{"id":563,"date":"2018-03-05T10:48:27","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T10:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/?page_id=563"},"modified":"2022-12-20T11:30:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T11:30:53","slug":"cv_writing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/job-hunt\/job-hunting\/cv_writing\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing a CV &#8211; dos and don&#8217;ts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With the average time employers spend looking at a CV being a <strong>mere 3 minutes<\/strong>, you need to limit your <strong>CV to 1 \u2013 1 \u00bd pages<\/strong>, otherwise you could risk your application being rejected because it is too long and unclear. However, this is easier said than done. If you have an abundance of work experience, achievements or voluntary work that you want to impress a potential employer with, deciphering which points to discount can be tricky. Below are a few <strong>dos and don&#8217;ts<\/strong> to help you when cutting down your CV:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dos<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Keep your CV concise and the layout clear. <\/strong>Use short bullet points to explain your duties in the work experience section of your CV.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keep older roles concise, <\/strong>you do not need to explain everything you\u2019ve ever done. Only go into detail with your most recent work experience.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Try using the acronym CAR<\/strong> when explaining a skill \u2013 context (what happened), action (what you did) and result (the outcome and what you achieved)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tailor your CV<\/strong> for each job, considering the skills and experience the employer requires and how you would ideally suit the role. Remember to explain WHY you want to work for that particular company and WHY you want this job! Leave out any irrelevant details<\/li>\n<li><strong>Only include essential personal details<\/strong> on a CV, i.e. your full name, address and contact number\/email address. You do not need to include your date of birth or hobbies (unless relevant to the position).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ensure your contact details are up to date. <\/strong>Check the details you have given (telephone number, email address etc.) are valid and correct. You don\u2019t want to miss opportunities because employers cannot get in contact with you.0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Check for spelling and grammar mistakes!<\/strong> Before submitting an application or sending a CV to a prospective employer, ensure you have thoroughly checked it for any errors. Silly mistakes can cost you that chance of getting an interview.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Don\u2019ts<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Avoid using clich\u00e9s<\/strong>. It\u2019s easy to fall into a clich\u00e9 trap, using phrases such as \u2018good communicator\u2019 or \u2018great team player\u2019 but if you haven\u2019t backed them up with clear examples, they won\u2019t have any substance. Make sure you explain why you are a good team player and how you can bring your skills to the job.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t give the full address for your previous employers<\/strong> &#8211; you only need to include when you worked there, your job title and the name of the company.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Avoid using a jokey email address<\/strong> &#8211; <a href=\"mailto:ilovechocolate@nestle.co.uk\">ilovechocolate@nestle.co.uk<\/a> \u2013 and ensure you only use a professional email for any job applications or communication with employers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don&#8217;t include references in your CV<\/strong>, you only need to state that they are available upon request.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"kent-social-links\"><li><a href='http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/job-hunt\/job-hunting\/cv_writing\/&amp;t=Writing a CV - dos and don'ts' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-facebook' title='Share via Facebook'><\/i><\/a><\/li><li><a href='http:\/\/twitter.com\/home?status=Writing a CV - dos and don'ts%20https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/job-hunt\/job-hunting\/cv_writing\/' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-twitter' title='Share via Twitter'><\/i><\/a><\/li><li><a href='https:\/\/plus.google.com\/share?url=https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/job-hunt\/job-hunting\/cv_writing\/' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-google-plus' title='Share via Google Plus'><\/i><\/a><\/li><li><a href='http:\/\/linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/job-hunt\/job-hunting\/cv_writing\/&amp;title=Writing a CV - dos and don'ts' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-linkedin' title='Share via Linked In'><\/i><\/a><\/li><li><a href='mailto:content=https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/job-hunt\/job-hunting\/cv_writing\/&amp;title=Writing a CV - dos and don'ts' target='_blank'><i class='ksocial-email' title='Share via Email'><\/i><\/a><\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the average time employers spend looking at a CV being a mere 3 minutes, you need to limit your CV to 1 \u2013 1 &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/job-hunt\/job-hunting\/cv_writing\/\">Read&nbsp;more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54698,"featured_media":0,"parent":532,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/563"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54698"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=563"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4458,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/563\/revisions\/4458"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/aspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}