Preparing a CV

As you can imagine at AIDA we see a wide variety of styles, fonts, colours, themes etc submitted on CVs on a daily basis

While the turquoise background, typed in Algerian Bold and underlined in red may well stand out for a moment (and give whomever should be unfortunate enough to see it a migraine!!) the best CVs are those that are in a standard font (Arial, Tahoma etc) on a white background, neatly set out and around 3 pages long as a general rule of thumb.

So, if you are starting again with your CV or are about to send it out and want to double check you have the best chance of impressing potential employers here are some tips to help you on your way:

Rule 1: Clear Layout

Remember to use a reasonably sized font and use bold and underline sparingly.

Take time to space things sensibly so that your finished document is clear and legible (numbered pages or Headers and Footers can help with this)

Name and Contact details at the top - not buried halfway down page two – for easy reference

Relevant education and training – any job related training will be useful i.e. Telephone Selling Skills 2005 is useful when going for a sales job, however a First Aid Certificate taken in 1992 is no longer current and therefore irrelevant.
Formal Education is important to cover however 9 GCSE passes including Maths and English 1996 is preferable to listing each exam with date, board name and grade.
A levels should be listed with subject and dates and Further Education should show Establishment, Course, Date and award attained

Chronological order of employment with current/most recent first working backwards historically – include a reason for leaving each role and highlight any achievements for each position.

Personal Interests – a few hobbies and interests (see Rules 3 & 6)

Rule 2: Mind the Gap!

If you have any gaps in employment please put a valid reason (some companies may ask for proof) e.g.
June ’07 to Dec ’07 Travelling (Australia, New Zealand)
Or
June ’07 to Dec ’07 Temporary assignments (Agency Names and general roles undertaken)
Or
June ’07 to Dec ’07 Sabbatical (Including any education / training / certificates undertaken etc)
Or
June ’07 to Dec ’07 Career Break for family

Rule 3: Personal but not too personal

A personal profile at the top is a useful addition, especially if you are looking for a specific type of role and general search area (Sales Manager, Finance, Central London) but bear in mind that this is your opinion on you so the more business focussed you can make this the better.
For instance: “Joe is a fantastic, warm, giving person who always makes friends in the workplace” …..the recruiter just fell asleep
Whereas: “An ambitious team player with strong negotiation skills and a desire to succeed” sounds much more like a sales professional's resume.

Keep this succinct and geared to the role you really want highlighting any successes and career ambitions.

Rule 4: Contact Details

You do not have to include your whole address but a general location indicator is a help (John Smith, SW1. Joanne Jones, Reading, Berks)
If you include an email address do not use your current work address, some employers frown on their employees using work addresses for personal reasons such as to gain another job.
There are so many web mail providers available these days that you can usually find one that makes sense: Joannejonesnewjob@... is much better than any potentially embarrassing nickname you may use in your personal life – we have seen some amazing email addresses.....therefore so have your potential employers!
Check this “job search only” email address regularly, if you don’t you could miss out on that perfect role.
If you include a telephone contact number ensure that your mobile is on, your voicemail is working and not full and it is strongly suggested that personalised greetings are toned down to a business form message. "You are through to Bob Jones. Sorry I am unable to take your call at the moment so please leave your name, number and message after the tone and I will contact you as soon as possible. Thank you. A potential employer will not necessarily find your Homer Simpson/Darth Vader/Catherine Tate greeting humerous! Similarly turn off the rendition of Amy Winehouse that kicks in for the listener's enjoyment whilst your phone rings, once you have your perfect job you can turn these things back on!

Rule 5: References

If you include these please ensure that the company, contact and person details are current
Two references are preferred.
However if you have only had one job you could also include a personal reference such as a College Lecturer, Religious Leader, Family friend who is in a professional role (Police, Doctor, Lawyer, Teacher etc)
Another option is to gain a letter of reference from former employers on leaving which can be included with any applications - handy if you have not moved roles for some years and your previous manager has moved on in the meantime.

Rule 6: Personal but not too personal #2

Hobbies.
While you may have a fantastic social life, belong to many clubs, societies, associations etc your potential employer does not actually need to know chapter and verse of your favourite nights out, how many times a week you go to the gym, that you played King Arthur in a recent battle re enactment or that you are currently writing a musical version of your life story to be performed at the local junior school before opening in the West End…..
Yes an employer will want to know a little about you outside of your work environment but will the fact that you are a Grade 7 Trumpet player or a Karate Black belt swing this application for you?
Here, less is very definitely more.
We often see whole pages dedicated to outside interests which makes us wonder if these people will have time to speak to us let alone go to any interviews we may arrange, so, a brief paragraph on your hobbies, interests and personal ambitions is sufficient on a CV – if the employer is also a part time twitcher / scuba diver / aficionado of Mozart or “Masterchef in waiting”, a snippet here will whet their appetite and give you something to discuss in an interview!

N.B Recently there have been various news reports regarding the impact of social networking sites on potential employers. We would advise our candidates to bear this in mind when creating their CV.

Rule 7: The most useful bit on a computer
PLEASE SPELL CHECK !!!!!

So, now you have your clear, legible, succinct, correctly punctuated, laid out and spelt document, what are you going to do with it?

Email it to us at enquiries@aidarecruitment.com of course!