Electronics/CSE CV Assignment

1. Electronics/CSE CV Assignment Bruce Woodcock University of Kent Careers and EmployabilityService You can download a copy of this presentation at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

2. CV Assignment • To produce a high quality CV appropriate for applying for electronics jobs. • The deadline for handing in CV Assignment to the EDA General Office is: Friday 29th November • You may lose marks if it is handed in later. • CV must be done on a Word Processor.

4. How not to do it … • I enclose a tea-bag so you can enjoy a cuppa while perusing my form • Size of employer: about 5’ 10” • I do not have any major achievements that I would consider to be of interest to this application. • Hi, I want 2 get a job with U • I have good writen comunication skills • I want experience in a big sex practice • I have a desire to work with commuters • At secondary school I was a prefix

5. Skills gained on a Kent Electronics degree • Gather and analyse relevant information from a wide variety of sources • Identify and propose solutions to problems • Work with others in the preparation and presentation of group work (group projects) • Project management • Technical skills • Work independently (individual projects) • Communicate with others in a clear and articulate manner • Present ideas and arguments verbally in presentations and seminars, and informal discussions

6. How to “sell” your degree • List relevant modules (plus marks if good!) • Projects – especially if relevant • IT skills • Soft skills – evidence of teamwork, project management, problem solving etc. • For non-IT jobs (e.g. banking) you would need a different CV focusing on your soft skills more than technical skills.

7. Work Experience Summer 2000 Sainsbury's, Canterbury Checkout assistant This job developed my ability to deal with the public and work under pressure Don’t feel you have to include every job “In addition to the above, I have held a variety of temporary jobs during school and university vacations, including fruit-picking, factory work, bar work and waiting on tables”

8. Interests • Reading, cinema, stamp-collecting, travel • Cinema: member of the University Film-Making Society • Travel: traveled through Europe by train this summer in a group of four people, visiting historic sites and improving my French and Italian • Reading: helped younger pupils with reading difficulties at school

9. Example CVs www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cvexamples.htm Electronics CV Example www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/electronicsCV.htm CV Checklist www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cv-checklist.htm

10. The Covering Letter Your CV is incomplete without it! • Accompanies and amplifies the CV • Be clear and concise - one side of A4 is sufficient • Use same font as CV

11. First Paragraph State the job you’re applying for. Where you found out about it. When you're available to start work (& end if it's a placement) Second Paragraph Why your interested in that type of work Why the company attracts you (if it's a small company say you prefer to work for a small friendly organisation!) Third Paragraph Summarise your strengths and how they might be an advantage to the organisation. Relate your skills to the job. Last Paragraph Mention any dates that you won't be available for interview Thank the employer and say you look forward to hearing from them soon. The Covering Letter

12. Web Pages • Applications and Interviewswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm • Example CVs & Covering Letters www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cvexamples.htm • Practice Interviews www.kent.ac.uk/careers/interviews/mockivs.htm • Questions asked at IT interviews plus skills needed for IT jobs.

13. Electronics/CSE Careers Page www.kent.ac.uk/careers/electronics.htm Placements www.kent.ac.uk/careers/placements.htm Gradcracker: great site for electronics jobs and placements! www.gradcracker.com

14. 1st/2nd Year Career Plan • TRY TO GET A GOOD DEGREE. Many employers require an Upper Second degree (2:1) • PREPARE A HIGH QUALITY CV. It will save you time in your busy final year. • GET A SUMMER VACATION JOB to add skills to your CV. • START TO DECIDE WHICH JOB OR POSTGRADUATE STUDY you want to aim for in your final year. • Check you campus emails regularly as I will send you emails on vacation work, careers talks, vacancies etc. • Get actively involved in university life so you have evidence of teamwork, organising, leadership etc. skills for your CV. • Apply early in your final year – closing dates are often in December.

15. Streamed Videos • INTERVIEWS • ON-LINE APPLICATIONS • ASSESSMENT CENTRES • All last about 25 minutes and are excellent! www.kent.ac.uk/careers/IntVid.htm.

16. Moodle Careers Employability Award www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htm

17. Bruce Woodcock • Deal with all Science and IT students • A careers adviser is on duty for short (15 minute) queries weekday MORNINGS (10.30 am - 12.30 pm) and AFTERNOONS (2 to 4 pm). You don’t need to book an appointment, just ask at the helpdesk in the Careers Service. • Email:bw@kent.ac.uk

18. Location of the Careers Service

19. CV Assignment • To produce a high quality CV appropriate for applying for electronics jobs. • The deadline for handing in CV Assignment to the EDA General Office is: Friday 29th November • You may lose marks if it is handed in later. • CV must be done on a Word Processor.

20. You can download a copy of this presentation at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

21. When should a CV be used? • When an employer asks for applications to be received in this format • When an employer simply states "apply to ..." without specifying the format • When making speculative applications (i.e. when writing to an employer who has not actually advertised a vacancy but who you hope may have one)

22. CV Marking Criteria • Pleasing appearance. Not too much white space at the end - not a snowfield, similarly not too cramped. The 10 second quality test. Put the CV at arms length and look at it for a few seconds. Does it look pleasing to the eye? • Clear structure with appropriate headings and logical development. Carefully organised. Identified sections (e.g. Education, work experience). At least a line gap between sections. Large name at start. Normally education before work experience for a student CV. • Don't separate education and qualifications - try to keep all the information about a particular topic together in one place on the CV, rather than fragmented throughout. • Absence of spelling, grammatical and syntax errors. Correct capitalisation • Choice of a format appropriate to your chosen job or occupation/type of employer and to your personal circumstances;  reverse chronological, by order of importance or by skills • Lively writing style.  Use of positive, active language. Easy to easy to read and pick out facts. Authentic and truthful. Information is presented in a well-thought-out manner, avoiding clichés. Appropriately selected examples to provide evidence that you have the skills, interests and personal attributes to do the job and fit into the organisation. Computing, languages, driving? People and business skills. • Describe key tasks, responsibilities and skills gained from work experience e.g. customer service skills. • Clear explanation of skills gained and benefits of degree course. Key information in the sweet spot of the CV • Concise and to the point - no more that 2 sides of A4. Short, clear phrases.Use of bold and italic to draw eye to key points. Good use of bullets. Proper bullets rather than hyphensJust one or two sensible fonts e.g. Verdana 10 pt. Not too small font sizes. Larger fonts for subheadings. • No dense paragraphs - a good rule is no more than 7 or 8 lines in a paragraph. If more, separate into smaller paragraphs, use bullets or bold out key words. • Page break not breaking a section into two. • Modules, projects, technical skills gained and grades (if good!) for vocational courses. Modules in columns. Neat alignment. • Interests. A broad variety? Social and active rather than solitary and passive interests? Serious commitment to at least one activity? Evidence of getting on well with other people? e.g. team sports. Independent or challenging holidays/foreign travel? Organising or leadership experience/evidence of taking responsibility?