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Everyone writes their CV for the first time. Whether you are a school leaver looking for a part time job, a graduate or even returning to work after a long career break – putting pen to paper can sometimes feel daunting.
Writing the perfect CV is tricky, but writing a CV when you are straight out of education can be even trickier.
Personally, I find writing CV’s enjoyable and quite therapeutic, but I know not everyone does. I’ve spoken to colleagues, friends and candidates before who have said that writing a CV has put them off applying for new jobs!
As a school, college or university leaver you may feel that you can’t fill a CV as you have limited work experience or you don’t have any voluntary experience.
So I’m here to help you through the not so scary world of first time CV’s
Grab a brew and have a chat
Quite often when we’ve been chatting to a candidate, we discover a hidden gem that wasn’t included in their original CV, such as a significant achievement, success or a specific skill.
A good way to prepare is to grab a pen and paper, a brew and a friend or parent and have a good old chat. Talk through your work experience, what you got out of it and what you learnt. Talk about your interests and life experience, what it says about you, how it has shaped you. Talk about your education and qualifications and what you love to do.
Bouncing ideas off each other is a great way to find the detail that will make your CV stand out from the crowd.
Profile
Start with a profile, a personal statement about YOU. No more than 3-4 lines long, keep it punchy and a summary selling you and all you can offer. Think of it as a product statement, what will the employer get if they employ you?
Work Experience
Just because you haven’t had a full time job doesn’t mean you can’t make this section stand out. Include all experience; school work experience, voluntary work, Saturday jobs etc. Even if it’s only a couple of week’s experience, it’s still experience!
Detail what your responsibilities were, key skills you gained and what you learnt from your time on the job.
Education & Qualifications
Remember to include the most recently achieved/studied qualifications first and work back to secondary school.
Also remember to include extra-Curricular awards such as Duke of Edinburgh. Awards like these develop positive life skills and habits such as self-resilience and perseverance. GREAT qualities for a potential employer.
Key Skills
Be sure to include any positive skills you have, these can include team work, IT skills, coaching, money handling, conversational foreign language. Think about your experience and hobbies.
Interests/hobbies
Make sure you include anything that adds value. For example, a team sport shows your ability to work in a team and dedication to train. Reading or research into a related subject shows your commitment to the industry and your personal development.
So grab a brew, a pen and paper and start jotting ideas…and remember, we’re always here to help!
