Your C.V. & Content

1. Your C.V. & Content The C.V. (Curriculum Vitae – lit. record of life) - is a personal marketing tool - your qualifications, skills and attributes that demonstrates suitability for the job. Not only should it show the historical record - it should show your potential - it should act as a guide as to where your aspirations lie for the future. In compiling a C.V.there is only one objective - to get an interview in order to get the job.

2. Your C.V. & Content A CV must be accurate interesting up-to-date. It must be presentable so that it makes the best impression possible and gets noticed by the right people. Be relevant - target the needs of each particular position. Review and if necessary revise rather than re-cycle repeatedly for multi-purpose use.

3. Your C.V. & Content Skills/experience improve - make the most of this! You need to bring together: Details of your qualifications - dates, grades, course options covered etc.; Details of the job itself - job description, qualifications and skills required (person specification); Evidence that provides the match for the employers’ criteria to prioritise this information throughout the various sections of the CV.

4. Your C.V. & Content Aim for clarity and simplicity Don’t write in sentences; telegraphese is normal and saves space Highlight headings and key words in text by use of CAPITALS/bold type Remember italic is a weak typeface: bold italic stands out better

5. Your C.V. & Content Highlight major selling points e.g. ‘National University of Ireland, Maynooth’ Dates: tabulate in left hand column Leave no unaccounted-for time Give information in reverse chronological order;the most relevant and impressive details come first in each section. Be consistent about chronological order if you use it.

6. Your C.V. & Content Arranging material (if not using chronological order): In describing work experience and activities: arrange in order that matches importance of employer’s requirements e.g. if the prime requirement is communication skills, put activities indicating that first So, your C.V. should change to fit the application!

7. Basic Layout Tips for Writing a CV For a CV, the smallest readable font size for text is likely to be 10 pointLegibility is crucial! Make sure headings not too large in relation to the text sizeOtherwise, text will look insignificant Titles and headings never have final punctuationHolds reader up and is unnecessary There should always be more space above a subheading than below itOr it ‘floats’ unattached, and hard to see what it belongs to

8. Basic Layout Tips for Writing a CV The space below a heading should be at least as large as the space between each paragraphOtherwise heading gets lost, ‘sucked in’ to the first paragraph Make typographic style of headings consistentFont size, font, bold/italic, caps etc must all be the same for the same level of heading, or the reader can get confused Underlining makes text less clearIt cuts through punctuation and parts of letters that descend below the line,for instance, gggs and qqqs and yyys

9. Basic Layout Tips for Writing a CV Don’t use too many different fonts– the effect is confusing When bracketing numbers or letters (e.g. for a list) use brackets on both sides .... (b) .... is clearer than a).... b).... Numbers in columns should range right so that the units are correctly aligned Break up dense text with indenting or bullet points

10. Basic Layout Tips for Writing a CV Layout is part of the message of your text!

11. Personal Details Don’t put ‘CURRICULUM VITAE’ across top, put name No need for heading other than name (e.g. ‘Personal Details’) Address: home and term, if space; in full (include postcode); say when you’ll be where Include telephone, fax and email address Include nationality and marital status

12. Personal Details If your name is foreign to the country you’re applying for and the employer may not be able to guess gender, state it Give date of birth (notage)

13. Education Give institutions as headings and exams/courses under those headings; don’t have separate ‘qualifications’ section Not ‘Maynooth’ but ‘Maynooth University’ Add ‘Hons.’ to first degree title (e.g.‘BSc. Hons.Computer Science’) Give each year’s results; include year abroad if part of course; give expected further result(s) if not taken yet Give title or topic of any dissertation and any extra skills used for it, e.g. use of statistics, fieldwork, questionnaires

14. Education Include awards/prizes from Sixth Year on (if undergrad or new graduate); if many, have separate ‘Awards’ subheading after ‘Education’ section Give years of all exams mentioned including Junior Cert, Higher & Ordinary Levels Grades can usually be listed as‘10 subjects including Maths and English, 8 at Higher Level’ If 2 years or more after first degree can omit Junior Cert (unless needed to demonstrate a skill, e.g. good maths result)

15. Further Qualifications If not based in the home country :- Explain level or mark meaning, e.g. ‘GPA 3.7/4.00’, ‘7th out of 100’ Give equivalents if possible, e.g. ‘(= Class I equivalent) Skills - use heading ‘Additional Skills’ Include languages, indicate level of proficiency Driving: full clean driving licence

16. Work Experience For paid work, can use heading ‘Employment’ Include explanation of what was done and for how long The two key things to show are level of responsibility and level of skills gained

17. Work Experience Be specific; give examples Work in year out (e.g. teaching assistant abroad) should be included as teaching work experience Remember ‘student’ jobs often indicate valued skills, e.g. energy, tact, rapport, communication Start with ‘strong verb’: not ‘Spent the summer teaching’ but ‘Taught...’ Give most detail to items that match employer’s interests

18. Activities/Interests Choose subheadings relevant to job sought (e.g. liaison/organisation, communications, teamwork) Avoid headings using words such as ‘general’, ‘other’, which suggest that the material is unimportant Research employers you intend to apply to – what headings will they think relevant? Give most detail to items that match employer’s interests

19. Activities/Interests Indicate level of activity: suggest that aimed for and achieved results Use ‘including’ for multiple examples of similar activity, rather than listing them all – give the most impressive examples Explain any obscure references e.g. ‘Asparagus Club (College Dining Society)’ Don’t list too many ‘passive’ pursuits (‘films, reading’) etc; be specific (e.g. not ‘film’ but ‘1940s US screwball comedies’) Travel: employers value experience of other cultures: indicate countries visited and extent of familiarity with them

20. Referees Make status of referee and their relationship clear – e.g. Director of Studies Give full contact details for them, including fax & email if available Ideally, give one academic and one work experience referee, or one who can show that you possess the particular qualities the employer wants

21. Remember! The amount of space you give to something suggests how important it is to you and what you want to do next Research, research, research –can’t write an effective CV unless you know about the employer and the job EVERYBODY is somewhat “economical” with the truth; be careful!

22. C.V. Checklist Am I using unlined white A4 paper? Am I using no more than 2 sides of A4 paper? Is the print clear and concise throughout? Have I checked the spelling (with a dictionary)? Are the margins consistent for each page? Are the margins consistent for each paragraph? Is the spacing consistent throughout?

23. C.V. Checklist Is the chronology accurate? Is my date of birth correct? Is the current course title correct? Have I my referees consent to list them? Is it obvious how my referees know me? Is the text in short paragraphs? Are my sentences short?

24. C.V. Checklist Have I avoided repetition of verbs/adjectives? Have I given details of my current course? Have I given some evidence of the skills I have to offer? Have I avoided the use of staples/paper clips which will mark my C.V.? 19. Do I have a copy in a safe place?

25. Putting it all together

28. C.V. Don’ts… Don't use coloured or patterned paper; don't add borders or clip-art; don't use gimmicks. Don't use decorative or comical fonts, don't mix upper and lower case letters without reason. Don't change styles of headings or layout within the one document. Don't try to be funny, or arrogant, or too clever. Don't make up anything; don't exaggerate a simple skill you can do into a complex skill of which you have no experience.

29. C.V. Don’ts… Don't leave unexplained gaps in your history - if you were unemployed for a time, say so, rather than have the employer wondering what you are covering up. Don't include anything irrelevant. Don't mention your primary school. You don't need to give reasons for leaving previous jobs, and certainly never indicate any ill feeling about previous jobs. Don't finish off a paragraph with 'etc'; this tells people nothing.