Cv

Queen_Of_The_Jungle

Hello there

Do any of you lovely people know of any on-line (free) sites which help with CV's??

I have seen a few but would like to know of ones you have actually used.

TIA

DCFC79

I wouldnt use 1, you can get help for free on the internet, various websites or this site for example are helpful

Queen_Of_The_Jungle

Wouldn't use one what??
Wanted advice on general layout and style these days, been yonks since I did one.

soupdragon10

Hi you could look at the Next Step website (just google Next Step) - there is a CV template on there as well as help to put one together plus if you sign up for an account you can save it on the site in your account to continue to work on.

Hope this helps.

purplerose

There are a few types of CV layout that you can use. If you have lots of work experience then a chronological CV would probably be best. The standard layout for these is something like:

Personal Details

Name, address, contact numbers and e-mail.

I'd advise using a professional sounding email like j.smith@gmail.com rather than something like crazayjaysmith@gmail.com

You don't need your date of birth, marital status or gender on your CV.

Personal Profile

A few lines that say who you are, what you can do and what kind of job you're after.

Employment History (most recent first)

Date - Date, Job Title, Town
Brief summary of duties and responsibilities.

Education (most recent first)

Date - Date, Place of Education, Town
GCSE Subjects: English (b), French (b), Maths (a), Geography (b).

Hobbies/Interests (Optional)

I only really add these if they have relevance to the job but it's up to you. For example - for a supervisory position it might be good to say you were the chairman of your local tiddlywinks club as you can mention which responsibilities this brought you. However if you only play tiddlywinks once a month with the family then it is less likely that this will be worth mentioning.

Additional Information (Optional)

This is a space to mention bits that don't fit anywhere else.

Things like: driving licence & own transport, first aid certificates, willing to undertake further training etc.

References (Optional)

If you don't want to put them on your CV at this stage you can just say "References available upon request" under the additional info section.

If you've been out of the workplace for some time or are looking to change career then a skills based / functional CV might be of more use to you. This is where you have a skills section that highlights the skills you think the new employer wants (you'll find them in the job advert) then you write how you can demonstrate each of these skills by mentioning previous experience from employment or life.

So for doing that I would have a similar layout to above but with these differences

Personal Details
Personal Profile
Key Skills

Communication

A few lines about your excellent communication skills.

Team Working
A few lines about your experience of working in a team.

Employment History (most recent first)

Just list dates, employer name and town - no need for duties as you have the skills section instead.

Education (most recent first)
Hobbies/Interests (Optional)
Additional Information (Optional)
References (Optional)

Keep it to 2 A4 pages, play around with page margin sizes to give you more space. Sans serif fonts are standard, something like Arial or Calibri is nice. Font size should be about 11 or 12.

Couple all of that with a decent covering letter and you should be sorted. There's plenty of samples around on the internet for you to have a look at but once you've got the basic info down you'll be able to play around with the wording and style.

Good luck.

DCFC79

Queen_Of_The_Jungle wrote: »

Wouldn't use one what??
Wanted advice on general layout and style these days, been yonks since I did one.

sorry my apologies, i misread the post

anamenottaken

purplerose wrote: »

T
References (Optional)

If you don't want to put them on your CV at this stage you can just say "References available upon request" under the additional info section.

I would say "never put actual details of referees on your CV". This is because it is a courtesy to let your referees know of each application where they may be asked to provide a reference. If you give their details on a CV, you lose control of which employers contact them - you want it to be only those where you have been interviewed and want the job.

Personally I would not mention that "references are available upon request". It is a given that employers will want them and expected that all candidates can provide details. Use the space to sell your skills and experience instead.

Queen_Of_The_Jungle

Thanks guys and gals

purplerose

anamenottaken wrote: »

I would say "never put actual details of referees on your CV". This is because it is a courtesy to let your referees know of each application where they may be asked to provide a reference. If you give their details on a CV, you lose control of which employers contact them - you want it to be only those where you have been interviewed and want the job.

I'd agree with this most of the time but it also doesn't hurt to have a CV with your reference details and one without. I have seen some job adverts request CVs with reference details on them so having one ready prepared is just a bit of a time saver really. If I were sending a CV out to many companies then I'd send out the one that has no reference contact details on it.

The only other time I'd imagine having your references on your CV would be of benefit is if it's an industry where connection matter. For example, I am friendly with a person who works in journalism and her references are on her CV because they are impressive people to have as references.

anamenottaken wrote: »

Personally I would not mention that "references are available upon request". It is a given that employers will want them and expected that all candidates can provide details. Use the space to sell your skills and experience instead.

Yes employers will expect references but not everyone has piles of experience to sell and it's an extra line to put in there that acts as a good finishing sentence. If you need the space or don't like it then leave it off, if you like it then keep it.

There is no right or wrong way about doing a CV and everyone has their likes and dislikes - go ask 10 different career advice folk to create a CV from the same info and you'll get 10 different versions of the same CV. So long as it's clear to read, looks professional and says what it needs to say then it will be fine.