In this economic climate, it’s essential to stand out from the crowd when applying for jobs in London. You need to pay particular attention to the way your C.V is written and worded before you send it out there. Read through these top C.V writing tips and compare them to your current resume.
1. There is no need to state ‘Curriculum Vitae’ in the title of your C.V. Simply state your name in large font, followed by your contact details -address, email and mobile phone number. If you’re a graduate, you should certainly include the letters after your name.
2. Keep the C.V to a maximum of 2 pages of A4. A prospective employer will be unimpressed by waffling and won’t have the time or interest to read through all the different Saturday jobs you had when you were 14. Where necessary, use bullet points to make your skills and experience seem punchy, rather than longwinded.
3. Try and use an interesting but formal style font. Times New Roman and Arial are extremely popular and therefore, nothing special. Be careful that your font choice isn’t too casual though. It must look professional.
4. Many C.Vs and application forms are sent/attached online these days. However, if the company you’re applying for a job with, have requested a C.V to be sent through the post, then you absolutely must invest in some quality paper. Try looking in Rymans or another stationer. When sifting through a pile of paperwork, a C.V on quality watermarked paper, will stand out from the crowd.
5. When sending your C.V out as an email attachment, it can be tempting to send it as an Adobe .pdf document. Although .pdfs undoubtedly look more professional than a Word document, not all I.T systems will have the software to read them. You do not want to be giving a potential employer the unnecessary chore of having to download Adobe reader in order to read your C.V. That would immediately be a blackmark against your name. The same applies to zipping software such as Winzip.
6. This is an extremely obvious, yet often forgotten about tip …. spellcheck and grammar check your C.V. When you’ve done this, pass it on to a friend to proof-read, so that it’s also been checked by ‘human eyes’.
7. Unless specifically asked not to, always enclose a cover letter with your C.V. This gives you chance to spend a couple of paragraphs elaborating on relevant experience or skills for the position that you’re applying for. You might want to impress by displaying proof that you’ve researched a little about the company you’re applying to work for. It’s always a good idea to state the reasons that you would particularly like to work for an organisation, as well as what you will bring to the role.
8. Do not use C.V-generating template software. Although you should definitely read around and apply tips such as these to your C.V, you really should build it from scratch. Remember, the key is that you want your C.V to stand out from the crowd, not to look like everyone elses.
9. If you know that you’ll receive a particularly glowing reference from a former boss or college tutor (only if the degree subject is relevant to the job you’re applying for), then with their permission, list their contact details towards the end of your C.V. Ideally you should have two references listed.
10. Do not over-complicate it. Above all else, remember the golden rule, which is ‘If they didn’t hear it, you didn’t say it’. It must be concise, impressive, yet easy to grasp.