The purpose of your CV is to get an INTERVIEW!
This is why it is essential to spend some time, plan and get it right. The covering letter is usually read first. Then if the reader is impressed he/she will quickly scan the first one or two pages of your
CV, but only TO AFFIRM A DECISION ALREADY MADE.
5 Second Rule- Your CV has only 5 seconds to get the attention of a prospective employer. Yes, it can be done that quickly. First impressions last, so make sure yours looks good.
Let's start with the covering letter.
The covering letter needs to do 3 things;
- introduce you
- specifically address the position criteria
- make the reader want to continue to your CV and find out more
The reader expects the covering letter to convey upfront that you can do the job that you applied for. An affirmative impression will lead on to reading the CV expecting to see examples of your claims.
Now the CV
Chronological
This is the most commonly used CV format and with a covering letter, it is used for most positions. The general layout is usually;
- Personal Details
- Education
- Further Education
- Work History
- Technical/Computer/Software skills
- and lastly Referees
The order of things
Place your most recent education / work first, then work in reverse order to the oldest.
Include the start MM/YY and end dates MM/YY for each position
The title of your position
Duties & Responsibilities in bullet point format
Achievement statement with each position
Don't be fancy, or verbose, less is more and use a clear font type and standard size
Do check your spelling, spelling mistakes mean that is the impression you made and your application is likely to go no further.
