Careers Skills Workshop

How to create a winning CVHow to create a winning CV

Diane AppletonDiane AppletonCareers AdviserCareers AdviserUniversity of LiverpoolUniversity of Liverpool

Careers Skills Workshop

Objectives

To understand what different types of employers want from a CV

To learn some strategies to make a good impression

To look at examples of successful CVs and to understand what makes them effective

To enable participants to critically view their own CV

To gain quality feedback from fellow participants

Careers Skills Workshop

Format of session

45 minute presentation on what makes an effective CV Academic CVs/Researcher CVs Non-Academic “graduate” CV

45 minutes in group Critiquing CV in pairs

Careers Skills Workshop

The Purpose of a CV

• To inform the employer about your past experiences• To persuade the employer to offer you an interview

To do this you need to tailor your CV to a particular job or employer

• Tailor your description of your research to the audience. • Consider the person reading it - their questions are likely to be:• Why was this research done? • Was this person successful?• Why is it useful to me?

Careers Skills Workshop

The simple key to a winning CV

• Evidence• Evidence• Evidence

Careers Skills Workshop

Match the Job• Find out what the job involves

Read brochures or reports Look at the job description

• Find out what skills, qualifications and experiences are required Look at job details/person spec What personality would suit the job?

• Link your own skills, experiences and qualifications to the job Give evidence of how you gained those skills

Careers Skills Workshop

Experience from which these skills should be drawn

• Training courses • Conferences • Departmental committees • Teaching undergraduates • Supervising research • Joining your professional body • Work placements or shadowing • Voluntary work • Part-time work• Employment

Careers Skills Workshop

Job Match ExerciseSkill Required Example

Excellent academic record PhD, undergraduate prizes

Strong technical skills Experience with relevant equipment

Communication skills Conferences, demonstrating, written publications

Initiative Finding funding to attend conferences

Leadership Postgrad rep, running project

Commercial Awareness Attendance at GRADschool, part-time work, dealing with funding

Careers Skills Workshop

Types of CV

• Reverse chronological• Functional (skills profile)• One sided• Two sided (most usual for non-academic posts)• Academic/Post-Doc

Careers Skills Workshop

A CV for an Academic post

• Whilst some academics have strong views on the correct format for academic CVs, these can differ. However, virtually all academic CVs are built around these three pillars:

• Research• Teaching• Administration

Careers Skills Workshop

What should an academic CV contain?• Professional & Research Experience or Education & Research

Experience• Aims - clear aims of research • Achievements - what you have done to achieve them • Techniques - only if relevant to the application • Practical experience - research related placement, field

work • Responsibilities - your role on the research group,

demonstrating, teaching • Publications - essential for academic positions, but if still ‘work

in progress’ try... • Dissemination of results - at conferences, other forms of

publications

Careers Skills Workshop

and……• Training - research training, skills development, GRADschool

attendance • Awards - any extra sponsorship to attend conferences? any

prizes?• Conferences - noting any posters or presentations as well as

attendance • Committees - particularly where you have held positions of

responsibility • Funding - awards to attend meetings, conferences or prizes won • Professional qualifications - membership of learned societies • References - Name three referees. These are likely to be

academic and academic related (eg from relevant industrial experience)

Careers Skills Workshop

Additional info

• No strict rules on length BUT…….

• One strategy is to produce a 2/3 page CV and then to put a synopsis of your research, conferences, publications and references as an appendix on a further page/s

• Get feedback and advice from your supervisor, who will have experience of academic CVs

• Ask for feedback from a Careers Adviser

Careers Skills Workshop

Non-research job outside of academia• Personal Details• Career Aims/Objective?• Qualifications/Education• Work (or other) experience• Skills• Interests• Referees

• Focus on relevant skills and qualities - backed up by evidence • Don't use specialist terminology - emphasise your ability to

write and present information suitable for different audiences • 2 pages

Careers Skills Workshop

Skills identified by PhD students• Specialist in-depth knowledge - going into detail • Working unsupervised • Enhanced communication skills - encouraging others, debating • Persistence and vision to continue with a project • Overcoming obstacles, problem solving • Self-motivation - making things happen • Time management - managing the research timetable, part-time work,

meeting deadlines • Researching skills • Debating • Analytical skills (advanced) • Innovation • Continuous learning • Handling information

Careers Skills Workshop

Your 20 second commercial!

Careers Skills Workshop

Saatchi and Saatchi…….

• AIDA!• Attention• Interest• Desire• Action

Careers Skills Workshop

Tips for Professional Presentation • • • • •

• For non-academic CVs, 2 sides of A4 maximum, new sheet for each side, laser printed. For academic CVs, get most of your good stuff on the first two pages

• Use new, good quality paper; white or “professional” in colour (e.g. cream, parchment). Avoid folders or fancy slippery covers

• Graphics – use only if relevant and only if they add something • Use bold, italics or underlining but not all at once or you will lose impact • Avoid background shading – when photocopied it can be blotchy or

obscure text • Use distinctive headings and clearly separate the different areas of your

experience • Indenting sections and using bullets add visual interest and signposts

key information

Careers Skills Workshop

…………..• Rambling prose and endless lists are boring to read – the

recruiter may not bother. Make it punchy and to the point • Use strong active words such as demonstrated, initiated,

reorganised, co-ordinated – there’s a useful list in the Careers & Employability Service CV guide.

• Be specific and quantify achievements for credibility and impact – eg. “negotiated £100 sponsorship from local companies to promote department charity fun run, raising £760”

Careers Skills Workshop

Covering Letters

• In response to advert• Speculative• Usually one page typed A4

• Purpose is to:• highlight your key selling points• show why you are interested in that job• show why you are interested in that employer

• explain any issues/problems?

Careers Skills Workshop

Structure of letter• Address to named individual if possible• Why you are sending the CV • Why you are the right person for the job

job match exercise• What attracts you to the employer

show your research, name drop!• What happens next

especially if speculative, e.g. follow up with phone call

Careers Skills Workshop

Summary• There is no single right way to do a CV or letter as long as it

shows: What you have done What you have gained from this

• Tailor each CV and letter to job/employer• Avoid CV templates on the web• Undertake research into job/company and identify the type of

person sought • Show good knowledge of yourself and good evidence for your

skills • Demonstrate your necessary technical/subject specific

knowledge • Present yourself positively by using “action verbs”• Seek advice before sending 

Careers Skills Workshop

Useful websites

• www.grad.ac.uk

• www.liv.ac.uk/careers

• www.prospects.ac.uk

• www.jobs.ac.uk

Careers Skills Workshop

Questions?Questions?

Careers Skills Workshop

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