Right up until your interview you’re only as good as your paperwork and perhaps telephone manner. This makes your Curriculum Vitae and covering letter very important. They are really essential tools in the majority of job searches.
Preparing:
Give thought to your skills, competencies, certificates and experience. What exactly are your unique selling points and strengths? Think in terms of what you have accomplished.
When you’re replying to a particular job offer, examine what keywords and phrases and tasks were used in the listing. Which of these key phrases is applicable to you? Use these phrases and words in your Application.
Helpful Tips:
Always remember that you will need your Curriculum vitae to be read and replied to. Include a satisfactory amount of material to stimulate interest, but not so much that you bore the viewer. When you present small, digestible pieces of information you stand a significantly better possibility of having your Resume read. About three pages at maximum is preferred, but keeping it to one page is more desirable! Every word will need to contribute to the overall message so keep it short and be sure that the information is applicable to the job opportunity you are making an application for.
Be sure that your Resume is well organised and nicely laid out; this will give the impression that you think rationally and can make it easier to review. Remember a Curriculum vitae which is tricky to read is usually set-aside and forgotten about. When formulating the Resume, do not forget that self-opinion is best avoided. Endeavor to include factual information or objective evidence and try to remember to focus on the positive aspects of your successes.
Pay close attention to reply instructions in advertisements (e.g. the spelling of a contact’s name). Always have someone else on hand to take a look at your spelling and grammar. Nothing can hurt your odds of finding a placement faster than easily avoidable blunders. Refrain from using coloured paper or fancy fonts, if you plan to fax or e-mail your Resume, you’ll have a much better result with clean fonts and a uncomplicated lay-out.
The First Page:
This should contain your personal details, your home address and contact details situated right at the top, followed by a simple overview of educational credentials and qualifications. An outline statement should be included covering your talents in the relevant area, and the type of position searched for.
Pages Two and Three:
Here it is best to highlight your employment back ground. Provide this in reverse chronological order, (i.e. your last job first of all). If you have only worked for one organization, break it down with an entry for each position or project dealt with. For each position held, briefly describe responsibilities and work undertaken.
Do include things like successes, not merely common tasks, if possible, quantify them in sales, financial or production terms.
Every specialized position that you’ve had needs to include at least one statement of success. For your existing and recent jobs, you could want to have a couple of bulleted items under the job that lists your most significant experiences.
Listing your pastimes and interests in not more than three lines, and only when they are applicable to the position in question. Any voluntary or charity work or external posts you hold are worth including. At all times include things like any languages, courses or instruction you may have done, or any specialized memberships.
It is recommended that two referees be given at a later date including the referees official titles, addresses and telephone numbers.
The Covering Letter
Resumes are seldom used on their own, they should at all times be introduced by a letter or a phone call. The letter can really let your character come through. Try to remember, employment experts and organisations read tons of Resumes, an informative introductory letter can make yours get noticed.
Your letter is commonly used to pick up points which modesty or space prevented you from including in your Resume (i.e. to point out your key talents relevant to the job). An introduction letter can help to save you from needing to rewrite the Application each time you want to target your application form to a specific advertisement or industry.
Having said that, keep your Curriculum vitae current. Having an old Curriculum vitae appears careless at best and may exclude you from consideration.
Sapphire Recruitment Agency is situated in Tiverton, Devon, and supply Permanent and Temporary staff to the Industrial, Commercial, Engineering, Driving and Care sectors.
