Perfecting your CV: Five things to think about

Suzanne Ball, careers advisor at the University of Hertfordshire

(Image: Image Source/Getty)

"Summarise your education, skills and experience in two pages". Sounds easy but producing a CV that actually gets you an interview is a tough assignment. There are many guides available to help you get a draft CV together so here are some extra tips based on the five conversations I most often have with students in CV feedback sessions.?

Visual Impact - First Impressions are Lasting Impressions

An employer could receive 50 applications and only have half an hour between meetings to sift through them all. So, if your CV gets an initial glance of less than a minute, how can you lay it out in a way that makes it impossible to miss your key selling points?

• Use a clear font such as Arial, Calibri or Garamond and don't be tempted to keep reducing the font size so that you can cram in more information.
• Break things down. Don't write long flowing paragraphs - many employers won't bother to read them. Use sub-headings to break information up into bite-size chunks and try short statements or bulleted lists so your skills and achievements can be easily spotted.
• Be consistent. Format headings in the same way throughout so it's clear where one section ends and the next begins. Use the tab key to indent so your margins are all in the same place and keep to the same bullet shapes when listing. Small details can make a big difference to the look and feel of your CV.
• Steer clear of coloured paper or funky formatting designs. Research shows it may get you noticed but not for the right reasons.

Personal details

An employer needs to know who you are and how to get in touch. So all you have to do is key in your name and contact details (accurately) and move on, right? Not quite!

• Don't include your marital status or family responsibilities (date of birth and nationality are optional).
• Be aware of your digital footprint - if you are posting your CV on job sites leave out your address and landline number. You are still easy to contact via your email or mobile.
• Do you need a new email address? A "humorous" email address is ok for social networking but on a CV it will look unprofessional and might even cause offence. ?

(Not too) Personal Profiles

Hooking the employer's interest with a short, focused paragraph is a good starting point, but a rambling, irrelevant profile can land your CV in the reject pile within seconds. So how do you get the?balance right??

• Don't write a flowery paragraph about your personality - you're trying to get an interview not a date.
• Pick a few of the employer's criteria and explain why you're suitable for the job.
• If you include your career goals keep them specific. "I am looking for an interesting job in a dynamic company" is too vague. Stating exactly what you are looking for will show you are focused but make sure (a) your goals match what you're applying for and (b) you tailor your profile for every application.

Keep it Relevant

You've got two pages to show how impressive you are, so do your research - the information on your CV must match the employer's criteria.

• Don't list every degree module and project - pick a few that show relevant knowledge or skills. List your lab skills if they're needed for the job but if they're not, leave them out (the employer won't be interested).
• If you're applying for a non-scientific job you may only need to state the title of your degree and the result (as well as institution and dates of course). Don't forget any relevant skills you've developed, for example, statistical methods, analytical and problem solving skills, a high level of numeracy.
• Use recent examples - it's probably time for your stint as a sixth form prefect to fall off your CV. Focus on achievements from university life gained on your course or through clubs and societies.
• Don't undersell yourself. Vacation work, sandwich placements, voluntary work and gap years are all great ways of demonstrating relevant transferable skills and achievements.

Structure your CV around your life

There isn't one "right way" to structure your CV. So don't worry if your friend's CV looks very different from yours - they could both be fine.

• Work out your key selling points and put them on the first page. Think about what will interest the employer most: Your degree? Your work experience? Your laboratory skills? Relevant experience?
• Break sections up for greater impact. For example, if you've done lots of part-time jobs but want to highlight one or two of them you could split your Employment section into Relevant Experience and Other Experience.
• Look at sample CVs and templates for ideas but don't copy them rigidly - it's unlikely that your life will exactly fit into someone else's structure.

And finally ... ask for help. You can get your CV reviewed at your university's careers service even after you have graduated.

Employers,?do you have any?CV horror stories? What are the things that really turn you off, and on??Tell us below.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/179c2286/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cbigwideworld0C20A110C0A80C50Ethings0Eto0Ethink0Eabout0Ewhen0Eperfecting0Eyour0Ecv0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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