Writing Your CV (Curriculum Vitae)
Your CV must show:
- your name
- your address
- your telephone number/ email address
It must also include a summary of:
- education - show your secondary schooling and any qualifications taken/ achieved. Also any additional qualifications or training courses you may have taken either in your own time or at your own expense or that have been funded by a previous employer.
- employment - show your most recent employment and then previous employment in reverse chronological order i.e. show the most recent first. Gaps in employment history must be shown and accounted for e.g. unemployed, travelling etc.
- experience - consider all the experience you have and relate it to the job for which you are applying. Experience can be drawn from paid and non-paid activities so you should include any relevant experience that you have gained as a volunteer or in your own family.
- skills - identify skills relevant to the area of work that you are seeking e.g. computer, administrative, dance, playing sports etc
- You may also want to say something about your interests and hobbies particularly if they relate to the area in which you wish to work
It must be brief and up to date and focused on the task it is designed to do - get a prospective employer to give you a job interview. It must be clear, concise and accurate with no spelling mistakes and on good quality, clean and un-creased paper.
Writing your covering letter
It is generally accepted good practice that you send a cover letter out with your CV. It serves to introduce you to the prospective employer and gives you a chance to emphasise a particular aspect of your background or experience. It should be clear and concise and include the following:
- specific job title that you are applying for
- any reference numbers/ codes that are associated with the job you are applying for
- two or three references to experience/ skills you have that relate to the job you are applying for
- your reason for applying for the job
Completing a job application form
You may be asked to complete an application form rather than send in a CV. If you are, then you must complete it in full.
With the application form you are often sent some background information about the organisation you are applying to, a person specification and a job description.
Background Information
This has been sent to give you some additional information about the organisation and should be read. A prospective employer will often tailor their questions to try to find out how much you already know about them.
Person Specification
This is a list of qualities the employer considers most important for the job e.g. team player or someone with a particular type of experience. Often they are listed with the level of need for that requirement e.g. essential and desirable.
Job Description
The job description tells you about the job itself, the hours, salary and what the job involves e.g. number of children working with, activities you will undertake and level of responsibility you will have.
You should always tailor your application form to take into account the detail of the job and the person specification and try to give concrete examples of situations in which you have employed the experience and skills they are looking for.
Remember: Take a copy of the CV and covering letter or the application form you have sent the company - this will help you to remember what you said about yourself.
