CV Advice 

Tips for preparing your CV.

A CV is your sales document to your future employer. Where possible it must meet the needs of the target organisation, highlight your achievements and demonstrate how they relate to the job you are applying for.

You must try to give the reader a clear indication of why you should be considered for the role.

Two example CV formats are shown and can be used depending on the application. 

    1.    Performance CV   
   2.    Functional CV

Other considerations for registering your CV on Job boards, websites and databases.

Registering your CV on the Internet job boards and employment sites can often call for a different style to the conventional CV. On some sites such as ours www.executivefutures.co.uk the process is very straight forward. You can copy and paste your CV directly onto the website registration page or against a particular vacancy. 

The rules you need to follow for this 'Electronic CV' to have maximum benefit are set by how a computer works, as well as how the reader thinks.

The key is getting the information in order and using appropriate keyword nouns or phrases.

Using Keywords

Your CV should be packed with nouns or noun phrases that fit your goals, skill set, experience and industry sector. Adding as many different keywords as you can to the body of the CV is crucial. If you are sending your CV to an online recruitment company, it will be usually searched by keywords. If you put it on the website of a potential employer organisation that uses CV tracking software, again, it will be searched by keywords. The only time it will not be searched by keyword is when you directly e-mail a company or organisation.

This type of CV should be e-mailed and stored in ASCII or plain text format (the simplest form of text that all computers can read and understand). This ensures that the Companies who do not have the latest version of Word etc can still read your CV.
 
 
Key points for your CV:

• Honest and factual
• Ideally, no more than 2 pages. (Be concise, avoid lengthy paragraphs) 
• Personal contact details on the first page.
• Employment history commencing with your current or most recent job and work backwards.
• Brief statements about the Companies you have worked for such as core business activity, turnover etc. (This allows the reader to quickly make comparisons about the size and complexity of the business, number of employees, market position, focus of organisation, etc)
• Recent job roles summarised outlining your main responsibilities and job scope (e.g. size of budget, number of staff).
• Achievements, bullet-pointed statements highlighting the benefits of your actions (ideally in measurable terms) and how you have accomplished them.  
• Headline your key skills, key achievements or key attributes by choosing an appropriate presentation format. Ensure important information can be seen easily and is not lost in a mass of text. (Busy recruiters skim read CV's like newspapers. Headlines catch their eye).
• Omit irrelevant or potentially negative information.
• Include details of training or management development events attended which could be relevant.
• List your professional memberships and relevant qualifications. (Do not send or attach certificates).
• Ensure Keywords are used that fit your goals, skill set, experience and industry sector.
• No need to provide reasons for leaving on your CV.
• It is not necessary to reveal the identities of your referees on the CV. (This comes later).
• Do not make any spelling mistakes
• Include in your covering note the type of role you seek, salary expectations and geographical mobility (particularly if applying speculatively).