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Writing a covering letter The covering letter is a courteous introduction.

It needs to lead into your CV and it must be concise and relevant. It is also a professional document, even if it is sent via email, so format it as you would a business letter. Keep it to a single page, including addresses and sign-off. If there's a job reference or advertisement reference, include it. An example template' could be: Dear (always use a name, if you can. Don't use a Christian name only, but use Mr. Mrs. Miss. or Ms - appropriate if you don't know whether she is Mrs or Miss.) RE: job/advertisement reference number (if applicable) Paragraph 1: clearly state which job you are applying for For example: I am writing in reply to your advertisement on the jobs.ac.uk website on (date of advertisement) for (the position/job title). I enclose/attach my CV for your consideration. Paragraph 2: briefly outline why you are a good applicant -what you can do for them You could echo (but not repeat!) some of the phrases in the advertisement. For example, if the advertisement says: You will have excellent research and organisational skills, and the ability to work flexibly in a small team as well as alone. Although not essential, teaching experience and knowledge of the sector would be an advantage.' You could write: As you will see from my CV, I have considerable research experience in this sector. For the past three years I have had individual responsibility for my project as well as lecturing and working closely with team members to organise conferences and events. Paragraph 3: Clarify or explain any problem areas (if applicable) or highlight relevant voluntary work. Briefly explain anything in your CV that needs clarification - if your current position is completely different or if you have taken a break. Don't be apologetic! For example: I took a break from academic research during 2003-5, and worked my way up to the position of Events Manager in a leisure centre, where I gained valuable experience and developed management skills. When a job opportunity came up at the University, I applied and returned to lecturing and research. Paragraph 4: bow out gracefully! You could include a sentence about the organisation or institution here, based on your knowledge or on what you have found out. For example:

I hope my application is successful. I would welcome the opportunity to continue my career in a University with such a good reputation for research/in a new and stimulating environment/in an innovative and exciting Company.

Writing your CV The following is a suggested sequence and outline headings for a CV. Make it readable and use a no-nonsense font like Ariel or Times New Roman. Use headings in bold and bullet points for responsibilities, achievements, qualifications etc. The ideal length is 2 sides (on two separate numbered pages). A word of warning - your CV is not an item in isolation. Bear in mind that you must be able to back up all your statements with information or examples in an interview! 1. Your name and contact details 2. Personal statement A personal statement is a summary of your abilities. It's not about what you have done, jobs you have held, qualifications you have gained or your experience - that's in the rest of the CV. This is about the transferable skills that will contribute to the job. As in the covering letter, you need to gear it to the position you are applying for - and the clues are in the advertisement. Stick to one paragraph of three or four pithy sentences. Go through the job specification for the new post if you have one and make a list of the skills that are required. Make every sentence count. Be relentlessly positive and avoid negative statements. You need to give the prospective employer a snapshot of what you are like professionally. For example: I am task-oriented, able to motivate myself and sustain focus from the start of a project through to completion. A naturally strategic thinker, I also have an eye for detail, quality and practicality. I enjoy collaborating with other people, working towards a shared goal and learning from shared experience. 3. Work experience Starting with your current position, list these in reverse order. For the first one or two (if they are relevant to the new role), bullet-point your key duties and achievements under clear subheadings. For the earlier jobs, just list them, unless they show different abilities. Date Job title and organisation name Key responsibilities

........... ...........

Where possible, link these to the specification for the new job. Key achievements

........... ...........

Detail the results of your achievements. 3. Alternative Skills If you have had a break in your career, have been self-employed or have had a portfolio' career where you have done a number of different jobs, detail your skills before you list your previous jobs. 4. Qualifications, education and training Unless you are starting out in your career, you don't need to put in all your GCSE subjects and grades, or all your A levels. If you have a degree, start with that, the University or College you attended, and the date and go from there. Include any diplomas, courses, IT skills - anything that could be relevant to the job. 5. Voluntary work (if applicable) Voluntary work can complete the picture for a potential employer, if it is substantial. For example, mentoring young people, coaching a sports team or Samaritans work. 6. Interests Hobbies' is not the hot topic it once was for CVs! Unless it is relevant to the job, keep it to a sentence about what you like to do in your spare time. Again, this will complete the picture for your employer. 7. References If you have details of referees, put them in. Common practice is to write References are available on request' and wait until they are asked for.

By Andrew Gordon
When you submit your CV it had better be good. The recruiter who receives your application will probably have dozens or even hundreds of CVs to shift and sort. So you'll be lucky if your CV is read for more than 10 seconds. Here then are ten 'CV clangers' to avoid that will help keep your CV IN the in-tray and OUT of the bin: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Applying for a position for which you're not qualified Providing irrelevant personal information Burying important information Spelling errors, typos and poor grammar Unexplained gaps in employment Lying or misleading information

7. A long, waffly CV 8. Badly formatted CV 9. Meaningless introductions 10. The 'So What' CV

1. Applying for a position for which you're not qualified


You may look at a job advert and think, 'I like the sound of that! I think I'll apply!' However if you haven't the right qualifications or experience then you're probably wasting your time. Make sure you read the job description carefully and any other additional information that may be available. And then stop. Ask yourself, 'I might like the sound of the job but do I really have the right skill set and experience?' If the answer to your question is still 'yes' then go ahead, hit that 'Apply Here' button and good luck! But if you don't fit the bill then please don't go any further. Save the recruiter valuable time and yourself the heartache of rejection.

2. Providing irrelevant personal information


You may be very proud of your membership of the local Hell's Angels chapter. You may also be proud of the fact that you voted Green in the last election, weigh 12 stone, are 6ft tall and Buddhist. But unless your personal information is relevant to the job you're applying for, do not include it on your CV.

3. Burying important information


Remember, your CV will have little time to impress. The recruiter will look at your CV and think 'Why should I interview this person? What will they bring to the organisation?' So when compiling your CV think 'Benefits, benefits, benefits!' and make them obvious. That doesn't mean putting them in all CAPS but it does mean making what you'd bring to the role easy to find, easy to understand and, above all, compelling.

4. Spelling errors, typos and poor grammar


This 'no no' should be obvious. But it obviously isn't. The number of CV's that recruiters see on a daily basis with spelling errors and other mistakes is apalling appaling terrible. You've got a spell checker. Use it!

5. Unexplained gaps in employment

Having unexplained gaps in your employment history is a big 'no no'. It makes recruiters nervous. If you're lucky, they'll briefly wonder what you were doing during that mystery period as your CV is folded into a paper aeroplane and whizzed towards the trash can.

6. Lying or misleading information


Obviously, you have to describe yourself in the best possible light. This often means adding a little 'sparkle' to your CV. But avoid the temptation to go too far. Recruiters are not stupid. They can spot information that doesn't stack up. For example, they're always on the look out for inflated:

Qualifications Salaries Job titles Achievements

Employers are conducting increasingly vigorous background checks on candidates. This can range from conducting a Google search on you to employing a specialist candidate checking service. Something that you think is just 'bending the truth' could really trip you up.

7. A long, waffly CV
Keep your CV short, punchy and to the point. This means it shouldn't run to more than 2 pages of A4. When your CV is too long - and many of them are - then this suggests that you've been either job hopping (which is a 'no no') or you can't write concisely (which is another 'no no'). For the older jobseeker, this 2 page limit can be a real problem. How should you describe a job you had 25 years ago? The solution - Don't describe it! Instead, focus on your recent experience and achievements. If you must refer to a job(s) from a while back, then you could create a separate 'Previous Employment' document and refer to it in your cover letter. This will show you've thought about your application and will put you into a good light. This rule applies to qualifications too. If you studied a subject many eons ago then, unless you have kept your skills up-to-date, it's probably no longer relevant. For example, if you studied French to degree level in 1986 but have maintained your levels of fluency by visiting France every year then great! However, if you're applying for a job in Web Design because you took a home study course in HTML in 1998 then don't be surprised if the recruiter doesn't call...

8. Badly formatted CV

These days your CV will most likely be read on-screen before it's printed off. If indeed, it is ever printed. Therefore, format your CV so that it is easy to read on a screen. Stick with fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman at font size 10 or 12. Use italics sparingly and don't use any colours, crazy backgrounds or, heaven forbid, flowery page borders. These rules apply if you've sent your CV as an attachment to an email - make sure it's a Word attachment by the way. However, you may need to submit your CV via a web form. Most likely is that these web forms will strip out your document's formatting anyway. It's even more important, therefore, to ensure that your CV is laid out and formatted to look good stripped bare of its 'bolds', subheadings and even bullet points.

9. Meaningless introductions
Does your CV have a paragraph at the top that goes something like: "Dynamic, enthusiastic, sales oriented I.T. literate, results driven manager with several years people management experience seeking exciting and challenging new opportunities in the blah blah blah..." Yawn. Your CV has got to hit the recruiter smack bang between the eyes! It's got to make them sit up, spurt hot coffee from their mouths as they scramble across their desks for the phone to call you and appoint you on the spot!! Or, to put it another way, your CV has got to get you noticed and invited in for interview. So an opening paragraph that says everything and nothing at the same time is not going to do it. Ditch it. In its place, consider crafting a short, simple and benefits focused headline about yourself. For example, "Senior Librarian with 10 years experience of managing online resources in the health sector." That'll do nicely. It might not be perfect but it's better than what you had before. Journalists do this all of the time of course. They write headlines that tell you what the story is about but tease you just enough in order to encourage you to read on. Your opening, personal headline should do just the same.

10. The 'So What' CV


We end where we started. Your CV has a tough job. It will probably be in the hands of the recruiter for a very small amount of time - unless, that is, you smeared it in Super Glue before you sent it (that would be an inventive touch but is also a 'no no').

To give yourself the best chance of it actually being read, make sure that it 'looks right'. Make sure that it's not too long, that it's laid out correctly, is properly formatted and so on. If you do all of these things then you have a chance. The recruiter will lean back in his or her chair, take another sip of coffee and start to digest - not scan - what you've written. So don't throw this moment away! Making sure you don't do the CV 'no no's' simply gets you to the first base. Whilst this is an achievement in itself, if your CV doesn't convince and persuade then you've again wasted your time. Your CV has to sell you. It has to make you sound interesting. It has to make you sound as though you'll fit into the organisation and that you'll make a quick and substantial difference. Because if all your CV does is make the recruiter think, 'so what?' you'll have dropped the biggest CV clanger of all.

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