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Getting a job application right is not always easy, but by following simple rules, you can improve your chances.

How to write the perfect CV

Introduction

Your CV is the first information an employer will receive about you when you apply for a role, so it is fundamental to improving your chances of securing your dream career move.

This section covers a range of hints and tips to help improve your CV, including:

• The aim of a CV
• How to present your CV
• Which words to choose
• Common CV issues

The aim of a CV

The aim of an effective CV is simple - to get you an interview with a prospective employer.

Sound straightforward? Remember, an employer will potentially be looking at as many as 100 other CVs, so your CV needs to make you stand out from the crowd to ensure you make it to interview.

Your CV needs to demonstrate that you are the right person for the job by highlighting:

• Specific skills you have to offer the employer
• The experience you have in the specific field
• The appropriate personal qualities for the role
• An understanding of the job requirements

What's more, given the volume of CVs an employer will receive, your CV should be:

• Short enough to read quickly and ideally no more than two sides of A4
• Clearly laid out in a logical order, with sufficient spacing and clear section headings
• Relevant for the role, demonstrating that you can fulfil the job role and are the right sort of person

How to present your CV

Your CV is a reflection of yourself, so you need to ensure that it looks professional and well laid-out. In particular, you should:

• Choose a clear, professional typeface to ensure that your CV can be easily read (e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman)
• Avoid typos or spelling mistakes, not only by spell checking but by proof reading your own CV, or perhaps asking someone else to proof read it
• Organise your document into clear headings (work experience, education) so that these can easily be scanned
• Order your experience and education into reverse chronological order to highlight your most recent experience

In general, your CV should be clear enough for an employer to scan and understand quickly.

Additionally, it should be easy to assess your key skills and experience to determine whether you are appropriate for the role.

Which words to use on your CV

When writing your CV, you should aim to sell yourself as much as possible to a potential employer. To achieve this, you should describe yourself in terms that make you sound positive and pro-active.

To describe yourself, you should try to use positive expressions such as:

• Accurate
• Adaptable
• Confident
• Friendly
• Hard-working
• Innovative
• Pro-active
• Reliable
• Responsible
• Smart

When describing your previous experience and responsibilities, you should use pro-active descriptions such as:

• Achieved
• Formulated
• Planned
• Broadened
• Generated
• Managed
• Represented
• Completed
• Implemented
• Shaped

Common CV issues

Writing a CV can be a challenging task, with several potential issues. The most common CV issues are detailed below:

My CV would fill at least four pages

In many cases, it will be difficult (if not impossible) to fit all of your skills, experience and education into a two-page CV. However, when putting together a CV you should bear in mind that:

• Employers are most interested in skills and experience relevant for the job you're applying for
• Your most recent experience and educational achievements will be more interesting to potential employers
• Shorter CVs will be easier to read and so your CV will be more likely to receive a proper appraisal

I'm changing careers

If don't have much experience in a role or are changing careers completely, you should still try to highlight your skills to an employer. An effective way of achieving this is by including a 'Career Objective' section.

This section allows you to describe what you're looking to achieve in your next role, as well as highlighting any experience in a different field that might still be appropriate in the job you're applying for.

I've had gaps between jobs

Many jobseekers at some stage in their life have had a gap in their career, for travelling, whilst changing jobs or for a range of other reasons.

When including gaps on your CV, these can be covered in a number of ways:

• Travel and voluntary work should be included in the your skills and experience
• Gaps in work can be covered up by specifying years only in work dates rather than months and years

All of the jobs I've done have been very similar

If you've undertaken very similar tasks and responsibilities in all of your jobs, you will probably want to avoid noting down all of these jobs on your CV.

A solution to this is to simply provide a brief summary of your career history, with a more details section outlining the practical skills and experience you have gained from all of these.

This section is a good opportunity to highlight the skills you have matching the requirements of the job you're applying for.

I don't have many qualifications

If you don't have many qualifications to include in your CV, you can still emphasis skills and experience you have gained in your work or elsewhere.

If a lack of qualifications is hindering your progress you could apply for part-time training, increasing your qualifications and demonstrating a willingness to learn to potential employers.

Alternatively, you might want to consider increasing your experience by undertaking some voluntary work.

How to write the perfect covering letter

Introduction

Covering letters are an accepted part of the application process, with most employers relying on these to quickly sift out unsuitable applicants.

Therefore, your covering letter is a great opportunity for you to highlight that you have the skills and experience for a role, whilst ensuring that the recruiter in question gives your CV the due attention.

This section covers a range of hints and tips to help improve your covering letters, including:

• The aim of a covering letter
• What to include in a covering letter
• Top covering letter tips
• Common covering letter problems

The aim of a covering letter

Covering letters are used by employers to view a quick summary of an applicant's skills and experience, and will sometimes be used to pre-screen applicants before viewing CVs.

So, your covering letter needs to ensure that you promote the skills you have which are appropriate for the role you are applying for. It also needs to provide a good reflection of the experience and qualifications noted down on your CV.

In short, your covering letter is a marketing document to sell your relevant skills and experience for a role, to ensure your CV receives a proper viewing, and to help get you through to the interview stage.

What to include in a covering letter

Covering letters, like CVs, will vary in content depending on the role you're applying for and your own skills and experience. However, employers will generally expect to see the following information:

• Contact details (generally your address and phone number, as well as email address for online applications)
• Details of the job you're applying for and where you saw this advertised (if not a prospective letter)
• A brief summary of your recent experience and what you have gained from this
• Why your skills and experience are suitable for the role (in response to the job spec where applicable)

Top covering letter tips

To make your covering letter as effective as possible, we would recommend the following guidelines:

Address the letter to the right person

It may sound obvious, but when writing a covering letter you should always try to address the letter to the person handling job applications.

If you're unsure of the right contact, don't be afraid to call the company to ask for a name. After all, there's no harm in showing initiative.

Keep it brief

Covering letters should be a summary of your CV, matching your skills and experience to the requirements of the role. As such, these should be kept as short and concise as possible, and certainly should not exceed one page of A4.

Refer to your CV

The covering letter should highlight the key points of your CV that will be of interest to the recruiter. Therefore, you should refer to experience and qualifications mentioned in your CV.

Match yourself to the job

Your covering letter should highlight the skills and experience on your CV that match the job requirements. Remember, employers use covering letters as a means of pre-screening applications, so you need to show that you meet their requirements.

Do your homework

Covering letters provide a great opportunity to show that you have thought properly about the job you're applying for and have done some research. So, when explaining why you're interested in the job role, try to show some knowledge of the company you're applying to.

Explain gaps in work history

As your covering letter is a marketing document, you should highlight what you've gained from recent work history. If you've had recent gaps in work history, you may not have space to explain these on your CV.

So, your covering letter provides an ideal opportunity to explain what you were doing during the gaps, and sell any skills you might have picked up on the way.

Common covering letter problems

As they need to be written from scratch each time you apply, covering letters can be tricky to get right. Below are some common covering letter problems you may face:

The recruiter hasn't asked for a covering letter

On many occasions, recruiters will not specify that a covering letter is required. This is often the case when applying to jobs on job sites.

I don't know who is handling applications

In general, you should try to find out a named contact handling applications and address your covering letter to them. This ensures that your letter is more personal and so is more likely to receive a proper viewing.

However, if it really isn't possible to find a named contact, you can simply address your letter as 'Dear Sir/Madam'.

I'm applying prospectively, so can't match myself to job requirements

Effective covering letters generally match your skills and experience to the requirements of a specific job you're applying for. However, if you're applying prospectively you won't have a detailed job spec to match yourself to.

So, when making prospective applications, be sure to give a full description of the sort of role you're looking for, with details of the skills you have that enable you to carry out this role.

Covering letters for prospective applications are also an excellent opportunity for you to show your knowledge of the company, by detailing why you are looking to work there.

I'm not fully qualified for the role

If you don't have all of the experience or qualifications necessary for a specific role, your covering letter is a great place to confront this.

So, when outlining your relevant skills for a role, you should be able to highlight areas where you can make up for a lack of qualifications/experience, and why you still believe you would be able to meet the job requirements.

Interview Advice

Getting Started

Here is some information that may help you to successfully overcome the hurdles of attending an interview. Some of them you may find obvious, but sometimes we can forget the most obvious things!

This guide is broken down into four sections:

1. Before the interview
2. On the day of the interview
3. The interview itself (including practice interview quiz)
4. Potential questions for you to ask

Before the Interview

Preparation for an interview is an absolutely key process and will often be the difference between success and failure for applicants. Good preparation not only gives you an idea of what to expect but it will give you the all important confidence, which can carry you through.

So what specific preparation should you carry out?

Company Research:

Interviewers will expect you to have a good grasp of what the company does, how big it is, how it is divided up and who it's main competitors are. With these facts at your command you will be able to hold a meaningful conversation about the company and put other company information into context.

Role Research:

You need to make sure you have fully understood the job description and know how it fits in to the overall company structure. If you have any queries about it then try to raise them before the interview or be prepared to bring them up as you go along.

Ask yourself what the key skills are that the job requires and think of examples of occasions when you have demonstrated those skills.

Interview Research:

Make sure you find out what format the interview will take. Often they can be combinations of standard interviews and role-specific tests (such as role plays or psychometric questionnaires). The fewer surprises on the day, the better.

Personal Appraisal:

You can never predict every question that you will encounter, so approach the interview with an inventory of important points.

Make a list of the points about yourself that you want the interviewer to know. For example, if you were to apply for a job as a Sales Representative, you might want to list the products you have sold before, types of customers (by industry, age, etc.), languages spoken, personal experience in that industry and related knowledge (perhaps from your academic program).

Each question will be an opportunity to provide some of this information to the interviewer.

On the day of the Interview

Take special care to dress appropriately - most of the time smart business dress will be appropriate. In some rare occasions, smart casual may be appropriate but ensure you err on the side of smartness.

Make sure you are punctual – try to arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled interview time. If you are going to be late for any reason then make sure you inform the interviewer as early as possible.

The Interview itself

Some important points to remember:

• Don't assume anything. You will be evaluated on your answers, not your CV. Therefore, ensure you incorporate the relevant information from your CV in your answers.
• Pause a couple of seconds before you respond to each question, even if you know exactly what you want to say. Take this time to quickly plan your answer, this helps to avoid misunderstandings and produces much more concise answers.
• If you don't understand a question, ask for clarification. This is expected and is preferable to providing an unsuitable answer.
• If you need time to collect your thoughts - take it. When people are nervous they tend either to "draw a blank" or to babble. It is better to think for a few moments and make sure that your answer is doing you justice and that there is a point to what you are saying.
• Always expand. Never answer a question with a "yes" or "no."
• The interview is an opportunity for you to sell yourself. Don't be afraid to 'blow your own trumpet'. As long as you can back up what you are saying with examples which demonstrate that what you are saying is true, you are not bragging. Third party observations can also be mentioned. For example, "My last employer told me that I was promoted because of how I handled conflicts with clients."
• Be very positive. Don't complain about anything - from your former employer to the weather - and don't apologise for experience that you don't have. Just sell what you do have and let the employer decide if you have what he/she is looking for. Also, avoid negative words. For example, you would not say "I have a little experience...," you would say "I have experience..."
• Don't be afraid to repeat important points. In fact, it is a good idea to do this.
• In terms of your manner and body language, try to ensure the following - be confident, positive and look directly at the interviewer when you talk and listen, speak clearly, be enthusiastic and express a keen interest in the position, keep to the point and be concise and always be honest.

Interviews generally follow a set pattern. The interviewer will:-

• Tell you about the company and the job.
• Ask you questions to assess your abilities, personality and motivation.
• Ask if you have any questions.
• Inform you of the next stage of the process and when a final decision will be made.

The most important thing to remember is that the interview is a two way process. You are there to find out information about them as much as they are there to find out about you. This is your chance to find out information that isn't in the job description and this can help you make an informed decision about whether you definitely want the job.

Potential questions for you to ask

• Can you tell me more about the company?
• Can you describe my area of responsibility?
• Is this post a new or existing one?
• What are the promotion prospects?
• Is there a clearly defined career path?
• Do you run any training schemes?
• What type of clients do you deal with?
• Will you be holding second interviews?

Writing a job description

A well written and detailed job description will improve quality and volume of applicants you receive. You can make your job more attractive to job seekers by including as much detail as possible about the company, the role, duties, responsibilities and benefits. You should ensure that the job description is clear and concise without spelling mistakes.

Here are a few tips for writing a good job description:

1. Give a brief introduction about the type of company the successful applicant will be working for. Include the nature of the business or industry and any interesting information about the company which may attract applicants.
2. Describe the job, duties and responsibilities giving as much detail as possible. This allows the job seeker to make an assessment of whether the job would be something they are interested in and suitable for or not.
3. Provide details of the abilities, skills and experience the ideal job seeker would have, including any formal qualifications. A description of the ideal candidate for the role i.e. their temperament or personality could also be included here. Again, this information helps the job seeker to determine whether they are suitable for the position or not.
4. Additional information such as working hours, specific locations, benefits and foreign travel should be included at the end of the job description.

Remember:

• To provide a clear and accurate job title relating to the job. Ensure the salary, job type and location are correct as job seekers use this information when searching for vacancies.
• Be as specific as you can with the location of your job. A job that specifies a city will usually get better responses than one that specifies a county.
• There is no need to include any contact details as this is handled through the application process.
• It is your legal responsibility to ensure that your job description does not discriminate directly or indirectly against an applicant. We retain the right to remove any job (and if necessary close any account) which we consider is inappropriate.