CV Writing Tips
Writing your first CV may be an overwhelming task, but if you follow these steps, you'll improve your chances of gaining an apprenticeship and gaining an employer's attention. We'll work with you in order to get your CV up-to-scratch, but follow the below tips to really stand out.
How long should a CV be?
An apprenticeship CV doesn't have to be as long as a normal CV, so the employer won't be expecting to see lots of experience. An effective CV should ideally be one side of A4, but if you must exceed this, make sure it is no longer than 2 pages long. Employers are sent hundreds of CV's a day, and any that appear too long or poorly written will more often than not be over looked.
How should it look?
What information should I include?
Personal Statement
A personal statement is your chance to impress the employer. This is a short paragraph where you can write about your aspirations, why you want to be an apprentice and why you believe an apprenticeship is right for you. Also, any skills that you have that you think will impress an employer write down. Try and write no less than 6 lines and no more than 10.
Education
Put the name of your school and the dates you attended between. Under this, write down your most recent grades and subjects.
Work History/ Work Experience
List in order the most recent job you have had. This lets the employer see your most up-to-date activities.
An employer won't be expecting you to have lots of work experience, but list the company name, your job title and responsibilities you had.
Additional skills
Here you can list any other qualities you think will stand out to an employer. For example, if you are good with computers, write something such as 'competent in all Microsoft Office programmes'.
Extra-curricular activities and hobbies
This section allows the employer to see what you enjoy doing in your spare time. Try and avoid the standard lists of 'reading, going to the cinema or going out with friends' If you do enjoy reading, say what you like to read. If you say you enjoy going out with friends an employer may look at this differently to you and think you go out in the evenings and will be tired for work the next day.
References - Available upon request
Lastly...When you think you have finished, make sure you read through it thoroughly and use spell-check. Be certain there are no simple grammatical or spelling errors. If you are unsure, get someone else to read through it with you.
How long should a CV be?
An apprenticeship CV doesn't have to be as long as a normal CV, so the employer won't be expecting to see lots of experience. An effective CV should ideally be one side of A4, but if you must exceed this, make sure it is no longer than 2 pages long. Employers are sent hundreds of CV's a day, and any that appear too long or poorly written will more often than not be over looked.
How should it look?
- Stick with a traditional font such as Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri or Cambria. Select the font size between 9-12, anything smaller will be hard to see, and anything bigger may seem like you're just trying to fill up the page.
- Don't use any pictures or photos
- Keep the colour of the font as black and don't use any boarders or shading.
What information should I include?
- Name
- Address
- Telephone
Personal Statement
A personal statement is your chance to impress the employer. This is a short paragraph where you can write about your aspirations, why you want to be an apprentice and why you believe an apprenticeship is right for you. Also, any skills that you have that you think will impress an employer write down. Try and write no less than 6 lines and no more than 10.
Education
Put the name of your school and the dates you attended between. Under this, write down your most recent grades and subjects.
Work History/ Work Experience
List in order the most recent job you have had. This lets the employer see your most up-to-date activities.
An employer won't be expecting you to have lots of work experience, but list the company name, your job title and responsibilities you had.
Additional skills
Here you can list any other qualities you think will stand out to an employer. For example, if you are good with computers, write something such as 'competent in all Microsoft Office programmes'.
Extra-curricular activities and hobbies
This section allows the employer to see what you enjoy doing in your spare time. Try and avoid the standard lists of 'reading, going to the cinema or going out with friends' If you do enjoy reading, say what you like to read. If you say you enjoy going out with friends an employer may look at this differently to you and think you go out in the evenings and will be tired for work the next day.
References - Available upon request
Lastly...When you think you have finished, make sure you read through it thoroughly and use spell-check. Be certain there are no simple grammatical or spelling errors. If you are unsure, get someone else to read through it with you.
