University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

21st Century CVs

Cliona Hillery

Careers Adviser Careers Advisory Service

East Chapelwww.tcd.ie/careers

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Overview - CVs

• Curriculum Vitae_ Purpose_ Tailoring your CV_ Layout_ Do’s and Don’ts

• Cover Letters_ Guidelines on writing effective cover letters

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

What Makes a Good CV?

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Purpose

Your purpose:To get an interview in order to get the job.

Selector’s purpose:To decide whether or not to interview you

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Tailor your Application

• Tailor your application to clearly identify how you meet the organisation’s needs

_ Knowing yourself_ Knowing what they want

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Knowing Yourself (Self-Profile)

• To carry this out review activities:

_ Specific Achievements_ Current Responsibilities_ Course Work Projects_ Work Experience - including Voluntary Work_ Sports, Societies, Social Life

Then - What Skills have I gained?

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

College Time

Work Experience

Personal time

• Managing Money• Take a Risk• Speaking in

Societies• Being on a

Committee• Organising an Event

Academic Time

• Establishing Good • Customer Relations• Showing Reliability• Working Well with

others• Being Adaptable• Using Languages

• Helping Others• Catering for Others• Entertaining Others• Taking Initiative• Managing Time

• Writing Reports• Analysing Data• Researching information• Retaining Facts• Working to Deadline

“Self-Profile”

• Communication Skills• Financial Skills• Interpersonal Skills• Time Management Skills

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Know the Organisation

N.B. “Organisations love to be loved.”

Research, research, research:

_ Ask if there is anything they can send you in writing about their organisation

_ Go to their website & read everything they have there “about us”

_ Go to the library & locate any newspaper articles or other information about the organisation

_ Check the Alumni database at the CAS_ Ask your friends if they know anyone working there to whom

you could talk_ Become familiar with the organisation’s history, purpose, goals,

values

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Analysing a Job Advert for CV and Interview

Teamwork Skills

Organisation & Planning Skills

Commercial Awareness

Analytical & Problem-solving Skills

Communication Skills

Relevant Degree/Results

They Want My Evidence

Interpersonal Skills

Research Skills

Company-Specific Skills

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Basic Layout

• Personal Details• Career Objective (optional)• Education & Qualifications• Employment History• Skills Profile (optional)• Interests & Achievements• Referees

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Personal Details

• Keep it short• Top of page• Date of birth - optional• Email address

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

• “Honours Civil Engineering final year student with developed technical, problem solving, numerate and communication skills seeking a position as a Graduate Engineer in an engineering consultancy firm.”

• “A commercially aware and IT literate engineering student with highly developed problem solving, interpersonal and communication skills now looking for a career opportunity in a large construction company with a wide range of clients across a variety of sectors.”

Career Objective

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Education & Qualifications

• Place most recent first• Profile your course and its relevance to the job:

_ Full Title e.g. B.A., MSISS (Management Science and Information Systems Studies)

_ Length & structure_ Relevant subjects taken_ Grades attained and awards_ Title of relevant Projects / Dissertations / Thesis_ Placements abroad

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Example

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Employment History

Summer 2005Student Engineer, Dublin City Council

• Flexible staff member providing support to a professional team in fast-paced customer service environment.

• Accurately maintained and accessed database information.• Efficiently processed mail, phone and personal enquiries

from the public.• Utilised IT systems to produce weekly statistics.

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Employment History

Christmas 2004

Marketing Assistant, Supervalu, BalbrigganSkills gained: Analysis, IT and Presentation- Designed a customer service questionnaire that involved using excel and presenting the findings to the regional marketing manager, awarded a bonus for my efforts.

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Skills Profile

• Problem solving – An analytical, logical and determined approach to problem solving demanded by my coursework at Trinity College Dublin

• Project Management/Leadership – Instrumental in the organisation of a running club reunion held in Summer 2006. Took charge of the publicity for the event & single-handedly traced as many former members as was possible

• Communication Skills – Demonstrated oral and written communication skills in various work experiences and in publication of articles for Trinity News

• Initiative & Commitment – Have energetically represented students at Trinity through my roles as class representative and secretary of the Badminton Club.

• IT – Confident IT user with strong working knowledge of multiple computer programmes, languages & applications including Microsoft Office, HTML, UNIX, & Visual Basic

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Interests & Achievements

Voluntary:Publicity Officer, AmnestyArranged a publicity campaign. Gained experience in delegation, proofreading text, desktop publishing and working under pressure to meet deadlines

Sport:Treasurer, Boxing ClubKept accounts for a committee of eight. Helped organise a campaign to extend membership of the club which resulted in twenty new members

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Referees

• Get permission before you use someone as a referee

• Two referees are usually given

• Include one academic referee

• Include one referee from your work experience

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Writing a CV for Scanning

• Always read employers instructions and follow them to the letter

• Use keywords & phrases

• Ensure that the layout is clear with no unusual typefaces

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

• Achieved• Administered• Analysed• Built• Capable• Competent• Consistent• Controlled• Co-ordinated• Created• Designed

• Developed• Directed• Economical• Effective• Efficient• Engineered• Established• Expanded• Experienced• Guided• Improved

• Initiated• Instructed• Managed• Monitored• Organised• Participated• Positive• Processed• Productive• Proficient• Qualified

• Repaired• Sold• Specialised• Stable• Successful• Supervised• Trained• Versatile• Wide

Background

Useful Words

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Iportence of acruate speling and gramer

• What spelling mistakes say about you:_ You really cannot spell_ You are lazy – can’t be bothered doing a spell-check_ You are inattentive to detail_ You are careless_ You do not really want the job

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Summary – top ten CV sins

1. Typos

2. Putting the first last

3. Gaps

4. Sloppy formatting

5. Cluttered CV

6. Irrelevant information

7. Not tailoring your CV

8. Disorganised CV

9. Too long

10. Too basic

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

CV checklist

• Is the CV relevant to the position for which you are applying?

• Is the layout clear, concise, well presented and professional

• Can an employer see the relevant points at a glance?

• Have you emphasised your skills, experience and achievements?

• Is it free of spelling and grammatical errors?

• Does it paint a positive picture of you?

• Are you happy with this paper reflection of you?

The University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Application Forms:Before, During & After

– Before: – Research job, organisation, your requirements– Take a copy of the whole form (hard or soft copy)– Check you have the appropriate referees

– During:– Approach formally NOT text message style– Prepare answers before writing the final draft– Presentation is as important as content

– After:– Get a friend to review before submitting – Keep a copy. This sets the agenda for interview

www.selectsimulator.com

The University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Making an Online Application

– Principle is the same as for hardcopy

– Remember your username & password

– Do your thinking off-line

– For long prose write in Word, spell check, then copy and paste into application form

– Attaching CV – don’t use CV.doc

– Don’t use unusual fonts etc.

The University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Competency-Based Questions

– Problem solving/management Describe what you did to manage a situation where something unexpected happened.

– Leadership Describe a situation where you held a position of leadership and what you achieved in the position.

– Planning and Organising Provide an example of a situation where you displayed a competency in planning and organising and describe the results.

– Interpersonal Sensitivity Describe a situation where it was important to show that you possessed interpersonal sensitivity. What role did you play? How did you handle the situation?

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

Covering Letter

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

Opening Paragraph

• Refer to enclosed CV

• Why you are writing - in response to an add or on a speculative basis

• If you are a final year graduate refer to your degree course and results expected/gained

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

Middle Paragraphs

• Why the Company?_ Why you want to work for the particular company,

government department, organisation?_ State that you are very interested in working for them

and illustrate the research that you have completed on them

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

Middle Paragraphs

• Why You?_ Why do you want that particular job?_ Why should they employ you?_ What do you have to offer?_ What is the relevance of your

academic/technical experience/vacation work/interests etc. to the job

_ What are your special attributes/skills for the job?

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

Closing Paragraph

• Close your letter with a statement that you would like to:_ Discuss employment opportunities _ You look forward to hearing from the individual_ Sign letter and print your name below signature

University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

CV Resources

• www.tcd.ie/careers/students/jobsearch/apply/write_your_cv.php• www.gradireland.com• www.prospects.ac.uk• www.jobhuntersbible.com• http://www.quintcareers.com/• www.damngood.com/jobseekers/tips.html• www.doctorjob.com• Get feedback on your CV!

(http://www.tcd.ie/Careers/onlineadvice.php)• Read “Careers Service Guide 2006”• Read “Student Guide to Career Planning & Job Seeking” - Aungier,

C. & Walker, S. 2002 • Read “Making Wizard Applications”, Phillips, C. 1999

The University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeCareers Advisory Service

www.tcd.ie/Careers

Your Careers Advisers

– MEETINGS (by appointment)– 10.00am, 11.00am, 12 noon– 3.15pm

– QUICK QUERY (no appointment)– 2.15 – 3.15 pm

– TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT– careers@tcd.ie

– E-mail- Online Advice Centrewww.tcd.ie/Careers/onlineadvice.php

Mary O’Donnell & Cliona Hillery