Before starting

·         Sit down with a piece of blank paper

·         Look at the job description you intend to apply for

·         See how much information you have about the job description. Are the details enough?

·         Consider the job requirement and compare it with your own experience, skills and education

• Spend time searching for information about the employer i.e.
  1. about their structure, products, successes, and approach
  2. from their own publicity, reports and publications

• Prepare to write your CV together with the job application and a covering letter

What is a CV?

1. Although type, style and requirements of a CV (curriculum vitae) resume differ from country to culture, the purpose of writing the latter is to sell ‘yourself’ to an employer
2. The other objective of writing a CV aims to get a first interview with a potential employer and from there, to be selected for the job in question
3. When sending your CV to an employer, always attach a covering letter to it.

Tips about the employer

• An employer spends only around 10-20 seconds on a CV
• An employer may receive several hundred enquiries about a single job and at the end, few people will be selected for an interview

 A perfect CV

• Your objective is to write your CV an employer, not to yourself. In that respect, be market oriented i.e. put yourself in the shoes of the concerned reader
• A CV must be tailor-made relative to the job you are applying for. As such, it is useless to describe your Bartender experience in a lengthy way if you are applying for a Selling job

• So as to maximise your chances of getting a first interview your CV must be:

·         well-presented

·         Attractive and positive

·         Well planned and specific

·         Short concise and attractive

·         Use simple language

·         should be honest and factual

Keep your CV short

• Keep your CV short in that respect, your CV must be:

• A maximum of 2 sides pages (A4)
• Avoid making it too fancy and complicated
• Do not use lots of different font types and sizes
• Do use bold and/or underline print for headings
• Do use plenty of white space, and a good border round the page
• Consider using 'bullets' to start sub-sections or lists
• Always typed your CV with a word processor (example Microsoft Word)
• Check for spelling and grammar mistakes (spell-check on your computer)
• Print the document on a good quality printer

Rereading your CV

• What you have written may seem simple and obvious to you, but not to an employer. As a principle, it is advisable to follow the following steps:

1. Go through your CV’s content one more time. Put it aside for around one hour and thereafter, reread it
2. Check for spelling and grammar mistakes
3. With a red pen try to make it shorter, more readable and more understandable

A third opinion

• When you are satisfied with your CV’s content ask your friends or relatives for their opinion and how to make it better

 A tailor-made CV

·         Because you are using a computer or word-processor, your CV must be 'customised’ or tailor-made relative to the job application

 
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