How to write an impressive CV

When you're looking for a new job, whether you have just experienced redundancy, you want to return after a career break or you're simply looking for a new challenge, having a great CV is vital. But what is a great CV? Have you got one? If you have created a CV, how well do you think it sells you? You may be competing with up to 200 other applicants for a job and 80% of recruiters only read the first page of your CV. Even then, they may take about 10 seconds to decide whether you will get an interview or not, a chance offered to only a handful of applicants.

The word 'Curriculum Vitae', literally translated, means the story of your life. So, does yours make interesting reading? Is it a page turner or a turn off?

It's certainly a topic that generates a lot of discussion amongst job hunters and recruiters alike. There are seemingly a trillion books on CV writing and lots of advice on different websites (often quite contradictory), however, here is our no-nonsense advice on the subject.

Our Top 10 CV Tips

1. A good CV has both form and substance - form is all about good spelling and presentation, substance is about what you have to offer, make sure that yours makes the grade on both counts. Your CV needs to sell you and your achievements not just your duties – this is no time for modesty!
2. Format - use plenty of white space to make it look fresh and easy to read, stick to one font such as Arial 11 point, don't add in photos or pictures.Get help on your CV from trusted friends, recruiters, or even a paid professional - print off your final copy and look at it, getting a second opinion on its content and presentation.
3. Recruiters are busy, you have a just few seconds to make an impression. Does your CV pass the A.I.D.A test? Does it grab their attention, hold their interest, create the desire to find out more, drive the action to talk to you?
4. Create one core CV and then adapt it appropriately to the individual positions you are applying for. Use the core CV for posting on job boards to grab the recruiters attention, if you catch their eye you can give them more detail later.
5. Sending CVs and applications by email saves money on postage and is much faster but don't spam your CV willy nilly or it won't be taken seriously
6. Save each version with a clear naming rationale you can identify for reference purposes later, e.g. yourname/company/date or marketingmanager/company nameplc/12.12.06. When emailing your CV, it is always a good idea to name your CV attachment like this “Bloggs, Joe CV” - recruiters do not have the time to guess the author of the attachment and it makes it easier to file and retrieve.
7. Write a punchy covering letter to go with your CV tailored to each job opportunity - this is your opportunity to explain your interest in the post and other information to support your application that doesn't fit easily in your CV.
8. A two-page CV is suitable for younger, less experienced people and makes it easier for busy recruiters to take an interest in you. An absolute maximum of three pages may work for more seasoned applicants, as long as it isn’t padded with waffle and the first page is attention grabbing. For employment experience more than 10 years old, you could create an "Early Career" section where you can quickly list your previous roles by simply including your job title, company and dates.
9. Interview questions usually revolve around the Big Three so make sure your CV answers the questions: Can you do the job? Will you do the job? Will you fit in?
10. Make sure your CV contains the right key words for the job you want so it will come up on the database searches of recruitment sites you are registered with and keep it updated regularly, especially if you take on any relevant voluntary work or study. Updating a CV on a job board can often result in renewed interest from recruiters.

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Choosing a new career direction

The ancient Chinese Philosopher Confucius said 'Find a job you enjoy and you'll never work a day in your life' So, if you're at a career crossroads wondering where to go next and you don't want your next step to be like a game of roulette - read on!

So, what do you dream of being? Could you realise an old dream? Is it time to think of some new ones?
Apparently, Comedian Ricky Gervais always wanted to be a scientist, Fawlty Towers' star Prunella Scales until she was eight wanted to be a ballet dancer, Radio 2 DJ Mark Radcliff always dreamed of playing drums on Top of the Pops, This Morning star Fern Britton wanted to be a dolphin trainer and Sprinting legend Linford Christie wanted to be a pilot. Funny how life turns out isn't it?

Our Top Ten Tips

1. Get a plan - to make career changes for the better you need a good plan. It helps you to become more optimistic and focussed and more likely to stand out to recruiters.
2. Pin down what you really want - it can take a bit of soul searching to answer but until you have some firm conviction around it, it is hard to build a winning plan to achieve your goals, however modest or ambitious there may be. It's an essential not a luxury.
3. Give yourself some thinking space - the best ideas usually come when you’re relaxed. So, don’t forget that your next brilliant career brainwave might come when you’re down at the gym, walking the dog or making your supper - not sitting at a desk staring at a blank sheet of paper thinking about how much you dislike your boss. Once you have the desire to achieve your real goals, you'll be unstoppable. Don't panic, stick an 'everything but the kitchen sink' CV online and hope your dreams will come true - you must be more focussed than that.
4. Focus on 'why' not 'how'- never worry about the 'how' you're going to get to where you want to be before you've figured out the 'why' or you could come up with a brilliant solution which still doesn't actually tick all your boxes, or you'll just talk yourself out of all kinds of quite sensible (or daring) career options before you've even started. We are so programmed to believe that we are doing the right thing if we are taking action that unfortunately we don’t always stop to think. To think about whether these suitable sounding jobs are in fact right for us. Will they make good use of our skills & abilities and do they match our interests and our values? You won't make good career decisions if you don’t ask the right questions first.
5. Plan in stages - first understand yourself and your needs, secondly visualise your future, thirdly start writing your plan down
6. Understand yourself - examine your motivations, interests and skills. If you are a bit of an 'act now - think later' type you may find this hard to do at first, but apply some self discipline and stick with it. If you are prone to 'navel gazing and indecision' you will find it hard too, just in a different way. Get a friend or a coach to help you if necessary.
7. Be honest about your current job and future needs - does your current job make you feel happy, fulfilled, challenged, completely strung out or just bored senseless? What do you actually enjoy about work? The company? The prestige? The perks? The money? The admiration? The gratititude? The sense of achievement? The intellectual challenge? Plodding along or pushing new boundaries? Working alone or working in a team? The drama and gossip or a quiet life? Mapping out the things which make you love or loathe the job will help you to think about your options before you start to concern yourself about how to achieve them.
8. Visualise your future - here is your chance to use your imagination to describe a picture of what you want for your life and career if there were no constraints! So, what are your choices? Where do you want to work? What do you want to do? How do you want to be rewarded? If the answers aren't immediately clear or seem too daunting or impossible, don't be put off. Keep at it and if you stay focussed you'll be amazed at how apparent coincidences start to occur.
9. What have you got to offer? Make a list of your skills and your personal qualities that make you worth employing? It will do wonders for your confidence, help you identify any genuine gaps and help recruiters to place you in the right job.
10. Start writing your plan down - use a note book, carry it around with you and be prepared for the ideas to start forming from there. Try talking to others about your plan, it helps to clarify it in your own mind and may generate ideas and offers of help. Someone might give you a lead to an opportunity they think would be perfect for you. Make sure that when your plan has crystallised enough (but not before!) that it includes the following: What you are actually going to do, how you are going to do it, when you are going to do it, what help you will need to do it, some idea or measure of what success will look like

So, don't hang about and get cracking. Before you know it, you will have that great new job! Now, you can go searching for jobs on the site.

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10 Top tips for shining at job interviews

1. First impressions count - good posture, a welcoming smile, a firm confident handshake as well as good manners matter in those first few seconds. Be cool, calm and confident.
2. Dress for success - select your outfit carefully, find out what the dress code of your target employer is and apply it appropriately. It’s important to look well groomed and professional, radiating poise and confidence.
3. Research – be prepared, make notes from the job ad, do some background checks on the company and rehearse the positive things you want to say.
4. Practice some answers - you have to know how interviewers think in order to satisfy them of your suitability and superiority over other candidates, practicing will help you to frame thoughtful answers when the time comes.
5. Arrival basics - arrive no more than 15 minutes early, visit the cloakroom to check your appearance one last time so you feel relaxed and look your best.
6. Listen to the interviewer carefully - what will the outline of the interview process be? Who exactly is going to interview you and what is their role?
7. Stay focussed - take a calming breath before you reply to a question, maintain eye contact, keep your answers concise and to the point. Radiate a positive attitude.
8. Coping with The Big Three - most interviewers will use these criteria in some combination or another to benchmark your assets against those of other candidates.
   1. Can you do the job? Demonstrate your skill, experience and track record and what could set you apart as well as meet the benchmark
   2. Will you do the job? Show your motivation, commitment and enthusiasm, and that you will go the extra mile when required.
   3. Will you fit in? Prove what a team player you are, how adaptable you are. Assure them that you’ll be an asset, that customers will warm to you and that you can give and take direction effectively.
9. Beware of question traps such as not listening to the question, answering a question that wasn’t asked, waffling and showing that you obviously haven’t prepared.
10. Your questions should be job related, positive and forward-looking. You don’t need to ask about pay and benefits at this point. Wait until they are so keen to have you in their team that they make you an offer you can't refuse!

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Making a good impression

In today’s politically correct climate we are not supposed to give any credence to the fact that people can be and are routinely discriminated against because of their appearance – we're not talking about race here, by the way. People with poor posture and grooming can appear lacking in the confidence and competence that prospective employers consider to be appropriate.

Those who are prepared to underestimate the importance of looking should carefully reconsider their position when it comes to surviving in the job market. Your appearance matters. It sends non-verbal signals to others about our competence and trustworthiness and how well we fit into a group and is especially important at interviews. If you are highly competent but look scruffy, you might not compare well with another candidate who is better turned out but not necessarily as experienced or capable as you. So if one of you has to be chosen, which one of you has the edge? This isn’t about beauty parades; it’s about the communication of reliability, intelligence, trustworthiness, competence, leadership, teamwork and consideration of others

1. 1. Posture - stand tall, walk confidently, keep your shoulders straight and don't loll about or fidget in your seat.The interviewer may have decided that they think you're a good candidate in the first five minutes, but If you really want the job, you have to look and be the part for the whole interview!
2. Hands - the first thing an interviewer will do probably is shake your hand. Make sure your handshake is firm and confident, that your hands are clean with well-trimmed finger nails.
3. Hair - a good, well-cut, flattering hair cut makes a huge difference. Avoid bad home perms, wacky colours or untouched roots and make sure that your hair looks clean and healthy looking without too much gel or styling product.
4. As far as make-up goes, less is more for most women. The nightclub look definitely doesn’t do for women who aspire to be taken seriously. Many beauty salons offer make up lessons that are well worth the money and you can get a free makeover at most of the top department store beauty counters.
5. Fragrance – our sense of smell is one our most powerful and evocative senses. Light colognes on either sex are fine, overpowering, cheap ones can seriously offend. Wear fragrance-free anti-perspirant or deodorant – it’s better for your clothes anyway. Never smell of alcohol and preferably not of smoke either.
6. Clothing - for women – moderation in all things, not too much cleavage or leg or anything else for that matter on show. The more skin you show, the less professional you appear. For men – no workman’s butt cleavage or beer gut on show or peeping through a shirt. A good, classic, well-cut suit in a flattering dark fabric really makes you look the part at an interview. If formal suits aren’t part of the dress culture of the firm you aspire to work for a jacketed outfit may be suitable just for the interview. No character ties, scarves or fancy coloured socks either if you want to be taken seriously. If you want a job in a fashion store, hairdresser or an advertising agency by all means wear what is appropriate. Just make sure it won't scare the interviewers.
7. Accessories - you want the interviewer to concentrate on you and what you are saying. So, steer clear of jangly jewellery, novelty specs, ties or cufflinks.
8. Speech - it's only to be expected that you might be nervous at an important interview. Take a calming breath before you answer a question and you'll come across as confident even if you don't feel that way. Don't mumble, ramble or use lots of inappropriate slang or jargon.
9. Good Luck!

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Job Hunting

'Take care to get the job you like; otherwise you will have to like the job you get' Anon

Always have a well thought out plan before you start job hunting. Whether you want to move onwards and upwards or you just fancy a change, take some time out to really think about what you want before you start. You'll find that it is much easier to write a CV that will get you noticed, search for opportunities that will hit the mark and perform well in interviews if you have decided what your career goals are first.

Getting your next great job - Our Top 10 Tips

1. First things first - determine your job goals, write them down and then focus your efforts towards them.
2. Get noticed - create a core 2 page CV to post on the site for recruiters to find. Make sure your CV sells you, not sells you short, this is no time for modesty! You can always give them more detail later. Check out our other top CV tips on the site.
3. Keep up to date - make sure you keep your details current, recruiters often look for new CV's at the beginning of the week so that's a good time to catch their eye.
4. Let the jobs come to you - set up job alerts for the kind of jobs you are interested in, in the locations and at the salary level you are looking for.
5. Be persistent - if your CV and your job alerts aren't yielding the right results, go back over them again and make sure that you've covered all your bases.
6. Be proactive - read your job alerts regularly, the best opportunities attract a lot of candidate interest so make sure that you apply promptly. You snooze, you lose!
7. Send a compelling covering letter - your CV may be good but this is your opportunity to tell the recruiter why you are applying for this particular vacancy. Make them feel that they can sell you to their client with confidence.
8. Initial approaches - if the recruiter calls you and you can't talk to them then and there, make an appointment to talk in private without interruptions later. If you agree to talk to them, make sure that you keep your promises. You need to demonstrate early on that you are a reliable candidate.
9. Interviews - satisfy yourself that any details you require before the interview are clear before you go to an interview. Neither you, the recruiter or your prospective employer has time to waste.Turn up on time and look your best - there are more tips on interviews here.
10. Offers - don't be afraid to say no if you don't really want the job at any stage in the interview process. Employers only want to make offers to serious prospects. When they do make you an offer, once you are satisfied that it is acceptable, accept it quickly and provide any further information they might have asked for such as references. Never resign from your old job until you have a written contract of employment and that you have passed their reference or medical checks.

Happy hunting!

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Relocation

Whether you’ve lost your job through redundancy, and relocation is the only option if you don’t live in an area with viable alternative employers, or if you’re just fed up where you live, relocation can be liberating and a bit scary at the same time!

Moving with your family or even if you’re single can take up a lot of energy and if you are also coping with a new job you are in fact juggling with two of the most stressful activities around. It follows then that if you like where you live and you like your job you'll be correspondingly less stressed, happier and personally and professionally more productive.

Many job agencies will ask if you are prepared to relocate as part of their registration process. Well are you? Are you really? Lots of people say they are and back out at the eleventh hour because they just didn’t do their homework first.

So, here are our top tips to help you to make your decision to move or not.

1. Is moving the only alternative? Would it be possible or easier to commute? Could you live away all week and come home at weekends? Could you work flexibly or remotely from home for some or all of the time?
2. Have you done it before? The more you've moved around the less daunting it can be in terms of knowing what to do but if you've done it a lot it can lead to a certain kind of rootless existence that doesn't suit everyone.
3. What are the positives and the negatives – make sure you (and your family if necessary) really understand the score and write them down. You might be surprised that some of your fears might be groundless or you come across an obstacle that might limit your options e.g. a more expensive housing area may mean that you need to downsize or rent.
4. Will a move put too much of a strain on your friends and family? Will you be homesick? However much you look forward to moving, a little bit of homesickness is only natural. If you are really shy and you don’t make new friends easily you have to weigh up whether you can overcome your reticence. It could be the making of you and you'll look back and wonder what took you so long.
5. Will your future employer make things easy or attractive for you to move? Many large firms offer relocation grants for key workers and have helpful HQ staff to help you find schools, doctors etc. Will the salary be good enough for you to live on especially if you move from a lower cost rural area to a high cost city e.g. London? What is your bargaining power? How much do they want you?
6. What do you look for in a place to live? Is culture or a good social scene important? Are family considerations such as good schools of high priority? You can check out locations very easily on the net.
7. If you're thinking of going abroad even simple things like getting a bank account can be time consuming – make sure you do your homework beforehand.
8. What's your back up plan? If it doesn’t work out can you come back? You may want to rent for a while and check things out before giving up property in an area where prices rise more quickly.

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