Clare Dight
2 for 1 tickets to Casablanca, this coming Monday
YOU know that you're a star but without a knock-out CV no-one else will believe you. Here’s how to impress and write yourself into a better job.
1. The nuts and bolts. The edited highlights of your working
life should be no more than two pages long, says Andy Sharman, the head of
recruitment for UK and Ireland at Procter & Gamble. “Less than two
(full) pages suggests that you don’t have enough experience,” he says.
Acceptable cheats include easy-on-the-eye spacing and increasing the font
size.
2. Avoid vague statements. “Quite often people start with a
profile — a short statement setting out who they are — but we see an awful
lot that fall into generic phrases,” says Lorna Froud, the head of careers
at Oxford Brookes University. “ ‘I am an excellent team worker’ is
meaningless without evidence to back it up.”
3. Be concise. “It’s not War and Peace,” says
Steven Kirkpatrick, the managing director of Adecco Staffing. Recruiters who
have to plough through hundreds of CVs don’t enjoy flowery prose. Use active
verbs and bullet points to ensure that every sentence counts.
4. Tell the truth. “The most important thing is not to lie,”
Kirkpatrick says. “People augment their CV by adding senior this and that to
make themselves a more attractive candidate,” he says, only to embarrass
themselves later in a competency-based assessment. “If your first impression
is a lie, it’s not a great basis for moving forward.”
5. Focus on your skills. A CV is a selling tool and how you
break down what you have learnt and what you can do is crucial. “It’s OK to
simplify job titles to make them clearer,” Sharman says. “Write a few bullet
points that outline your achievements and experience to back that up, and
say more about your recent roles.”
6. Personalise it. “There’s nothing as bad as getting an
automatically created CV from a website,” Kirkpatrick says. “What they are
buying is you, so sell them you. It’s always nice to have personal
information on the interests that make you a human being,” Sharman says. But
do try to stand out from the crowd; if you like curling up with a book, tell
them what you read.
7. Less is more. Show you have done your homework on the
prospective role by tailoring each CV that you send. Pick out the
competencies that each job advertisement specifically mentions, then
demonstrate your experience. Don’t send out hundreds of generic CVs because
your application is sure to be found wanting compared with those who have
really targeted theirs.
8. Avoid gimmicks. Most CVs find their way via e-mail, so
avoid the temptation to use a rare and unusual font or layout, Sharman says.
9. Get the basics right. It can be hard to spot your own
spelling mistakes and grammatical errors but, as Kirkpatrick says: “For
God’s sake, you’re typing it up. Use the spellcheck.” The Association of
Graduate Careers Advisory Services says that one big graduate recruiter
rejects 56 per cent of applications because of poor spelling.
10. Finished? So you’ve written the perfect CV, that’s the job half done. Now check out how to write the perfect covering letter.
FIND OUT MORE
Give your CV a makeover with Brilliant CV: What Employers Want to See and How to Say It, by Jim Bright and Joanne Earl (Prentice Hall, Pounds 5.99)
You have 20 seconds to make an impact on the person reading your CV, says John Lees, a career coach, in How to Get a Job You'll Love (McGraw Hill, Pounds 12.99)
Enjoy screenings of all the classic films you love.
Have you ever dreamed of owning your own racehorse or a beautiful painting?
Enjoy comfort, safety, space and great design. Plus enter our great competition
Allow Times Online TV show, Perfect Pets help you make the the right pet decisions
Are you California dreaming? Explore the wonders of the Golden State. Also enter our fantastic competition
Do you have what it takes to be a Times photographer?
Your brain is capable of more than you might think...
Find out to make the most of your money with our wealth management guides
Need help with your property? We have an entire how to guide - buying, selling, letting, moving, to help you
We are seeking entries for the inaugural Sunday Times Best Green Companies Awards
Enjoy some wonderful inspiring wildlife moments
An interactive preview of the brand new For Your Eyes Only exhibition

Love Sudoku? Play our brand new interactive game: with added functionality and daily prizes

Are you irritable when you return from work? Drained of emotion? You could be suffering from boreout
Prepare for some shock and awe, petrol lovers. Despite the greens trying to wipe it out, the car is about to offer us the most exciting year ever
We've trawled the brochures and websites to find this summer’s best holidays for every taste and budget

Have your CV reviewed for free by experts
Search Business Schools for MBA providers
Sign up here for your personalised Times Online job alert email
2007/07
£57,500
South East England
2007/07
£40,995
South East England
2006/06
£41,995
South East England
Great car insurance deals online
£40-55k+benefits+uncapped commission
Morgan Keating
South East
£60k plus excellent benefits
Barclaycard
Stockton / Northampton
£
£55,000 - £75,000 plus bonus and benefits
Diligenta
Based in Peterborough
£45,000 - £70,000 plus bonus and benefits
Diligenta
Based in Peterborough
Globrix, the property search engine
Visit Times Online Property for homes for sale or rent
Residential development site with planning permission
£1,500,000
Mortgages, bank accounts & money transfers to help you buy abroad
Dinarobin Hotel Golf & Spa 7 nights
From £1830 per person – saving £530.
Walking & multi-activity holidays in Cauterets. Stylish self-catering apartments.
From 350€ for 7 nights.
Walt Disney World Resort Florida SALE!
From £619 per person!
Great travel insurance deals online
Contact our advertising team for advertising and sponsorship in Times Online, The Times and The Sunday Times. Search globrix.com to buy or rent UK property.
© Copyright 2008 Times Newspapers Ltd.
This service is provided on Times Newspapers' standard Terms and Conditions. Please read our Privacy Policy.To inquire about a licence to reproduce material from Times Online, The Times or The Sunday Times, click here.This website is published by a member of the News International Group. News International Limited, 1 Virginia St, London E98 1XY, is the holding company for the News International group and is registered in England No 81701. VAT number GB 243 8054 69.
"Grammer"?
Clare, Devon,
Just a quick note to say that John Andrew in London is wrong; you would never put a full stop after "Well". Full stops denote the end of a sentence and "Well" is not a sentence. In Alisha's case "Well I have never had a job before" is fine but a comma would also be acceptable. I'd then advise putting in the word "so" rather than any full stops, commas or semicolon. "Well, I have never had a job before so I am totally stuck. What should I write?". And, just to let R. Nessa from Hampshire know; Bella from London was correct in saying that a comma could be put between "before" and "I'm". (I've never had a job before, I'm totally stuck"). The apostrophe that you suggested ("I've never had a job before' I'm totally stuck") would be wrong. I don't think, however, that any of this is going to help Alisha with her CV writing, unless "Well, I have never had a job before so I am totally stuck. What should I write?" is to be her CV, in which case I don't think grammer is the main problem.
Dr J. Doe, London,
I suggest to Bill in Ohio to go on Microsoft online training. It's a fantastic free website where anyone can update their Microsoft Office skills. It covers all applications and levels from beginner to advanced.
Aida, London,
Neither a comma nor an apostrophe should be added to Alisha's comment.
I believe that what everyone is trying to say is that it needs a full stop (at least two, actually) but you could use semicolons (if you were being a little pretentious) or one full stop and a colon (for expansion).
I would try:
"Well. I've never had a job before. I'm totally stuck. What do I write?"
John Andrew, London, UK
Just to let Bella from London know, its not a "comma between 'before and I'm" but an apostrophe. Commas are these things here , .
R. Nessa, Hampshire,
Alisha, why not apply to Burger King? I'm not kidding. A couple of my friends' first jobs were there. One stuck it out for several months, which proved her tenacity and capacity for hard work, which really impressed prospective employers for 'proper' jobs - it's always far better to work than sit on your backside. The other friend was promoted to manager.
Jessica, Reading, UK
One thing that irritates me about CV advice is this push to quantify achievements. I have had several jobs lasting 2-8 years each, and none of them put me in a position to increase revenue or decrease costs by a verifiable percentage, none involved me managing other people and in most of them I used somewhat dated office equipment. I've heard of Powerpoint and Access, etc, but have never had a reason to use them on a job. My last job did involve using Excel, but my predecessor had already set it up. All I did was plug in data, do a sum total and print a report each month. Most of my experience appears to be irrelevant to today's positions, so tailoring my CV to fit the open position results in a blank page. And possessing a university degree in English Lit. is worse than worthless, considering the debt I incurred (about 30,000 pounds and rising) to obtain it. It either makes me overqualified or is cheapened by employers demanding you have it to qualify for a minimum wage job.
Bill Limbacher, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Alisha, Some advice:
Use capital letters to start your sentence.
Always a capital letter when using the personal pronoun 'I'.
'I have' rather than 'i've' - 'I am' rather than 'i'm'.
Spell correctly, Never, NOT neva (too chavvy and lazy!).
Put a comma between 'before and I'm.
A full stop after 'stuck' and a capital W for 'what'.
One question mark will do, the extra 3 are surplus to requirements and just make you appear 4 times as clueless!
I hope this helps : )
Bella, London, uk
Ironic that the company of the one-page memo should ask for two-page CVs!
Pierre Bernardi, Paris, France
I have to agree with M.Stanfield: never slack off with yr cv. & always update it, it's a habit which ought to pay off over the years. Because of the international nature of my work, I constantly need to update the spread of my experience almost as it happens, and every new position can contribute to another skew in perspective.
And for God's sake, get it proof-read as often as you can - not only for spelling but also for idiom - if you keep re-reading it then it only confirms what you think you have written. A cv. always needs objective review & others' perspective, to ensure that the ultimate reader will read what you meant & not what you thought you meant!!
Z. Landers, Ruislip, UK
When I read comments from so called experts on CV's I have a laugh. Why do these experts, recruiters, career advisors show us some printed versionsof their so called excellent CV's. Bet their's are no better than others.
John, london,
Problem with paid employment is this implies you have to fit in, be a team player. Suppose your impression of the team is a bunch of third-rate losers? âWhy am I surrounded by fools and lunatics?â Us loners have to stick together.
EFL teaching allows you to work alone with other people. Admin simply run interference.
English teacher ads in Japan often implicitly state, "Must be aggressive".
"I want this job, and I want it now." That aggressive enough for you?
Something gained in translation, perhaps?
Andrew Milner, Yokohama, Japan
I trick i have found to be of use is to update my CV every year ( I have done this since graduation). The achievements and points which you put about your current job should be constantly changing as you take on different responsibilities etc.
I am now applying for another job in insurance and, lo and behold, my CV is completely up to date and ready for tailoring.
Michael Stanfield, Bath, UK
I should rewrite my CV.
David, Chengdu, China
Alisha, why not try getting a job?
Derek Arbuthnot, Tunbridge Wells, England
never had a job? then give details on voluntary work experience or functions you have assisted in. never taken part in voluntary work? then include details on project work, group work or coursework that demonstrates a good set of skills.
Make sure that the skills are relevant for the job!
Aduh, Manchester, UK
well i've neva had a job before i'm totally stuck what do i write????
Alisha, Ilford, England
This is great advice.
CVs are a tricky business because there is no one formal way of doing it, there are a variety of styles and its just a matter of working out how best to sell yourself to an employer!
Ogo, London,