highly acclaimed 1996 Overhead Reduction Team, reducing waste within the
companys processes.

Joe Brownes Advertising, London, Paris and New York
J oe Brownes Advertising are the market leaders in developing effective communication strategies for
widgets, with a staff of 50 and an annual turnover in excess of 5m.

1994-1995 Account Manager, Small Business Division, New York
Maintaining customer satisfaction whilst delivering to companys performance targets.
Responsible for the day-to-day running of client accounts and briefing the graphic designers.

1992 1994 Graduate Training Scheme, Various Roles, London and Paris
Gaining an understanding of all areas of the business.
Positions included: finance, sales, marketing, graphic design and copywriting.

CIM Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (1995)

Education
BA (Hons) Business Studies and French, University of Cardiff, 1992, Class 2.1
A Levels German (A), French (B), Maths (B), Anytown College, Midfordshire. 1988
GCSEs 9 Passes at grade A, County High School, Anytown, Midfordshire. 1986

Additional Skills

Hobbies
Mountain biking: organising and competing in off-road events and co-ordinating European tours.


Sample Skills-Based CV

Applying to Midfordshire Widgets for New Product Development Finance Manager assumes J ohn
is prepared to take a sideways (or lower) switch to Finance. Note: in this instance, J ohn has chosen to
highlight achievements that illustrate his skills, rather than just stating his skills.

Home Address 22 My Street, Anytown, Midfordshire, GL51 4XX John Smith
Direct Lines 01285 XXX XXX / 07735 XXX XXX Email J ohnSmith@XYZ.com

J ohn is keen to move from Marketing into Financial Planning. His commercial experience in the
management of budgets and financial planning through his recent senior marketing roles demonstrate
his ability to handle complex financial planning and calculations, particularly in the New Product
Development environment. His passion for proving the Return on Investment of campaigns has further
developed his financial skills. His fluency in French and German would be an asset to Midfordshire
Widgets, when liaising with the international design teams. His Marketing expertise would enable him
to act as the link between Marketing, Finance and Design.

Achievements
20% reduction in print ad space costs in 2000: XYZ Widgets, Head of UK Marketing
Implemented system to measure impact of marketing activities bottom line: XYZ Widgets,
Head of UK Marketing
Introduced structured planning and budget review processes, which allowed prediction of
variance from budgeted spend on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis.
Improving relationships between Marketing, Finance and Design teams, during the re-launch
of the XYZ Widget portfolio, leading to a saving of 5 months, over the projected launch time
plans: XYZ Widgets, Brand Development Manager
Worked with Finance team to develop an algorithm to calculate the potential profit margin of
Widget B, for various projected production costs and sales forecasts: XYZ Widgets, Marketing
Manager
Assessing potential financial impact of competitor launches on XYZs New Products: XYZ
Widgets, Marketing Manager
Developed a system to measure the financial impact of project delays: J oe Brownes
Advertising, Graduate Trainee

Career History
XYZ Widgets, Midfordshire, UK
XYZ Widgets are the world leaders in Widgets, with a workforce of 5,000 worldwide and an annual
turnover in excess of 900m.

1999-present Head of UK Marketing
Team of 15, with 5 direct reports; Marketing budget in excess of 5m.
Developing the UK Marketing team to increase self-sufficiency and implementing systems to
measure the ROI of our activities.

1997-2000 Brand Development Manager

Responsible for a team of 5 Marketing Managers, covering the XYZ Widget portfolio.
Bringing in award-winning print campaign under-budget and successfully re-branding XYZ
portfolio.

1995-1997 Marketing Manager, Widget B
Responsible for communication strategy development and implementation of new products.
Key role in development and launch of Widget B.

Joe Brownes Advertising, London, Paris and New York
J oe Brownes Advertising are the market leaders in developing effective communication strategies for
widgets, with a staff of 50 and an annual turnover in excess of 5m.

1994-1995 Account Manager, Small Business Division, New York
Maintaining customer satisfaction whilst delivering to companys revenue targets.
Responsible for the day-to-day running of client accounts and briefing the graphic designers.

1992 1994 Graduate Training Scheme, Various Roles, London and Paris
Gaining an understanding of all areas of the business.
Positions included: financial planning, sales & marketing.

CIM Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (1995)

Education
BA (Hons) Business Studies and French, University of Cardiff, 1992, Class 2.1
A Levels German (A), French (B), Maths (B), Anytown College, Midfordshire. 1988
GCSEs 9 Passes at grade A, County High School, Anytown, Midfordshire. 1986

Additional Skills

Hobbies
Mountain biking: organising and competing in off-road events and co-ordinating European tours.


CV Confidence

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

CV Confidence

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CV Confidence

Clare J aques 2003-2006

You might also like