Cover Letter Template, CV Template and Some Advice

[scousewool89]

Hi,

I have written some advice regarding jobs and careers including a CV Template and a cover letter template, over at http://www.dolecave.com

I hope the information is useful to this community.

John

[kevin]

Just looked.
Traditionally, education is listed before work history.
Also, I speak to a lot of employers and they HATE 'references available on request'. They understand that you might not want your current employer to know you are looking around, and are happy with 'please check with me before requesting references', or similar wording. They still want to see who you might list.
Employers often get dozens, if not hundreds, of CVs when advertising vacancies. If several look good prospects they are more likely to follow up those who list referees up front.
'On request' increases the odds that your CV goes in the bin. Sorry, that is just the way it is.

[Prefrab]

Employers will spend less than 60 seconds in reading a CV ,
so it has to be tailored to the post you are applying for to grab their attention and answer the question "Is this person going to be an asset to my company"
The one thing that will aid your CV is a good covering letter, the letter gives you the opportunity to express yourself and highlight the reasons why you would be suitable for the post advertised or be worth of a look at for possible future posts.
I deal with employers and prospective employees on a daily basis, and the most common mistake people make with CV's is putting CV or Curriculum Vitae as a header....they know its a CV dont tell them!!!

There are 4 types of CV

Functional CV- This style usually concentrates most on the skills you have acquired in the past and how you have used these in the previous jobs. This is the best style to use when there are gaps in the employment and you want the recruiter / employer to stay focused on your expertise/skills rather than being deflected by the gaps in your work history. This is also a great way to write your C V when your skills are more important than your qualification and employment history.

Targeted CV- This type of C V would focus on the requirement of the job and exclude most of the other skills and experiences that could distract the recruiter / employer from judging you against the job applied for. This works best when your employment history is too varied to make the right impact otherwise. Though the skills acquired have added too your abilities, these are not directly applicable to the job and would not really help the application

Performance CV- This CV usually focuses on the past performance. This is an excellent CV writing style when you want to be seen as an achiever since it will focus the attention of the recruiter / employer on you performance/achievement during each job listed in your employment history. This is usually efficient when your job has stayed the same for a long time. For example, you have been a teacher for the last 10 years in different schools - here a performance CV would highlight how each employment has added new challenges to your job and how your performance has been affected by it.

Combination CV- In reality applicants use this format the most. You actually use a little of every style when you are trying to make that winning Curriculum Vitae. It is very rare that you would need to use one single style, as the job vacancies are complex and your career history would need to be carefully tailored to answer the requirements of the recruiter.

[Howie]

Whilst I agree with Kevin that traditionally education details are usually followed by employment and work experience, then additional skills, interests and achievements this may not always be the best format to use. If, for example, you have gaps in your employment history, or a lot of employment information that won't be relevant to a particular employer, then it might be better to start with a list of skills and achievements, followed by brief educational and work experience or employment details. One style does not necessarily suit all.

[Marty1]

Thank god I don't need one !

[Howie]

World's worst CV admits to 'stealing', 'laziness' and 'skiving'

Benedict Le Gauche is every employer’s dream – a ‘venereal disease-free’ jobhunter with a history of stealing from his workplace and a relaxed attitude towards punctuality.

More (http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/875232-worlds-worst-cv-admits-to-stealing-laziness-and-skiving) >>

[wsteve55]

World's worst CV admits to 'stealing', 'laziness' and 'skiving'

Benedict Le Gauche is every employer’s dream – a ‘venereal disease-free’ jobhunter with a history of stealing from his workplace and a relaxed attitude towards punctuality.

More (http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/875232-worlds-worst-cv-admits-to-stealing-laziness-and-skiving) >>

That's pretty amusing,but I can see the logic/desperation there!

[Prefrab]

World's worst CV admits to 'stealing', 'laziness' and 'skiving'

Benedict Le Gauche is every employer’s dream – a ‘venereal disease-free’ jobhunter with a history of stealing from his workplace and a relaxed attitude towards punctuality.

More (http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/875232-worlds-worst-cv-admits-to-stealing-laziness-and-skiving) >>

He has achieved the first part of the aim of a CV "Grab the employers attention" however it looks like he lets himself down on the second part "Is this person going to be an asset to my company......:eek:
Got to give him an "A " for the publicity it has recieved.:handclap:

[scousewool89]

Just looked.
Traditionally, education is listed before work history.
Also, I speak to a lot of employers and they HATE 'references available on request'. They understand that you might not want your current employer to know you are looking around, and are happy with 'please check with me before requesting references', or similar wording. They still want to see who you might list.
Employers often get dozens, if not hundreds, of CVs when advertising vacancies. If several look good prospects they are more likely to follow up those who list referees up front.
'On request' increases the odds that your CV goes in the bin. Sorry, that is just the way it is.

I hadn't realised this, I think that template of mine needs tweaking a bit.

[Doris Mousdale]

More modern are the CVs that go backwards i.e starting now and going back to your education qualifications
If you have had a successful career sometimes less is best. Here in NZ age isn't put on CVs and like Kevin says its good to offer referees first up.As always though there isn't one format that works for everyone and sometimes something out of the ordinary does catch your attention if you are working through a pile of applications

[Prefrab]

I have seen Cv's that look the part and result in nothing, and cv's that are no more than a name, address , phone number and list of last jobs but hey presto interviews appear , it proves there is no magic formula, if your style of cv works for you carry on, if not try a different layout and tweak the content.

[kevin]

Lots of good points - particularly about the 60 second reading time. I'd say it can be sometimes less. Poor grammar or bad spelling, poor layout making it hard to skim-read, and creased or grubby paper can provide the excuse to bin it and move to the next in the stack.
Also, relevance. I see lots of CVs giving coverage to previous experience of no relevance to the current application. Unless your are pointing out something with transferable skills, give it minimal coverage and focus on more relevant aspects of your experience.
I've moved jobs twice in the last 8 years (unlikely to move again before retirement) but have had 4 different careers and had to tailor my CV carefully according to the jobs I was going for.

[scouse smurf]

My CV lists Work Experience before educuation. I'm almost 40, working in IT and I really don't think employers want to read I've got a few GCSEs and qualifications in Electrical Engineering which don't really relate to my current career path.

In my opinion anyway, as soon as you've had a couple of jobs or even one long term job then educuation is nowhere near as important and should be demoted to the second page. Also, if my cv gets binned because it says references available on request then I really don't wanna work for that company, sounds like they've got a serverly petty attitude that I'd hate within weeks of working there.

As I said, just my opinion which is probably alot more blinkered than Kevins :)

[kevin]

Your not wrong, Smurphy. After ten years or so experience I'd agree education should then be second. But as for the binning - I speak to employers that can get 50+ CVs at a time and they just can't spare the time to read them, so they skim and discard any with obvious errors to get the pile down to 10-20, then skim again to pick out the best for more detailed consideration. They aren't being disrespectful, just coping with time pressures.

[wsteve55]

It was some years ago, but I remember my boss picking out the best applications.....and binning them! Apparently, didn't like the prospect of competition??

[Lizzie1]

Gone are the days when you just filled in a form, went for an interview and got a yes or a no.....and it's not just CVs, you then might be invited to attend a preliminary interview and a role play interview then team building exercises.....................:celb (6):

[Prefrab]

Lizzie 1 that's right! and there are a variety of different interview types apart from the old fashioned one to one including:
Competency-based interviews , dealing with specific examples
Group interviews looking at how you are with relationships
Telephone interviews which are question based, but with no visible signals to help
and they could all contain or invite you to:
Skills tests / work sample tests
Personality tests
Psychometric tests

Gone are the days when you could leave a job Friday ask about a new job on Monday be interviewed and start Monday afternoon:nod:

[mikelley]

Education is listed first if the job applicant's education is more important than "work history" that really should be titled "Professional Experience and Achievements.
"Hate" is a bit strong come on! anybody that hates 4 little words needs to get a life. and what's the difference between "References available on request and "'please check with me before requesting references'?
If the job candidate's career statement or profile is well written the skills are indexed and the abilities demonstrated by bullet points the reader of the CV will not discard it because " references are available on request".
References should not be part of the CV but on separate sheet of paper and taken to interview. Employers mostly will not bother checking with referees until the candidate has been interviewed.
For more CV advice (http://www.cv-service.org) you can visit Mike Kelley and read his testimonials at LinkedIn (CV Writer for over 20 years (http://www.cvxl.org))

[kevin]

I used the word HATE, Mike, not through a personal objection but because I know it increases the applicants odds of missing out. If there are a lot of CVs of equal standing and an employer is pressed for time they are more likely to discard those with no indication of references.
Would I discard them? Probably not - I'm merely going on feedback I get from employers who take on my students - and I HATE my students missing out on job opportunities over this small point.
So, there is a valid reason for the HATE, and it's nothing to do with me needing a life.
Can you not express an opinion without being insulting? There's sufficient people like that on here already.

---------- Post added at 08:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:26 AM ----------

PS
The difference between the two terms is for one you don't identify your referees, for the other you do, but ask that no contact is made as yet.
I didn't make that clear.
For my current job I'd forgotten to ask that no contact be made yet, so rang up to make the request - the day after I posted the CV. Quite important as I knew I'd become a non-person with my boss the minute she knew I was trying to leave. I was too late - my prospective employer had a policy of instantly asking for references unless requested not to.
Luckily, I got the job - but spent most of my notice working from home as the atmosphere at work was so strained.

[Lizzie1]

Gone are the days when you could leave a job Friday ask about a new job on Monday be interviewed and start Monday afternoon:nod:

ha ha! .... yes my sister and her mate were famous for it! If she included all of her jobs on a CV it'd be like a roll of wallpaper! :rolleyes:

[Prefrab]

ha ha! .... yes my sister and her mate were famous for it! If she included all of her jobs on a CV it'd be like a roll of wallpaper! :rolleyes:

I remember the days when it was wall to wall factories in Liverpool, around Old Swan in the summer you worked for Lyons Maid or Taverners to get the ice cream or sweets to keep the kids happy during the holidays, Jacobs in the winter for Xmas biscuits or Meccano for Xmas toys and in the spring Plesseys Robinson Willey, Wingrove and Rogers and the like for assembly work with bonus's for your summer holiday money. Those were the days when the phrase CV was only used when talking about cars either CV joint in your wheels or The Citreon 2CV :rolleyes:

[Ged]

The thing is, the older you get, our age for sure, the less relevance what you achieved at school becomes and the more important aspect of the CV is the few most recent years of employment experience and what you can offer the particular company you are sending it to. It will need to have key words that will jump out and grab them.

[Prefrab]

My personal opinion is that the covering letter and Personal Profile / Attributes in your CV are really important.We all make judgements based on a first impression whether direct or indirect , if you can ensure the first impression is positive the reader or interviewer hopefully will continue in that mode.;)