Marion Gerson, Jeff Waldock

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Creating a good CV

• Marion Gerson, Jeff Waldock
• February 2009

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Creating a CV - why do it now?

• 60 points out of 1000 for this module
• Put it in your professional portfolio
• Have it ready
• if you look for a job or work camp in the summer
• if you want to try and get a placement next year
• if you want teaching experience
• And ............

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Use it to think about your life

• What have I done?
• What do I want to do?
• What else do I need in order to get from here to
  there?

4
Write down

• (You will NOT be expected to read this out!)
• Something important or interesting or fun that
  you have done quite recently
• What you want to do after you leave university

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Was that difficult?

• No
• Preparing your CV is largely a matter of making
  sure layout grammar are good

• Yes
• You are going to have to work much harder at your
  CV, but it will be well worth doing

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Let's have a look at a CV

• C1
• This is for a 2nd year maths student who is
  trying to get a placement now.
• Try to look at this as if you were an employer
• Mark the things that stand out
• What is not so good about this CV?

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What makes a good CV?

• Content
• Good grammar
• Layout

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Layout

• There are no fixed rules except (for the UK)
• 2 pages
• But as a guideline try to make it
• Nice to look at
• Not too crowded
• Key information seen easily

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Look at another CV

• C2
• Do you like the way this is laid out?
• Quickly underline or circle the key information
  or selling points on this CV
• Were they easy to find?

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Look at another CV

• Take a quick look at C3.
• Is it well laid out? What message does this give
  the potential employer?

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Layout (cont)

• This is your shop window, so put anything you see
  as important in a prominent position
• Put your most recent job or education first
• But this is not an absolute rule
• White space is important. Compare C4 and C5.
• Don't use small font or reduce the margins to
  make everything fit in. Use size 11 font.

Use bold or highlighting sparingly
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Good grammar

• Why do you think this is so important?

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Good grammar

• Try to write short sentences.
• Use punctuation correctly.
• Decide whether you want
• Bullet points and phrases (e.g. reverse of C5)
• Proper sentences
• DON'T trust the spell checker
• Get help with proof-reading

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Problem words

• I
• Find different ways of starting a sentence
• Also
• Underline all examples in your CV then work to
  eliminate some of them
• Extensive, highly, extremely, etc.
• Use VERY sparingly
• Overstating your skills can backfire (C1, C4)

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Useful words (Use sparingly and only if you mean
them)

• enjoy, like, passionate about
• analytical, logical, problem solving
• accurate, careful, systematic, on time
• enthusiastic, keen, interested in
• develop, learn, experience, new, open to

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CONTENT - essential

• Contact details
• Education and qualifications
• Most up to date, including marks for 1st year
• IT Skills
• Work experience (paid and unpaid)
• Personal and professional skills
• Activities and interests
• 2 References (Wendy Jackson A N Other)

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CONTENT - optional

• A personal statement which might include
• What kind of person you are
• A summary of your personal qualities
• What ambitions you have
• What kind of job you are looking for
• SHORT - Maximum 4 or 5 lines
• Likely to be on the front page C1, C4, C5
• What do you notice about these statements?

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Leaving things out - 1

• Don't try to cover up poor results
• Employers can guess what these are
• If there is a big gap in your CV the employer
  will see it.
• A brief explanation may be useful, perhaps in the
  personal statement

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Leaving things out - 2

• "Do I have to tell them about my disability?"
• No
• But you might want to.
• Seek advice to help you decide what and how to
  disclose.

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Leaving things out - 3

• "Do I have to tell them about my marital status
  or family responsibility?"
• No
• Not unless you want to
• Think about what this tells the employer

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Leaving things out - 4

• "Do I have to tell them my age?"
• Or sex, race, nationality or religion?
• No
• A few companies are even asking for CVs without
  dates on!
• Decide what you want the employer to know

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Leaving things out - 5

• "I have too much to go onto 2 pages"
• You may look back in pride at that swimming
  certificate, but will it help you get a job?
• Remove what has been superseded
• A brief reference to an interesting job, hobby or
  experience can be used as a 'hook' to get them to
  ask you more in the interview

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Making the most of what you have

• Tell them what you put into an experience and
  what you learned C5
• not (just) details of what you did
• Choose what you think will 'sell' you
• you are looking for a professional job
• Create 'hooks' - C5

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"I don't have enough to put in"

• You won't be alone!
• But that doesn't help you
• This is an important reason for starting to think
  about this NOW

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Improving the content

• Work at getting good grades
• "90 of success is just showing up" Woody Allen
• Take your IT and programming skills seriously
• SAS
• Visual Basic
• Use the summer to
• Get a job
• Organise a trip
• Do some voluntary work or help other people
• Develop an interest (new or existing)
• Or all of the above

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What to do NOW

• Prepare your CV
• Use the standard header
• You can easily take it off or change it later
• Include 1st and 2nd year modules
• Leave a space for 1st year results (or put in
  guesses!)
• Check grammar and layout
• Ask for help/advice from Jeff or myself
• Marion Gerson Harmer 2212

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Sending it in

• Name it SurnameFirstnameCV v1.doc
• e.g. GersonMarionCV v1.doc
• Send it to m.gerson_at_shu.ac.uk
• To arrive by midnight of Thursday 5th March
• Otherwise you get 0 marks

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When you have sent it in

• It will be graded and points awarded
• A - 60 Employer will definitely want to see you
• B - 40 Employer will probably want to see you
• C - 20 Interview only if few qualified
  applicants
• D - 10 Serious problems with this CV
• E - 5 Definitely don't interview
• If you want to improve your mark, you can
• come and ask me for help (room 2212)
• resubmit by midnight on Thursday 19th March

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Finally

• The CV is your personal statement
• People like us can give you advice
• But in the end it is YOUR decision and YOUR
  responsibility what you put in it and how you set
  it out
• It should change and develop along with you
• Don't use something that is out of date