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Introduction
This booklet contains a treasure trove of tips, ideas and information on how to understand two of the most traditional
career-marketing tools (CVs and cover letters) that employers use as a standard screening tool.
The purpose of this booklet is to support your transition from student to graduate by creating CVs and cover letters
in three simple steps, which weve termed Relate, Demonstrate and Captivate. By following these, you will learn
how to change your style and content to meet both your own needs and the needs of employers.
Relate: 90 per cent of undergraduates and graduates do not sufficiently research their targeted employer. This is why
it is crucial to make sure that you really understand what the employer wants; this is the only way that you will be able
to make sure that your CV and cover letter relate to employers needs.
Demonstrate: this emphasises the importance of providing specific evidence by quantifying and qualifying your
statements. You will learn not only to tell the employer but show the employer through examples that you have what
it takes for the job at hand. In short, you will demonstrate that you have the skills, experience and traits that the
employer is looking for.
Captivate: you need to sell what makes you stand out from the other candidates. A degree is not enough. You need
to provide evidence of your extracurricular activities.
The bad news is that there is no one perfect CV, in the same way that there isnt one right way to write your CV and
cover letter. However, there are certain principles that will increase your chances of being invited for interview.
This booklet has a companion website at www.gre.ac.uk/students/get/learningforwork, where you can download
free templates and access more information on learning for work.
Good luck in your job hunting!
The Guidance & Employability Team
Relate
Focus on your target audience and all else will follow. What is it that they (the employer, industry, market, etc.) want?
Then, what are your relevant skills, knowledge, abilities and attitudes that will match these requirements?
Creating the content for your CV and cover letter is therefore about making conscious decisions on inclusion and
exclusion. If anything, it is more about subtraction than addition. Omit all unnecessary words, i.e. any information that
is not relevant to the specific job that you are applying for. This takes time and careful thought about what constitutes
relevant information what recruitment consultants call fit. Do your research and find out exactly what fit means in
your particular instance.
Demonstrate
Once you have your relevant information, you need to provide evidence that you have the skills, knowledge, abilities
and attitudes that the employer is looking for. You must give specific examples, making sure that you quantify all your
statements. Employers will take you seriously if you back up what you write with relevant facts and details.
Write your CV and cover letter in a professional, business-like style. The subtitle of this booklet is A Short Guide on
How to Write Effectively to Employers because the best way to get your message across is to understand how to
communicate quickly and accurately in a professional context. Be specific, concrete and consistent in your writing (as
well as in your layout designs). If you are in doubt, err on the side of formality.
Captivate
You need to sell what is unique about you. You need to deliver more than expected. The aim of your CV and cover letter
is to differentiate you from the competition. So you need to add extra oomph to both.
A way to capture the attention of a prospective employer is to include an achievements section in your CV. Here you
can talk about your successes, such as voluntary work, awards or positions of responsibility, or any entrepreneurial
projects, mentoring schemes, community projects or fund-raising campaigns that you have been part of, languages
that you are fluent in, or university societies that you have joined.
Relate
Remember, focus on your target audience and all else will follow. This section will look at how to research not only the
employer but yourself to make sure that you create a powerful CV and cover letter with effective one-to-one marketing.
Relevant information
Essential information you need to be crystal clear about:
n Employers requirements
n Your relevant skills, knowledge, abilities and positive attitudes that match the employers requirements.
Employers requirements
Ideas and pointers about areas you should research
Role
Company
Commercial awareness
Exercise: Archaeology
Very often we have to do some digging to uncover relevant examples that match the employers requirements. Think
hard about what you have done in your life that might provide the most effective examples of the skills or abilities you
are looking to demonstrate. The sentences that follow will help you carry out this detective work. See these as a starting
point for thinking about relevant examples.
Complete the following phrases:
1. My favourite relevant academic topic is because .
2. My relevant degree courses, essays and research topics are .
3. The relevant key skills I developed during my degree are .
4. The way that I developed my key skills was by .
5. What I do differently today because of what I learned is .
6. This is relevant to the job I am applying for because .
7. My favourite extracurricular activity is . because .
8. My favourite magazine related to the sector Im applying to is .
9. An interesting article I recently read that is related to this sector is .
10. I really enjoyed this article because .
11. My top three favourite companies are . because .
12. My significant achievements are . and the benefits I have gained from them are .
13. Id describe myself when I am working at my best as .
14. People often praise me for .
15. What motivates me to jump out of bed every morning is .
16. The last time I contributed an idea to a team project was .
17. The last time I experienced life in a child-like, fully absorbed way was .
n Personal details (name, surname, address, telephone number and e-mail address)
n Education and qualifications (employers look for relevant degrees, courses and grades)
n Work experience (especially relevant work experience).
The other headings you use will depend entirely on what the employer is looking for and what your relevant experience
is. Learn how to use heading flexibly and to your advantage when selling your skills and you will be well ahead of the
competition. See Part 2 for more ideas and different headings you can use.
Demonstrate
Provide relevant examples
Once you understand what the employers requirements are, you need to link these with relevant examples from your
own life. Quantify these to provide enough evidence for the employer to conclude that you have the required skills for
the job. To this end, you must make your examples as explicit and detailed as possible. This will build your credibility
and increase your chances of being invited to interview.
The STAR acronym gives you a structure to provide evidence that you have a particular skill:
S
Tip: Quantify!
Writing phrases such as I have great team-working skills is not enough; further detail must be supplied. The following
is a STAR example of team-working skills:
S
I obtained a 2.1 in five of the team projects (over 67 per cent) and a
First (80 per cent) in one of our projects. I learned the importance of
reviewing task management.
Layout example
Dont forget to link and organise this relevant information and to insert in it appropriate places in your CV. If, for
example, team working is very important, make sure that you do not just write:
200811
Instead you should use the opportunity to sell your team-working skills:
200811
In this case, the new material has been inserted under the Education heading, but it could have been placed, equally
appropriately, under other headings.
n Additional skills (this allows you to provide any other relevant information that does not fit under the Part 1
headings)
n Extracurricular activities and achievements (this is a favourite among employers as it allows you to showcase
those leadership skills most employers want).
Other headings you can use are:
CV templates
Chronological CV template
A typical chronological CV starts with your personal details, followed often by education, work experience, other
specific skills and achievements, leisure interests and referees. It emphasises continuity and career development and
highlights names of employers.
Name, surname
Address (home and term)
Telephone (with a professional voicemail message)
E-mail address (with a professional e-mail address)
Personal profile (optional)
(You should present employers with a profile statement that sums up your proposition concisely. Ideally, this should be
three lines that establish your key strengths in relation to the vacancy and give employers a feeling for your
aspirations.)
Education (most recent first)
Date
Date
School/FE college
A-levels (grades if good)/other qualifications
GCSEs (grades if good)/other qualifications
Brief reminders
n Use headings to the best of your advantage
n Keep all your information relevant to the job you are applying for.
7
Yours faithfully,
Tunde Nayim
E-mails
Here are a few tips on how to present your e-mail if you are sending your CV and cover letter electronically.
n Take as much care with an e-mail as you would with the rest of your writing.
n Use an appropriate subject title including the job reference for the job you are applying for.
n Use a formal greeting (Dear X) and a formal sign-off (Warm regards,) following standard letter conventions.
End with your name, job title, phone number, etc. (use the automated signature option available in most e-mail
programmes).
Captivate
The aim of your CV and cover letter is to differentiate you from the competition. So you need to add extra impact to
your CV and cover letter always deliver more than expected! Never forget to be appropriate to your target audience.
Do
Most CVs...
activities
that
Final checklist
Your name and contact details are at the top of the page. (There is no need to write Curriculum
Vitae, it should be obvious what the document is. Do not include your date of birth.)
Yes
Yes
The CV and cover letter is targeted at the job or sector that you want a job in.
Yes
The important facts are prioritised through your use of headings, and the most important
supporting evidence is made prominent using a STAR structure.
Yes
The CV fits on two pages. (This is the length that most employers prefer.)
Yes
It is clear and easy to read and pleasing to the eye. (There are no fancy typefaces, and the size of
font is ideally between 10 and 12 points.)
Yes
Your CV creates the right impression. (Use good-quality paper that is a neutral colour. Do not fold
or staple your CV.)
Yes
Yes
You have demonstrated all your relevant skills, both transferable and subject related.
Yes
You have given evidence for every claim you have made about yourself.
Yes
The CV is interesting to read and flows in a logical order. It captivates the employer and is always
relevant to the job.
Yes
Proof read. Ensure someone else has checked for errors and that the spelling and grammar are
correct and have been checked and double checked. Make certain that there are no typos.
Yes
You have included a covering letter that draws attention to the impressive and relevant information
in your CV. (Be aware, however, that some companies will circulate your CV but not your covering
letter, so ensure everything appears there.)
Yes
You have asked permission from your referees and given them a copy of your CV and told them
about the type of work or job for which you are applying.
Yes
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Further help
Books
There are many books on CV writing if you feel you need some more information and examples of CVs. The books
listed below are available for reference from the Employability Centres at Greenwich, Avery Hill and Medway.
Making Applications, AGCAS Information Booklet. This is available free from the Careers Centre. This has a detailed
section on applying for jobs using the Internet.
High-Impact CVs: Make Your Resume Sensational (52 Brilliant Ideas) by John Middleton.
Brilliant CV: What Employers Want to See And How To Say It by Jim Bright and Joanne Earl.
CV agencies
Producing a good CV takes a lot of time and thought. You might be tempted to use an agency or company which
specialises in CV writing. However, a CV agency can only use the information that you give them, so you must still carry
out the initial research and preparation yourself (see Relate). A company will usually produce a CV that looks attractive
and includes the main points. However, while some firms have a lot of expertise, others do not, and you may be
disappointed by the results. Companies also tend to produce CVs that fit their standard format. This is particularly the
case if they also act as recruitment agencies or offer job-matching searches on the Internet.
If you decide to use a company to produce your CV:
Computer packages
There are various software packages on the market that can help you to write your CV. Bear in mind, however, that they
can help to structure your thoughts, but they wont tell you what information you need to include or the best way of
expressing it. They may also not be able to process information that does not fit into their pre-defined templates.
Computer-generated CVs can look wooden, and an employer may already have seen 50 CVs produced using the same
software. If you use a computer package, make sure your CV is the one you want, not the one that the computer
package says you should have. In short, use them as a guide, not as a straightjacket.
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2008
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