Inspired to Achieve

SELF-HELP PACK

CV Self Help Pack

What is a CV?

A CV (which stands for Curriculum Vitae) is a document which records your skills, qualifications and employment history. It is also an opportunity to sell yourself to an employer by highlighting your transferrable skills and what you can offer an employer.

What is the purpose of a CV?

The purpose of a CV is to get an interview by convincing an employer that you have the right skills and experience to do a particular job.

The purpose of this pack is to help you write a successful CV to help land you the right job

What is in the pack?

A blank CV Template – to help gather the information needed
A skills activity to identify your transferrable/key skills and strengths
An activity to help you write a basic profile
Top Tips for successful CV’s

Use this template to start to gather the information you will need to put your CV together.

NAME:

Address with postcode:

Telephone numbers:

Personal Profile:

3-5 sentences about yourself and what you can offer an employer

Key Skills:

Bullet points 4/6, relevant to type of work looking for

Employment History:

Work backwards, last job first. Concentrate on last 10 years, unless this has been spent in the same company then go further back to show what experience you have to offer

DatesName of CompanyJob Title

Include a brief description of duties – this also shows transferrable skills

Education:

Name of school/college/universitydates attended

Qualification and grade achieved

Vocational Training:

Any courses or qualifications taken in/at work. I.e. CSCS, Forklift, Health & Safety, Manual Handling

Interests:

What you enjoy doing in your spare time, helps employer learn more about you as a person and how you will fit into their organisation

References available on request:

You do not need to put your references on a CV just keep them to hand if requested from an potential employer

Examples of Personal Profiles

A bright and bubbly individual with a positive can do attitude. I have excellent communication skills and work well in a team. Capable of using my own initiative when required, I possess a flexible and adaptable work ethic. I am enthusiastic, hardworking and reliable with excellent time keeping skills. Able to follow instructions and work well under pressure and to time constraints, I am self motivated and enjoy learning new skills.

I am a lively and friendly individual with excellent customer services skills and a positive disposition. An experienced administrator I possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, I am highly organised with the ability to remain professional and calm in all situations and rise to a challenge. I work well in a team environment but am equally comfortable using my own initiative. I am both flexible and adaptable, conscientious and hardworking. I am ultimately looking to utilise and develop my existing skills within a challenging and rewarding career.

A hardworking, reliable and trustworthy individual with the ability to work well within a team environment. I am self motivated with a flexible and adaptable work ethic and the ability to think on my feet. I have excellent time keeping skills and am both practical and resourceful. I enjoy a challenge and learning new skills and am looking for an opportunity to utilise and develop my skills

I am a hardworking, reliable and conscientious worker, with excellent communication skills and the ability to work well in a team. I have a flexible and adaptable approach to all tasks and am both resourceful and practical. An experienced painter and decorator with a can do attitude and the ability to prioritise tasks to ensure the job is done on time.

An experienced Electrician with excellent communication and time keeping skills. Practical and

resourceful who is capable of using own initiative to solve problems. I work well in a team and enjoy interacting with other people; I am both flexible and adaptable with a methodical approach to all tasks. I have over twenty years experience working as an electrician and am looking for an opportunity to utilise and develop my existing skills in a challenging role.

Enthusiastic and self motivated I always work to a high standard. I have the ability to motivate others and to gain the best that they can produce. I have proven leadership qualities with team building skills, an interest in and understanding of customer service and its aims.

An enthusiastic, self motivated team member who works well under pressure, equally capable of working on my own initiative. Possessing a good sense of humour, willing to learn new skills and seeking to build a career within a forward thinking company.

A good communicator at all levels, patient, helpful, honest and able to preserve confidentiality. A person who rises to a challenge, works well as a member of a team or using my own initiative.

Transferrable Skills

What are transferrable skills?

These are the skills learnt in one industry that can also relate and be used in another. These are also referred to as key skills

You will see from the CV examples in this pack that your key skills are in a very prominent place on your CV illustrating how important they are when trying to show an employer you are worthy of an interview.

Key skills should be short and precise, around 4-6 skills and written in bullet point format directly under your personal profile. They show at a glance that you have what it takes to do the job you are applying for

On your CVthe responsibilities you include for your different jobs should also provide the evidence of where you have applied your skills. This evidence is also important at interviews.

Use this exercise to identify your on transferrable skills

Choose your 6 strongest skills and give an example for each of when you have used them.

SkillTask

Planning ahead and setting goalsAs a HGV Driver I had to plan routes for my deliveries and set a time for when the delivery would have to be made allowing for traffic problems, etc

SkillTask

Skills Activity 2.

Your skills are simply the things you do well. Many people feel they have few skills although the reality is that we all use a wide variety of skills both in the workplace and at home. It is important to know your skills as these are a main feature of a CV.

Skills can be transferred from one job to another and several are key skills that underpin many different types of work such as communication, using IT, Teamwork, Problem solving and application of numbers. These skills are really valued by employers.

Use the lists below to tick the things you fee you are particularly good at. Remember to think about the skills used at home as well as the workplace.

People based skillsPractical Skills

( )Talking & listening to people( ) Using a keyboard

( )Explaining things to people( ) Using hand tools

( )Dealing with complaints or enquiries( ) Operating powered equipment

( )Putting people at ease( ) Maintaining equipment or machinery

( )Organising people( ) Mending and repairing equipment

( )Selling, persuading, negotiating( ) Diagnosing faults and testing equipment

( )Motivating others( ) Using physical strength

( )Being supportive to people( ) Handling materials or equipment with

( )Tutoring or trainingprecision and speed

( )Managing, supervising or leading( ) Using IT – word processing, databases, spreadsheets and the internet

( ) Working effectively in a team

Thinking SkillsSkills using number, data & information

( ) Coming up with new ideas( ) Keeping accurate records

( )Using your initiative( ) Making accurate measurements

( )Evaluating different ideas( ) Using numbers accurately

( )Thinking of improvements or

Alternatives( ) Following written instructions or diagrams

( )Working costs and budgeting

( )Planning ahead and setting goals( ) Checking information for accuracy

( )Developing people’s ideas( ) Writing letters, memos and reports

( )Sizing up a situation quickly( ) Checking information for accuracy

( )Deciding between different courses( ) Writing letters, memos and reports

of action( ) Extracting information from reports, books or manuals

( )Working out how to deal with things

that have gone wrong( ) Organising paperwork systems

( )Developing projects and ideas( ) Organising or classifying information

( )Being creative/artistic( ) Providing information verbally or in writing

( )Researching information

( )Analysing numerical information

( )Prioritising workloads

( )Managing time effectively to meet

deadlines

When writing your CV, you need to make it sound positive, punchy and to the point. It is not a good idea when describing your skills to simply put I have, I am etc. To make it sound more professional, below are a small selection of positive phrases that could help you describe your skills;

Highly skilled at...... With the ability to.....

Excellent...... skillsHighly developed...... skills

Very good at ...... Proven ability to......

Extremely good at...... Excelling at......

An expert in...... Capable of ......