CVs & Covering Letters

Contents

Introduction Page 1

Choosing a Format Page 1

Layout Page 2

Action/Power Words Page 2

Checklist Page 4

Academic/Researcher CVs Page 4

Covering Letters Page 5

Examples (CVs and Covering Letters) Page 6

Careers & Employability Service

www.bangor.ac.uk/careers/services/downloads

This leaflet is available in alternative formats on request.

CVs & Covering

Letters

2 INTRODUCTION

Your CV needs to be a powerful marketing document which aims to market you to a prospective employer. It is important to realise that the purpose of a CV is not to get a job, but to get an INTERVIEW.

Whilst there are certain rules to be followed, every CV is different because it reflects an individual.

If you send out CVs to different employers, then each CV should be adapted and tailored to the organisation and the vacancy to which you are applying. Recruiters may only spend a few seconds

„skim‟ reading CVs on the first sift, so your CV needs to make immediate impact. Therefore, thorough preparation is essential for each separate job application if you want your CV to be effective.

CREATING YOUR CV

Writing a CV gives you the freedom to choose what format to use and what information to include.

The main message you will be trying to get across is „I can do this job‟, so it is up to you to select the bits of information about you (skills, competencies and characteristics) to persuade the employer to interview you.

Aim to ensure that the content of your CV matches the needs of the organisation you are applying to. It should highlight your education, academic history, skills and any work experience you may have, using evidence to demonstrate that you can provide the skills the company needs.

You can find out what the company is looking for by researching the employer and looking closely at the job description and person specification if there is one. Remember, you will need to adapt the information on your CV for each job you apply for.

A good CV will:

 Be crisp and concise

 Be appropriate to your situation

 Look attractive and appealing to the eye

 Be no longer than two pages

CHOOSING A CV FORMAT

There is no set CV format, but it is important you choose a style which you feel comfortable with and which you feel will work for you. Basically there are three main types of CV:

 Chronological – an historical account of your career path so far which lists information in reverse chronological order (most recent activity first). This is the format most people are familiar with and can be most effective if you have directly relevant work experience/

previous employment

 Functional/skills based – places emphasis on your skills and strengths which

demonstrate how you can meet the requirements of the employer. This may provide you with more flexibility to demonstrate your suitability for the post. It can be particularly effective if you do not have directly relevant experience, or are changing career direction, as it enables you to draw the employer's attention to your relevant skills (regardless of where you developed them) and away from previous job titles.

 Academic – CVs for academic or research posts follow a different structure – see section on page x for more details

There are CV examples at the back of this handout.

3

CV LAYOUT

Your CV should normally include the following:

 Your name and contact details at the top of the first page (you do not have to put your date of birth, marital status etc)

 Personal Profile or Career Objective (Optional)

 Education/ qualifications

 Employment and work experience

 Skills and interests

 Other information if relevant

 References

Very important:

 If writing a chronological CV put your activities in reverse chronological order (i.e. most recent first)

 Perfect spelling and grammar (remember that using spell-check is not always reliable as it is often in American-English)

 Consistent, logical and easy-to-read layout

 One font style is enough

 Use bold for headings

 Make statements – bullet points are most effective

 Avoid over-using the word „I‟

 Use action/power words at the beginning of each statement

 Do not be afraid of white space

Do NOT include:

 The words Curriculum Vitae

 Photographs

 Job descriptions

 Non-essential personal information

 Long sentences

You should prioritise relevant points and use words which reflect the type of job you are looking for.

Do not worry if you do not have any relevant work experience - you can feature university, extra- curricular experiences, or projects if they support your objective. A size 11 font generally works well perhaps using Arial or Tahoma.

Some Action/power Words:

Achieved Administered Advised Analysed

Assessed Arranged Budgeted Calculated

Completed Conducted Controlled Co-ordinated

Created Designed Devised Developed

Discovered Distributed Evaluated Examined Explained Increased Instructed Liaised Managed Monitored Negotiated Organised Planned Promoted Recommended Reformed Represented Researched Responsible for Resulted

Selected Sold Solved Supervised

Taught Tested Trained Welcomed

4 Personal Details

Include your name, address, telephone number and your email address. Write your name in bold and in a larger font, perhaps using size 12 or 14 font: it is you who is being marketed and you want the employer to notice and remember your name. It is recommended you write your name in the centre or the right hand side of the page for more impact.

Profile or Objective (Optional)

If you decide to include a Profile or an Objective, keep it short and geared towards the type of work for which you are applying. Some examples can be found at www.prospects.ac.uk/cvs.htm.

Education

This section can do more than just list your educational achievements. You can highlight units, modules and projects from your degree course which are relevant to the job you are applying for.

It is useful to promote your final year project as it provides evidence of project management skills – a competence highly regarded by employers.

Include your „A‟ levels with grades but avoid a long list of GCSEs. A summary is better, e.g. 11 GCSEs (A* - B) including English (A) and Maths (A).

Employment/work experience

This is one section of your CV which raises more questions at interview, e.g. “Tell us more about your work with . . . .?” Give dates when you worked there, month and year are sufficient (e.g.

September 2008 – July 2009 or June 2010). Include any voluntary work and other work

experience. Be careful not to write a job description but instead highlight your achievements in that job starting each entry with an action/power word (see list above).

Skills

For a Chronological CV, you may wish to summarise your key skills, e.g. languages (and the level attained) and IT (state a qualification if you have one, familiarity with software, databases and word processing packages), as well as any other skills relevant to the job for which you are applying.

Have you any familiarity with scientific or technical equipment? Do you have a driving licence?

Go to http://www.prospects.ac.uk/assets/assets/documents/CV_skills_2010.pdf to see an example of how to present skills in a skills-based CV.

Interests

Mention your extra-curricular activities. Perhaps you have been in a sports team or taken a leading role in a club or society. Employers are keen to recruit individuals who can socialise with

colleagues (a team player). Don‟t just produce a list of activities – choose a few and say how you are involved; focus on your activities that enable you to demonstrate relevant transferable skills, for example captaining a sports team can demonstrate leadership and motivational skills. Make it interesting!

Referees

Before you use anyone‟s name, you should have already asked them for their permission to do so.

Your referees should be able to provide an effective reference on your behalf. One referee should be an academic one – perhaps your tutor or dissertation supervisor. Add full contact details including email address and telephone number. If you haven‟t enough space it is fine to write

„References are available on request‟.

5

CHECKLIST

 First impressions matter – is your CV clear and concise and easy to read?

 Do not cram too much information on the page. Think of your reader!

 Prioritise relevant information and use words which make you sound proactive and positive

 Does your CV highlight your skills and achievements?

 Look at what you have written from the employer‟s perspective; can they see, at a glance, that you possess the skills/ abilities/ experience they‟re asking for in the person

specification?

 Check, double- and triple check for perfect spelling and grammar

 Do not use abbreviations – you should write the words out in full the first time and then put the acronym in brackets. From then on, use the acronym

 Get someone, perhaps a careers adviser, to look over your draft

 Keep a copy

ACADEMIC/ RESEARCHER CVs

One of the main differences in academic CVs is in length; it is perfectly acceptable for them to be longer than 2 sides of A4, as more detail is often needed. However, they still need to be targeted to the post for which you are applying and not excessive in length.

Again, it is up to you which specific sections, or in what order you present the information on your CV, but the following are suggested section headings:

 Personal details – name and contact details

 Education – reverse chronological order – not necessary to include GCSEs at this level

 Research interests – a brief outline of what you‟ve done and where you see this going

 Research experience – reverse chronological order, highlighting any funding awarded

 Funding – awards for projects, attending conferences, training and so on

 Teaching experience – highlight any teaching experience you have

 Administrative experience – such as course co-ordination

 Skills – any relevant specialist skills. Can also provide an opportunity for you to demonstrate more general (relevant) transferable skills not evidenced elsewhere

 Professional qualifications – membership of societies etc

 Training – any relevant training/ continuing professional development undertaken

 Publications – include articles, chapters or books, reports etc

 Conferences & Seminars – detail attendance and highlight any presentations given

 References – you will usually need at least two

If you are applying for a research position in industry/ commercial setting, you will need to use more of a standard CV format (such as chronological or skills-based) but will still need to highlight your research. Vitae.ac.uk has more detailed guidance on this, as well as being an excellent resource on writing CVs and marketing yourself generally, as well as a range of example CVs for academic and research positions. For more details guidance, see the “Marketing Yourself” section of their website: http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/1339/Marketing-yourself.html

6

COVERING LETTERS

A CV should never be sent without a covering letter. It is the introduction to your CV and is more personal than the formal document it is introducing. You can write it to project an air of enthusiasm, particularly in demonstrating your understanding of the company‟s goals and how you would like to contribute to the ongoing success of their organisation.

A good covering letter will give you the edge over other applicants and should make the reader want to find out more about you. It serves a different need to the CV in that you can state why you want to work for them, opening the door for further communication.

DOs

 Be creative – the opening sentence should grab your potential employer‟s attention

 Write as though you are talking to the reader – be natural

 Use business letter format

 Refer to your CV but do not repeat it

 Address it to an individual, perhaps the head of the department where you want to work – especially if you are writing a speculative application.

 Keep it brief – four SHORT paragraphs at the most DON’Ts

 Repeat what is in your CV

 Send it to a department or to „Dear Sir or Madam‟ unless you are responding to a specific job vacancy

 Make your letter sound like you have sent it to several employers – try to personalise it to that particular employer

 Write too much – one side of A4 only. Less is more.

 Be boring

SUGGESTED LAYOUT - Aim to keep your letter to about four paragraphs:

First paragraph - introduce you, why you are writing, where you saw the post advertised Second paragraph - why you should work for them (about you)

Third paragraph - why them; show that you‟ve done your research and your enthusiasm for the company and the job

Fourth paragraph - proactive conclusion

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Up to date CV reference books are available in the resource room at CES and copies are available to borrow from the university library.

Downloadable job-seeking skills handouts are available from our website:

www.bangor.ac.uk/careers

/

Also visit: www.prospects.ac.uk/cvs.htm

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/job_application_advice.htm www.gowales.co.uk

http://targetjobs.co.uk

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cvquestions.htm

August 2011

7 (example chronological CV)

AMY ROBERTS

14 St David‟s Avenue, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 4PJ

Tel: 01248 669947 Mobile: 077631 454990 Email:[email protected]

PROFILE:

Ambitious and personable graduate experienced in both corporate and personal finance, seeking an entry-level position from which to develop a career in financial management.

EDUCATION:

2007 - 2010 Bangor University

BA Hons (2i) Business Studies & Finance Optional modules studied:

o Financial Analysis

o Advanced Corporate Finance

o Marketing Strategy and Management o Human Resource Management

Final Year Project

„Financial Forecast & Analysis of the Marketing of American Bakery Products in Wales‟

2000 - 2007 Ysgol Tryfan, Bangor

„A‟ levels - Business A, Mathematics B, History B

GCSE‟s - 10 subjects A-C including Mathematics A, French A, English A, History A

EMPLOYMENT:

July 2009 – present Financial Assistant, Finance Direct, Bangor

 Dealing directly with customer enquiries on the telephone, providing advice on products, arranging meetings with financial advisers and data entry

 Developed knowledge of FSA regulations, confidentiality, customer relationship management software and customer service skills.

Summer 2008 Finance Placement, Finance Direct, Bangor (Go Wales)

 Successfully managed the set-up of new client relationship management system and the migration of customer information from an old to new database

 Trained staff on the new system and writing a system handbook.

 Developed project management, communication, presentation and training skills

 Offered permanent employment on completion of the project

8 Amy Roberts

Autumn Term 2007 Trainee, Barclays Bank, Chester (Work Experience)

 Gained solid grounding in corporate banking and finance

 Developed analytical and problem-solving skills through analysing and reporting on customer data and providing solutions to client problems

 Highly commended by my placement supervisor for my enthusiasm and initiative during my placement.

SKILLS:

IT and computing: Microsoft Office – Word, Excel, Access Peachtree accounting package

Dreamweaver web package

Languages: Welsh – first language

English – fluent German – basic

Other skills: Driving licence – full clean

INTERESTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

Students’ Union: Treasurer

 Managed budget of £10,000

 Negotiated sponsorship from local businesses

 Contributed to 15% increase in membership

Sport: Captain University Netball team PADI qualified diver

Music: Bass guitarist for „The Squirrels‟

Piano grade 5

Referees

Dr Don Smith Mrs G Williams

Finance Direct Lecturer in Business Studies (Tutor)

King Street Bangor University

Chester CH3 5KJ Gwynedd LL57 2DG

Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

9 (Cover letter for Amy Roberts)

14 St David‟s Avenue Bangor

Gwynedd LL57 4PJ

30 July 2011

Mr John Irving Director of Training Kraft Foods Ltd Bayshill Road Cheltenham GL50 3AE

Dear Mr Irving

I am writing to apply for a place on your Graduate Training Scheme (Finance). Previous graduates that I have spoken to who have joined this scheme from Bangor University consider it to be the best in the UK, and I would welcome the opportunity to be a contributor to the ongoing success of Kraft Foods.

As you can see from my enclosed CV, the modules I studied at Bangor University match both my career interests and your needs. Throughout my time as a student I have endeavoured to gain as much work experience as possible, and preferably in an environment which gave me an

opportunity to develop not only my knowledge of finance, but also of working in a team and with the general public.

My final year project, sponsored by „Mrs Beeton Foods USA, was focused on the „Financial Forecast and Analysis of the Marketing of American Bakery Products in Wales‟, earned me a 2:1 grade. The project involved making presentations to company representatives on the possibility of producing and marketing their products in North Wales, and included my research of costing and profit outcomes. I worked in a highly motivated manner, was able to liaise between the company and local shop keepers and hoteliers through the medium of Welsh as well as English. This proved to be my most enjoyable and successful time at university.

I hope you will consider my application: I have attached my CV as requested. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Amy Roberts Enc: CV

10 (example skills based CV)

David Owen

17 Holyhead Road, Menai Bridge, Bangor, LL56 5EQ Tel: 01248 4419765 / 0776620 635229

e-mail: [email protected]

Education

2007 – 2010 Bangor University, Bangor

BA (Hons.) English 2:1 2005 – 2007 Coleg Menai, Bangor

‘A’ Levels: English (A); Maths (B); Psychology (C) 2000 – 2005 Ysgol Friars, Bangor

10 GCSEs – grades A*-C, including Welsh (A*), English (A), Maths (B)

Key Skills

Communication

 Excellent written communication skills demonstrated in achieving mid to high 2:1 grades in all written university assignments

 Oral communication skills honed in my experience at Storm FM where I sourced stories, interviewed guests and presented a regular show

Creativity

 Demonstrated in developing a Facebook viral publicity campaign for Bangor English Drama Society‟s (BEDS) production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” which resulted in ticket sales of approximately 20% above average for January productions

 Designed and implemented a marketing campaign for „B-Enterprising £10 challenge‟

competition; our group was one of the few to make a significant profit, largely due to wide awareness of our cleaning service.

Commercial Awareness

 Developed through my B-Enterprising £10 challenge and attending numerous workshops as part of Global Entrepreneurship week in 2009

 Subscribe to and regularly read Marketing Week to maintain current knowledge of the sector

Negotiation & Persuasion

 Negotiated a sponsorship deal with a local business for BEDS for the 2011-12 academic year which was mutually beneficial and within my planned parameters

 Developed skills of persuasion through my assignments and presentations at university

11 Ability to work under pressure

 Working in a busy bar is an intensely pressurised environment which required me to remain calm and polite even when dealing with rude customers

 Juggling commitments of University work, part-time job and other commitments, often involving simultaneous deadlines such as exams or assignment deadlines coinciding with BEDS

productions

Relevant Experience

2009 – 2010 Bangor English Drama Society – Publicity Officer

After being an active member of the society during my second year, I was elected publicity officer for my final year at University. I successfully planned, managed and implemented the society‟s publicity for the year, resulting in a 15% increase in membership over the course of the year and sell-outs of two of the four productions.

03/2009 Work Taster – Marketing Company Ltd, Bangor

Two weeks work shadowing at specialist marketing company gave me the opportunity to observe client meetings and briefings, liaison with printers, designers and distributors as well as observing pitches to prospective clients.

Other Experience

2007 – 2010 AnyBar, Menai Bridge Part-time work throughout university

2008 - 2009 Storm FM – Researcher/ Presenter

Researching news and student-interest stories, sourcing and interviewing guests and presenting a weekly lunchtime show.

2008 B-Enterprising £10 Challenge

Took part in Bangor University B-Enterprising department‟s £10 challenge as part of a team of five fellow students. We were given £10 and tasked with making as much profit as possible in a week. I was responsible for marketing our cleaning service to fellow students; we made £60 profit.

Additional Information

Languages: Fluent Welsh, basic French

IT: Fully conversant with all standard Microsoft Office Applications, internet research and A1 marketing software

Other: Full, clean driving licence and own car

References: Available on request

12 (cover letter for David Owen)

17 Holyhead Road Menai Bridge Bangor LL56 5EQ

30 July 2011

Mr Any Person

Human Resources Officer Any Company Ltd.

Somewhere PP2 2PP

Dear Mr Person,

I read with interest your recent advertisement for a Graduate Marketing Trainee in Marketing Week, and enclose my curriculum vitae for your consideration.

I first became interested in a career in marketing when I got involved in the marketing of Bangor English Drama Society (BEDS) during my second year at University, after which I was elected as Publicity Officer for the Society. As you will see, since that time I have actively sought out opportunities to gain experience and develop my skills in this area, attempting to gain experience in a variety of

environments and roles. You will see from my CV that I possess what I feel to be the core skills required to be successful in marketing, and I am now seeking an opportunity which provides me with the opportunity to further build on and develop these skills within a medium sized, expanding marketing firm, such as Any Company Ltd.

Any Company Ltd attracts me because of the variety and depth of experience offered in your training scheme. Whilst I have the core skills needed to succeed in a Marketing role, I am, as yet, undecided as to which specific direction I would like to take my career, so the opportunity to gain experience in all areas of your practice is hugely exciting. Having met two of your recent graduate recruits at “The Jobs Fair” last autumn, who spoke passionately about the supportive and encouraging work environment at Any Company Ltd has strengthened my desire to join Any Company Ltd.

I would be available to work from the beginning of September 2010 and can be available for interview at the times outlined in your advertisement.

Yours sincerely

David Owen (Mr) Enc: Curriculum Vitae