In today’s competitive job market, a cover letter is not simply a polite introduction to your CV. It has a vital role in letting the recruiter know that you are willing and able to perform the role for which you’re applying. Never skip a cover letter – it could be the difference between a fast track to the reject pile and securing that much-wanted interview.
So, what makes a cover letter great? Join us as we take a look.
Uncover your fit
Before writing your cover letter, go back through the job description. What skills and experience is the recruiter looking for? A good cover letter will demonstrate at a glance how you meet the key requirements of your targeted post.
Imagine the recruiter sitting with their headline checklist of requirements in one hand and your cover letter in the other.
Does your letter make it easy for them to tick off their list?
Does it demonstrate that you are willing and able to do the job?
Your cover letter isn’t a place to rewrite your CV but you should pull out the highlights. Be clear, succinct and focused on what the person reading your cover letter is looking for. If you write with the recruiter’s needs in mind, you will be one step further to ensuring you are shortlisted for interview.
Uncover your motivation
Make sure that your cover letter conveys your passion and interest for the area in which you plan to work (not just that you want to earn more). You can illustrate this through elective degree modules, work placements, voluntary work, and other interests, even if you’re just starting out in your career. Demonstrate your motivation by talking about any key experience that has enabled you to develop and use the skills that are relevant to your desired job.
Reveal the value you add
A great cover letter will show that you’ve researched and understood the role for which you’re applying, and that you have an idea about how the company operates and its vision for the future.
Your cover letter needs to make it easy for the recruiter to picture a future with you in it, by revealing the value that you can bring to the role and the organisation.
Cover the basics
There are some basic elements that every cover letter should include if it’s not going to be dismissed out of hand.
Write to someone, not anyone (ditch the ‘Dear Sir or Madam’)
Beginning your cover letter with ‘Dear Sir’, ‘Dear Madam’ or – worst of all – ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ tells the recipient that you did not care enough about the job or your application to find out his or her name.
It only takes a phone call or quick Internet search to get the name of the person to whom you are writing. Don’t miss the opportunity to make your first impression a positive one. When you do find out the recruiter’s name, check the spelling and make sure you get it right in the letter.
If you really must start your cover letter with ‘Dear Sir / Madam’, remember to sign it ‘Yours faithfully’ as you can only be sincere if you know the person’s name!
Be clear and concise (stick to one page if you can)
Your cover letter should ideally be a one page, easy to read document. Recruiters are up against the clock, which means they don’t have time to plough their way through reams of information. Keep your message clear, succinct and on target. The harsh reality is that it is likely to end up in the bin if it does not grab the reader’s attention within the first few seconds.
Write your cover letter, put it to one side and then come back to edit it. Have you used ten words when you could use five? Is there a simpler way of conveying your point? Is it easy to pull out your key message?
Remember too that your letter may be screened by someone more junior than your target reader. Tell a story of your experience and value without lots of complicated jargon.
Use an active voice
A good cover letter must be more than a list of skills or experience. To make it engaging, aim to use an active voice and simple, straightforward language. The active voice uses verbs to indicate a motion or action, and it makes your writing more dynamic and interesting. It lets you take responsibility for your achievements, rather than suggesting that you sat passively by while they occurred on their own.
Proofread, proofread, proofread
A simple typo or spelling mistake can ruin your chances of selection, making it easy for another candidate with similar skills and a word perfect CV to be picked over and above you.
Before you send out your cover letter, proofread it several times. Don’t just rely on spell check because it may not pick up a typo like ‘main’ instead of ‘man’ or ‘their’ instead of ‘there’.
If you can, get someone else to proofread your cover letter too. Two pairs of eyes are better than one and, when we proofread our own work, we often see what we think we’ve written, not what’s actually on the page.
Coordinate with your CV
Coordinate your cover letter with your CV in terms of language, presentation, formatting, type face and size. It will demonstrate your attention to detail and present your application as a cohesive whole.
Make it easy to contact you
Your cover letter should clearly state your contact details (including telephone numbers and email address) at the beginning, and reiterate your number before closing the letter.
Consider replacing your email address with something more grown up if your current one is silly, wacky or just inappropriate. It’s important to give a professional impression from the outset.
Sign your letter
In this digital age, adding your signature to the bottom of your letter gives a strong signal of your authenticity.
A final word about the cover letter as application form
It is not uncommon for recruiters to forgo or complement an application form by asking you to use your cover letter to address each point of the person specification, outlining in detail how you meet the role requirements. In this situation, having to write a detailed person specification may make your cover letter two to three pages in length. However, the points above still apply. Be clear, concise and focused on why you’re writing and what that information means to the recruiter.
Above all else, your cover letter is worth spending time on. It can definitely be used as a first point of evaluation for recruiters, and an integrated letter and CV application can make all the difference to your chances of selection.
The Association of Graduate Recruiter’s (AGR) annual summer survey 2013 has recently reported that graduates are facing ever greater competition for jobs, with leading UK employers now receiving 85 applications for each advertised job.
Stephen Isherwood, AGR’s new Chief Executive advises graduates to ‘be competitive and strategic in your approach to applications – and keep persevering.’
So how should you best apply this advice to your graduate CV?
To help you to put these recommendations into practice, I’ve put together a comprehensive, section-by-section guide to building your graduate CV.
Our graduate CV writing packagesare also a very competitively-priced option if you decide you’d rather hire a professional.
Name and Contact Details
Avoid writing “Curriculum Vitae” at the top of your CV – it is obvious to employers what the document is, therefore you won’t need to state the obvious. Instead replace this with your name in a larger font. This will help the recruiter to remember it. Your personal contact details should follow this before going into the main body of your CV.
Headline
Using a headline at the top of your graduate CV is a good tactic to position yourself as a strong candidate in the reader’s mind. Before the profile, state clearly your professional moniker; an overarching description that confirms to the reader from the outset that it is worth their while to continue reading your CV. Example headlines could read along the lines of Business Graduate, Aspiring Business Analyst or Graduate Researcher. One simple way to position yourself as a ‘fit’ for the role is to describe yourself in the terms used by your target employer.
Profile
Include a targeted, concise and well-written profile to illustrate your skills, experience and future potential to prospective employers. This paragraph should sum you up as an individual, detailing what you have to offer and what motivates you within your chosen career. Your profile should make it easy for employers to see what your main selling points and experience are.
Employers are looking for graduates with the potential to succeed within their organisation, given the right training and opportunities to shine. With this in mind, your CV profile needs to highlight your potential to become a valued employee, using the solid foundation you have already achieved through academic achievements, key competencies and transferable skills.
Objective
Outline in one or two lines your objective for applying to the target organisation in the context of your overall career ambitions, skills and experience.
Education
As a new or recent graduate, your focus to date will have been primarily your education and so you will not be expected to have an extensive work history. Therefore, unless you have been employed in a relevant role since graduating, it is advisable to detail your academic history and qualifications directly after your profile section.
List your university, years of attendance, degree title and relevant modules. If you haven’t yet graduated, indicate when you are due to finish the course.
Summarise older qualifications in a similar manner, however, avoid listing GCSE subjects and grades; it is sufficient to indicate that you have, for example, 9 GCSEs including Mathematics and English.
Leave off any irrelevant awards and achievements. Listing everything can make candidates seem immature, and also leaving some things off gives you new information to add at an interview.
Key Skills
You can consider using a Key Skills section on your CV, either immediately after Education or after Experience. The Key Skills should use snappy two to three word bullets, and describe the transferable business skills (e.g. Quantitative Research or Report Writing), rather than soft skills (e.g. Communication Skills), that you can bring to your target employer. Ideally, these should reflect the skills outlined in the target job advert, description and person specification.
This section, which can be skim-read very easily, is a godsend to the recruiter who needs to quickly locate the words that enable them to tick, tick, tick the boxes.
Work Experience
This section can be used to outline all paid or unpaid work experience which may be of interest to a potential employer. You can break your experience down into relevant and other work experience, with your most pertinent experience featuring first on page one of your CV.
Recruiters are keen to understand what drives you to pursue your chosen career. Demonstrate your motivation by detailing any experience which has developed and used the skills pertinent to your desired job. Relevant work placements, research projects and general employment can be used to show recruiters what you have to offer and entice them to find out more.
You can use general work experience to illustrate transferable skills of interest to your target employer, even if these are not directly relevant to your chosen field. For each role, use key achievements to illustrate key competencies such as customer service, teamwork, communication and interpersonal skills, organisation, time management and the ability to learn quickly and work hard.
Your graduate CV will be more compelling if you can evidence your claims with specific examples of what you did and the benefits of your actions. Talk about what you achieved rather than your team as a whole. Make your statements SMART wherever possible – Specific, Measurable, Action Orientated, Realistic and Time-Based – detailing for example the amount of money you saved, the number of clients you served, over what specific time period and with what benefit to the organisation as a whole. For instance, it’s easy to state you have experience in sales, but employers will take more note if you say you were responsible for a 10 per cent growth in overall sales over a six-month period.
Although it is important to document any work experience you do have, don’t worry too much about a lack of employment experience. As a graduate you are not expected to have worked extensively and your focus to date will have been your academic studies. What you need to draw out is your employability – how have you used your initiative; examples of successfully handling pressurised or difficult situations; dependability; and your ability to adapt and react to changing environments.
Additional Information
An additional information section can be used to outline skills, experience and memberships not covered elsewhere in the CV. Languages, IT skills, professional memberships and relevant extra-curricular interests can all be covered in this section.
Cover Letter
Always send your CV with a tailored covering letter explaining why you are applying for the role. Without a covering letter, your CV may end up straight in the bin. At a basic level, your cover letter is a courteous and polite introduction to your CV. A good cover letter will show that you have researched and understood the role you are applying for and that you have an idea about how the company operates and its vision for the future. By doing your homework, you can make your cover letter come alive by showing your enthusiasm, motivation and positive attitude.
Graduate CVs – Hints and Tips
Your CV is your personal sales brochure – it should be easy to read, interesting, and memorable.
Tailor your CV and cover letter to each position you apply for, so your documents are relevant to each job and interesting to each target employer.
Your most relevant experience, qualifications and skills must feature on page one of your CV.
Use well-defined sections to make your CV easier to read and understand.
Graduate CVs should be between one and two pages in length.
Avoid including irrelevant details such as your height, weight, date of birth, gender, marital status, primary school education, religious affiliation or sexual orientation.
Check, check and check again for spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Use black type and an easily legible simple font like Arial, Tahoma or Verdana.
Although most applications are now by email, if you do need to print your CV, use high quality 100gsm white or off-white paper.
Print a copy of your CV. Now turn your printed version over, so the text faces down onto your desk or table. Now think about what your CV should be saying about you. Turn your CV over and imagine you are a recruiter, giving your CV a cursory once-over to decide whether you are a good match for their recruitment requirements.
Are you making it easy for them? In the space of a few seconds, can you pull out the keywords from your CV that will signify a strong match to your target job?
If not, then here are a few strategies which can make all the difference.
Headline and Profile
Your headline and profile are of key importance to position yourself in the reader’s mind.
Using a headline at the top of your CV is a good tactic to say confidently who you are. Before the profile, state clearly your professional moniker; an overarching description that confirms to the reader from the outset that it is worth their while to continue reading your CV.
The headline is becoming a more popular feature on CVs, both on and off-line. LinkedIn, for example, asks its users to add a headline to their online profile, giving examples such as: Experienced Transportation Executive, Web Designer and Information Architect and Visionary Entrepreneur and Investor.
Don’t feel compelled to define yourself by your current job title, especially if it is too specific, simply bizarre or may even be unrecognisable to the recruiter.
One approach to writing a headline is to take an objective look at what you have achieved over your career to date and use this insight to define yourself. If you’ve worked in roles as a receptionist, office administrator and clerical officer (in the days when that was a popular job title,) you could consider describing yourself as an Office Support Professional, for example.
Avoid tongue-in-cheek descriptions like ‘Technical Evangelist’ or ‘Director of First Impressions’– the reader may not take them in the spirit intended and just think you have an overinflated ego.
One simple way to position yourself as a ‘fit’ for the role is to describe yourself in the terms used by your target employer. If they are seeking a Business Development Manager, but your current role is actually Head of New Sales, I don’t see it as a problem to describe your role using their language. You can reflect their terminology in your headline and profile and reference your actual job title in your Experience section.
Key Skills
I recommend using a Key Skills section immediately after the Profile, incorporating snappy two to three word bullets which describe the transferable business skills (New Business Development, for example), rather than soft skills (Communication Skills), you can bring to your target employer.
Ideally these should reflect the skills outlined in the target job advert, description and person specification.
This section which can be skim-read very easily is a godsend to the recruiter who needs to quickly locate the words that enable them to tick, tick, tick the boxes.
Experience/Employment Sections
Highlight your relevant experience, the experience that best matches the requirements of the target job, on page one of your CV. You can call it out in a Relevant Experience section, with Other Experience to follow. This tactic can make all the difference to whether your CV gets through the initial screening process.
If any of your job titles have been very specialised or specific to your organisation, consider using a more generic and recognisable job title in its place on your CV. Many recruiters are scanning CVs using specialist software which picks up on certain keywords, so it is important to reference those keywords.
If your CV could speak, it should be saying, “YES! I AM your perfect match. Pick ME! Pick ME!” Just give it the right language, tone and fluency of delivery and let it talk your way into an interview.
Written by Lis McGuire
Lis McGuire is a professional CV writer at Giraffe CVs. She has 15 years of experience gained delivering interview-winning CVs and cover letters for professionals at all levels, helping individuals to stand out from the crowd in a highly competitive job market. You can find her on Google+, Twitter and Facebook.
Writing your own CV can cause a headache, so I thought I’d share my A to Z of hints, tips and tricks of the trade to make your task easier. Happy writing!
A is for Achievements.
Make your career achievements SMART wherever possible – Specific, Measurable, Action Orientated, Realistic and Time-Based – detailing for example the amount of money you saved, the size of budget you handled, the number of clients you served, over what specific time period and with what benefit to the organisation as a whole. For instance, it’s easy to state you have experience in sales, but employers will take more note if you say you were responsible for a 10% growth in overall sales over a six month period.
B is for the Basics.
Check, check and check again for spelling, grammar and punctuation. Don’t rely just on spell check, as this will not pick up real words which have been used in error (for example man instead of main). A CV with these basic errors can ruin your chances of selection, making it easy for another candidate with similar skills and a word perfect CV to be picked over and above you.
C is for Curriculum Vitae.
The abbreviation CV stands for Curriculum Vitae and the plural is Curricula Vitae, although this term is often misspelled as Curriculum Vita or even Curiculum Vitae. Some people call their version of this document a résumé, which is a French word meaning “summary.” The phrase Curriculum Vitae is a Latin term for “course of life”. A Curriculum Vitae in today’s world is defined as “a summary of your academic and work history” however, at Giraffe CVs we see your CV as your personal marketing tool which demonstrates your skills, experience and achievements in an easy to read document.
D is for Details.
Avoid including irrelevant details such as your height, weight, date of birth, gender, marital status, primary school education, religious affiliation or sexual orientation.
E is for Email.
Consider replacing your email address with something more grown up if your current one is silly, wacky or just plain inappropriate. It’s important to give a professional impression from the outset.
F is for (F) or Fail.
My advice is actually not to include qualification grades on your CV. You will give a better impression of your academic qualifications by simply stating you have 3 A Levels rather than A Level History (C), A Level English (D) and A Level Geography (E). At this stage your target is to be asked to an interview. You need the reader to be interested enough to want to meet you, and as such it is important that your CV does not rule you out.
I often find this with Bachelor degrees: recruiters may make the decision to cull their enormous pile of CV applications by ditching those with a lower second class degree (2:2) or Desmond as it is sometimes affectionately known. The exceptions to this rule would be if all of your grades are consistently fantastic or if you have been specifically asked to include your grades by your target employer.
G is for Gap Year.
If you are a recent graduate who has taken time out before throwing themselves headlong into their career, this experience needs to be presented in an appropriate manner on your CV. If you worked during this time, whether in a paid or unpaid capacity, then you should highlight the experience and transferrable skills you gained through this experience. Give precise details of the organisation you worked for, your role, dates of employment and relevant achievements. Later in your career, a gap year can be line itemised, as with other earlier work experience, since more recent and heavyweight experience takes precedence.
H is for Housewife.
Finding a new job can seem like a daunting and even overwhelming prospect when you have taken a short or extended career break to raise your family. In our experience, a lack of self confidence is the biggest single hurdle in achieving new employment after a career break. Many of our customers who are returning to work after a break no longer believe in their own abilities and find it hard to see what they can offer to a new employer. It is easy to get bogged down in explaining away several years out of the workplace, focusing on making excuses rather than drawing out the positive.
Although you have had a period away from paid employment, your short or long term absence from work is likely to have changed you as a person, adding to your overall life experience. Whether you have opted out of paid employment in order to raise your family, taken maternity leave to have a baby, been made redundant or taken a career sabbatical to pursue other interests, there is no reason to feel guilty or attempt to cover up your absence from work. Consider the transferable knowledge and experience you have developed during a career break which would be appealing to a potential employer. Desirable workplace competencies such as organisation, administrative skills, marketing, fundraising, event organisation and team work can be developed through voluntary roles, personal projects, travel experiences and outside interests.
I is for Irrelevant Information.
Leave off any irrelevant awards and achievements, listing everything can make candidates seem immature. Leaving some detail off your CV gives you new information to add at an interview.
J is for Job Titles.
If your job title is very specialised or specific to your organisation, consider using a more generic and recognisable job title on your CV. Many recruiters are scanning CVs using specialist software which picks up on certain keywords, so it is important to reference those keywords. At Giraffe CVs we make sure your CV is looked at rather than overlooked.
K is for Karate.
Should you include hobbies and interests on your CV? If you are a school leaver, recent graduate or young professional who needs a bit of ‘padding’ to enhance your CV, then maybe. If you have a lot more experience under your belt, then hobbies and interests should only be referenced if they are relevant to your career or if they add a genuine ‘interest’ factor to your CV. I recently worked on a CV for someone who was a keen photographer, and this was featured under Additional Information referencing an up to date online portfolio of his work.
L is for LinkedIn.
Once you have a CV you are proud of, consider uploading it to LinkedIn. Using social and business networking tools in the right way can help you maximise your exposure when searching for a new role. Headhunters, recruiters and internal HR Managers all use LinkedIn to source quality candidates. Include a concise and interesting overview of your career to date and preferred future direction and you may be surprised at the responses you get. Your existing contacts may be unaware of your background and skill base – once they read what you have to offer they may be able to help directly with your job search or pass your details on to someone who can assist. A well written profile which uses relevant key phrases will ensure key organisations are able to find your details through their searches, giving you access to a wide range of job opportunities. In addition, employers are now using networking sites such as LinkedIn to find out more information about individuals before recruiting them.
M is for Motivation.
If you are just starting your career journey, recruiters will be keen to understand what drives you to pursue your chosen career. Make sure your CV conveys your passion and interest for the area you plan to work in. This can be illustrated through your elected degree modules, work placements, voluntary work and other interests. Demonstrate your motivation by detailing any key experience which has developed and used the skills which will be relevant to your desired job.
N is for Name.
Should you use your abbreviated name on a CV, for example Nick rather than Nicholas? I advise using your professional moniker, the name that you are most comfortable with in the workplace. Whether it’s the long or short version, as long as you are consistent it won’t matter. As a general rule of thumb, leave middle names out though, it just adds something else to read, something else to remember.
O is for Objective.
Including an objective can sometimes be limiting on a speculative CV, in that it may rule you out for opportunities in wider roles or fields. However, if you have a structured career path or are certain about your career goals then it can add focus to your CV. If you are going to include an objective on your CV then it should come after the profile. Outline in one or two lines your objective for applying to the target organisation in the context of your overall career ambitions, skills and experience.
P is for Profile.
Include a targeted, concise and well written profile to illustrate your skills, experience and future potential to prospective employers. This paragraph should sum you up as an individual, detailing what you have to offer and what motivates you within your chosen career. Your profile should make it easy for employers to see what your main selling points and experience are.
Q is for Questions.
Try to anticipate questions you may be asked about your specific roles and achievements within an interview context. This exercise may actually help you to edit a lengthy CV to the required two pages as you can assess what needs to be included to whet the reader’s appetite and what detail you could add at interview to showcase your experience and expertise.
R is for Reasons for leaving previous employment.
Don’t include reasons for leaving any of your previous jobs in your CV. Although honesty is the best policy, you should leave explaining this until you are asked. This information doesn’t add anything to your CV, it can come across negatively and can take up valuable space which you could be using to sell your key attributes.
S is for Salutation.
Beginning your cover letter with Dear Sir, Dear Madam or — worst of all — Dear Sir or Madam tells the recipient that you did not care enough to find out his or her name. It only takes a phone call or a quick Internet search to get the name of the person to whom you are writing. Don’t miss the opportunity to make your first impression a positive one. Get the name and spell it right.
If you are going to start your cover letter with Dear Sir / Madam remember to sign the letter ‘yours faithfully’ as you can only be sincere if you know the person’s name!
T is for Typeface.
Use black type and an easily legible simple font like Arial, Tahoma or Verdana on your CV, they are easier to read than the old fashioned or wacky alternatives.
U is for Unfinished Courses.
Clients often ask whether they should include incomplete courses or qualifications on their CV. The answer is sometimes yes
and sometimes no. By omitting several years of your life history you can leave a telling gap, sometimes it’s best to outline simply and clearly that you studied two out of the three years of your degree course and be ready to explain what happened at interview. In many cases, an individual’s consequent professional experience is much more valuable to employers than an unfinished qualification. Don’t necessarily feel that you should try to edge this experience under the carpet. Honesty is the best policy, and this experience is part of your life’s rich tapestry.
V is for Voluntary Work.
Any work experience (paid or unpaid) will boost your CV if it is of interest to a potential employer. You can use voluntary experience to illustrate transferrable skills which will be useful to your target employer, even if it is not directly relevant to your chosen field. Within each role try to illustrate key competencies such as customer service, team work, communication and interpersonal skills, organisation, time management and the ability to learn quickly and work hard. Your CV will be more compelling if you can evidence your claims with specific examples of what you did and the benefits of your actions.
Something to consider: you can break your experience down into relevant and other work experience, with relevant experience featuring first on your CV.
W is for We.
Some people have a tendency towards expressing their achievements within a group context. Your CV is not the right place for this behaviour. Your CV is your place to shine, for your skills, qualities and individual achievements. So please don’t credit others on your CV, just state what you have personally achieved, truthfully, clearly and succinctly.
X is for XXXXXX
Try not to leave information gaps that leave readers guessing.
Y is for Yellow.
Don’t use yellow paper when printing your CV. Or pink, or striped or spotted. Print and present your CV on two sheets of high quality 100gsm white or off-white paper.
Z is for ZZZZZZZZZZ.
Remember your CV is your personal sales brochure – it should be easy to read, interesting, and memorable. Your most relevant experience, qualifications and skills must feature on page one of your CV. The harsh reality is that it is likely to end up in the bin if it does not grab the reader’s attention within the first few seconds.
Finding a new job can seem like a daunting and even overwhelming prospect when you are currently out of work.
In our experience, a lack of self-confidence is the biggest single hurdle in achieving new employment after a career break. Many of our customers, who are returning to work after a break, no longer believe in their own abilities and find it hard to see what they can offer to a new employer. It is easy to get bogged down in explaining away several years out of the workplace, focusing on making excuses rather than drawing out the positive.
Let’s liken these inner demons to the troll who lives under the bridge in the tale of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. You can either listen to your doubts, or charge them down like the third goat in the story, who crosses the bridge and gains access to the greener grass beyond.
Whether you have taken a short or extended career break, have recently been made redundant or have been unemployed for a while, a well written and well presented CV is an essential tool to raise your confidence and get you back to work.
So, how should you best go about writing one?
Sink or swim
The most important thing to bear in mind when writing any CV is that it needs to demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the role. Imagine the recruiter sitting with a checklist in one hand and your CV in another.
Does your CV make it easy for them to tick off their list?
Does it demonstrate you are able and willing to do the job?
If you write your CV with the recruiter’s needs in mind, you will be one step further to ensuring your CV is shortlisted.
Be buoyant about what you achieved before your career break
Although you have taken time out from your career, don’t be tempted to undersell your experience and skill base. Be proud of what you have achieved so far and make sure this comes across in a positive way on your CV. You may be more experienced than other candidates applying for a desired role, even though your experience isn’t totally current.
A good tactic is to imagine that you are actually still in your last role and draw on that positivity to make your skills and achievements stand out loud and proud. If your last relevant role was a few years ago, and you’ve had other jobs in between, you could present your most relevant experience up front, on the first page, with a ‘Relevant Experience’ section and one on ‘Other Experience’ to follow.
Be buoyant about the skills and experience you gained through your career break
A career break can be a very positive experience which enhances your CV.
Before you begin writing your CV, take some time out to consider the transferable knowledge and experience you have developed during a career break, which would be appealing to a potential employer.
Desirable workplace competencies such as organisation, administrative skills, marketing, fundraising, event organisation and team work can be developed through voluntary roles, personal projects, travel experiences and outside interests.
Whether you’ve been a member of a PTA committee, have an active involvement in local community events or have recently returned from a personal travel experience, you will have used a number of skills which may be relevant to your desired job.
It is essential to look objectively at what you have achieved, draw out the skills which are relevant to your desired job or sector, and present your message in a clear way to maximise your chances of selection.
Recognise what you have to offer and then SELL IT!
Don’t burn your bridges by using ambiguous explanations
It is important to be clear about the reasons for your career break. A cloak and dagger approach could leave the recruiter’s imagination running wild with potential reasons for your leave of absence, with ‘detention at Her Majesty’s pleasure’ among the possibilities that spring to mind. With a pile of applications to evaluate, recruiters are likely to discard any CVs that raise questions and hint at issues in favour of those that read like an open book and tick all the boxes.
If you are currently unemployed and seeking a return to work, one option is to outline your career break in your Objective section, to be included straight after your Profile. For example:
Having enjoyed a rewarding career break during which I took time out to look after my children, I am now seeking a new and challenging role to recommence my career. I am keen to use the highly transferable skills and experience I have developed through my career to date and through various voluntary activities.
If your career break was a while ago, you can simply list it in one line as part of your employment history. There’s no need to make a song and dance about something that can now be considered as ‘water under the bridge’ – long winded explanations can lead you to dig holes that are hard to climb out of.
A simple and clear one-line explanation is best. Further explanation may be required at interview, but the purpose of the CV is to pique the reader’s interest sufficiently that they want to find out more.
Further explanation?
Well – you can cross that bridge when you come to it.
A simple typo or spelling mistake can ruin your chances of selection, making it easy for another candidate with similar skills and a word perfect CV to be picked over and above you.
