CV Writing

Wise Words on how to write your CV and get noticed

Your CV is an advert to sell yourself to a potential employer. The purpose of your CV is to showcase you, your relevant skills and experience in written form. It is to present you as capable, interesting and worth considering by the organisation you are contacting with the aim of landing a job interview. A prospective employer will often make a snap judgement the second they read your CV so follow Springbok Recruitment tips to ensure you are judged as a hot candidate.

The Basic rules

  • If you prepare a hard copy then use a good quality white / off white paper to print your CV onto – no-one wants to read from gaudy coloured paper.
  • Forget attaching extra documents such as qualifications and references at this stage as it looks messy. If the employer wants these they will ask.
  • Add a photograph of yourself only if its relevant to your job ie front of house positions in hotels. Look smart and professional, never holiday or family snaps. Photographs of portfolios of work are acceptable from chefs.
  • Once you have designed your CV check it several times and make sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors . If English language is not your mother tongue and you are asked for your CV in english get someone to check it for you his is proficient in English.
  • The covering letter or email accompanying your CV should be customised for each job you apply for as this is an additional opportunity to sell yourself.
  • Finally the CV should be no longer than 2 pages (2 sides of A4) and make sure each CV is tailored to the job you are applying for.

Designing Your CV

Below are the key areas to include on your CV. Put your name at the top of the CV in large bold letters. Then use the following template to guide the design for your CV:-

1. Personal Details

Include your address, telephone contact details, email address, nationality it is up to you if you wish to add your age or marital status.( I.D number for citizens of RSA should be included . Drivers licence.

2. Career Summary and Objective

In this section outline a summary of your career to date along with your future career objective. See below an examples:-

"A highly trained and professional Food & Beverage Manager within the corporate luxury hospitality sector. Future career objective is to attain next step of Deputy General Manager within a similar organisation".

3. Transferable skills and competencies

Include details of around 6 skills and competencies that you have developed to date that you know the employer requires. This may include communication skills; customer service; organisation and planning; IT skills; time management; team working, training . If you are a parent looking to return to work after bring up the children then include skills you have developed during this time such as managing pressure; organisation; negotiation; emotional resilience.

4. Education and Professional Qualifications

Don't worry if you have few qualifications as employers unless specifically stated in job descriptions as a prerequisite are often more interested in your experience and transferable skills and competencies. In this section list your qualifications giving details of where you studied, the awarding body and the title of the qualification. Here is an example of how to lay this out keep it brief at this point

  • Kingsbury Comprehensive School 10 GCSE passes ; 2 A levels.
  • RSA Matriculation |Certificate
  • Sandwell College: B/TEC Higher National Diploma in Business and Finance
  • Hall Green Institute RSA 1 Word Processing; RSA 2 Word Processing (Distinction)

5. Professional Experience

Employers will be particularly interested in this area. List your experience over the last 10 years and include your achievements in each role. Make sure you tailor your experience to match what the advertisement states required. For experience outside the last 10 years write a paragraph which summarises what you did or list each of the jobs with dates. Start each achievement with a positive word as this will help capture the recruiter's interest. Positive words may include "Implemented"; "Managed"; "Increased"; Maximised; "Accelerated"; "Successfully"; "Optimised"

Layout your experience as detailed in the examples below:-Always start with your most recent employment and work backwards.

For hospitality cv’s remember to include the size of the property/covers and its rating and add the web link if you know it.

March 2002 – Date: ABC Limited

Accounts Assistant

  • Successfully produced monthly invoices accurately
  • Managed customer enquiries on the telephone

6. Special Achievements and Interests

It is really useful to list any special achievements you have attained both in and out of work. This may include special awards, being appointed team captain in your chosen sport or raising money for charity. Think broad when it comes to this section and ask colleagues and friends as they are often able to pin point them for you. In addition feel free to add a few interests although it is unlikely the recruiter is going to be overly interested them. Here are some examples:-

  • Received employee of the month in September 2008
  • Successfully raised over £250 for the British Heart Foundation
  • Appointed chairperson of the local ramblers association
  • Interests include marathon running; good wine and dinner parties

7. References

You have two options when it comes to references. It is perfectly permissible to simply state "available upon request". Alternatively you can list two professional references.

Download a CV template to use for your own CV

Download Sample CV Template