It’s not always easy to get a first foot on the job ladder but there are companies and organisations out there who are helping young people reach their potential and achieve their dreams.
For example, Marks & Spencer runs its own Marks & Start programme, in conjunction with The Prince’s Trust, and its month-long Make Your Mark work experience initiative is aimed at those who have struggled to get into the job market.
But even if you are not on a special course, one of the ways you can help maximise your chances of forging a successful and fulfilling career is by creating a compelling CV.
Your CV provides employers with an overview of your qualifications, skills and work experience, and helps them decide if you would be a good fit for a particular job.
The employer will form their first impression of you on the basis of your CV.
So here are 11 top tips from The Prince’s Trust on how to create the perfect curriculum vitae.
Presentation
First impressions count for a lot, so the overall look of your CV is very important.
A good CV should be no more than two sides of A4 paper – and don’t forget to double check it for spelling and grammar before you send it.
It should look presentable and professional, and include personal information, a personal profile, and details of education/vocational training, professional experience and personal achievements, volunteer work and hobbies.
Reflection of your personality
Potential employers need to get a feeling for who they might be hiring, so your personality needs to shine through in your CV, and not just in your personal profile.
Positivity and selling yourself
A CV is your chance to grab a potential employer’s attention and make them want you as a valued member of their team.
Remember to use positive rather than negative words, selling yourself and your skills and achievements with verbs like established, directed, led, improved, supported and strengthened.
Ensure your CV is up-to-date and relevant to the job you are applying for
Before you apply for any job, make sure your CV has the most recent information on you, including jobs, skills and experience.
Every time you send off a CV to a potential employer you should take time to make its content relevant to the role you are applying for.
Turn experience in to skills
Think about any work experience, courses or training you have undertaken, clubs you belong to or volunteering you have done.
Once you have identified these experiences, the next step is to show and communicate the skills you demonstrated in each situation.
For example, if you play for a sports team and help organise weekly matches you could explain that has given you skills in teamwork, organisation and working independently.
Be truthful and have examples to back up your skills
Don’t be tempted to lie about yourself, your previous work, experience or achievements, because the chances are you will be found out.
When you are talking about your skills, make sure you are always able to back yourself up with examples.
Be positive about missing skills
If there are any areas of a job description which you haven’t been able to show you are suitable for, for example if the job requires Microsoft Excel skills which you don’t have, there are a number of things you can do.
You can show that you are trying to develop these skills (in the example above, you might do a Microsoft Excel course).
You can demonstrate that you are a fast learner by outlining some of the key skills you have gained.
Or you can highlight skills related to the missing skill, which again might illustrate your ability to learn quickly, for example general IT skills.
Turn responsibilities in to achievements
It is important to highlight your achievements in your CV, rather than only focusing on your responsibilities. Achievements give the employer practical examples of what you have done.
For example, instead of explaining that in a previous job it was your responsibility to do a daily stock check, turn it in to an achievement by saying “organised the daily stock check, making sure that any problems were directly communicated to my manager”.
Think about what will make you stand out
Employers are likely to get a lot of applications for each job advertised and they will be reading a lot of CVs, so really think about what will make you stand out, and be specific – why are you suitable for this job?
Remember tthis will need to be changed when you apply for each new job.
Covering letter
A CV should always be accompanied by a covering letter.
This allows you to give more details about who you are, what you are currently doing, where you saw the role advertised and why you are interested in it, what skills and experience you have that you could bring to the role, and anything else you may wish a potential employer to know.
A covering letter is important because it shows that you are willing to spend the time writing a letter to the potential employer rather than just sending off a CV.
It gives you the opportunity to say why you are interested in the role, and it gives the employer a more rounded view of you and your experience rather than just a few facts.
References
Choosing the right references could ultimately mean the difference between being offered a job or not.
An obvious reference would be a previous employer. But if you don’t have one, or you think they might give you a poor reference, think about who else might be able to do this.
You can either name your references on your CV or say that ‘references are available on request’. But don’t forget to check with someone first that they are happy to be contacted.
