21 st Century CVs

1. 21st Century CVs Cliona Hillery Careers Adviser Careers Advisory Service East Chapel www.tcd.ie/careers

2. Overview - CVs Curriculum Vitae Purpose Tailoring your CV Layout Do’s and Don’ts Cover Letters Guidelines on writing effective cover letters

3. What Makes a Good CV?

4. Purpose Your purpose: To get an interview in order to get the job. Selector’s purpose: To decide whether or not to interview you

5. Tailor your Application Tailor your application to clearly identify how you meet the organisation’s needs Knowing yourself Knowing what they want

6. 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?

7. “Self-Profile” College Time Personal time • Managing Money • Take a Risk • Speaking in Societies • Being on a Committee • Organising an Event • Helping Others • Catering for Others • Entertaining Others • Taking Initiative • Managing Time WorkExperience Academic Time • Writing Reports • Analysing Data • Researching information • Retaining Facts • Working to Deadline • Establishing Good • Customer Relations • Showing Reliability • Working Well with others • Being Adaptable • Using Languages • Communication Skills • Financial Skills • Interpersonal Skills • Time Management Skills

8. 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

9. Analysing a Job Advert for CV and Interview They Want My Evidence Relevant Degree/Results Communication Skills Analytical & Problem-solving Skills Teamwork Skills Organisation & Planning Skills Commercial Awareness Interpersonal Skills Research Skills Company-Specific Skills

10. Basic Layout Personal Details Career Objective (optional) Education & Qualifications Employment History Skills Profile (optional) Interests & Achievements Referees

11. Personal Details Keep it short Top of page Date of birth - optional Email address

12. “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

13. 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

14. Example

15. Employment History Summer 2005 Student 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.

16. Employment History Christmas 2004 Marketing Assistant, Supervalu, Balbriggan Skills 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.

17. 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

18. Interests & Achievements Voluntary: Publicity Officer, Amnesty Arranged a publicity campaign. Gained experience in delegation, proofreading text, desktop publishing and working under pressure to meet deadlines Sport: Treasurer, Boxing Club Kept accounts for a committee of eight. Helped organise a campaign to extend membership of the club which resulted in twenty new members

19. 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

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23. 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

24. Achieved Administered Analysed Built Capable Competent Consistent Controlled Co-ordinated Created Designed Useful Words • 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

25. 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

26. Summary – top ten CV sins Typos Putting the first last Gaps Sloppy formatting Cluttered CV Irrelevant information Not tailoring your CV Disorganised CV Too long Too basic

27. 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?

28. 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

29. 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.

30. 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?

31. Covering Letter

32. 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 degreecourse and results expected/gained

33. 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

34. 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?

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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 Centre www.tcd.ie/Careers/onlineadvice.php • Mary O’Donnell & Cliona Hillery