CV and Written Applications

Writing a good CV

A CV is a professional document that gives an overview of your skills, achievements and experience for employers.The aim of the CV is to give enough information to the employer to show that they should invite you to the next stage of recruitment, or even to give you the job.

Getting Started CV Tips

There is no such thing as a 'perfect CV'. Employers all have their own preferences but the key is to put together a document that reflects your skills and experience well.
Try to make your CV relevant to the job you are applying for. Review the job description and highlight the skills and experience you think are most appropriate to the role
Make sure the CV looks professional and is well presented (eg use consistent font and heading styles).Choose a format that you feel comfortable with (for further details of chronological or skills based CVs see the Prospects Link below).
Don't forget to include relevant information about the content of your degree.
Your CV should be no longer than two pages (unless it is an academic CV).

Written Applications

To write an effective application you need to:

Know what the job involves and how you meet the employer’s specific requirements
Know what skills and experience you have to offer
Know what evidence you have of your skills and experience
Be able to write about your skills and experience positively & persuasively!

Getting Started Application Tips

Make a start…don’t put it off - ideas will flow
Think about what the employer wants and write about the evidence you have for this. Don’t start by thinking about yourself and what you want to say about yourself
Allow sufficient time: 3 – 4 hours for an application??
Use the spell checkUse a thesaurus
Draft and re-draft
Ask someone else to read it to give feedback and make corrections
If you are a ‘waffler’, concentrate on being concise.
Make verbs your priority words
Avoid telling a story e.g. the reader of a GTTR statement does not want the history of how you became interested in teaching as a career, they want to know your motivation and relevant attitudes, skills and experienceIntroduce the theme of each paragraph in the first sentence, then go on to give some evidence
Consider using bullet points (CVs).
Have clearly defined paragraphs (personal statements)

Further Resources

For further details of what to include in a CV, and a description of chronological and skills based CVs, see the Propects Website.

Current Leeds Met Students can access our new Employability Resource Online (ERol). ERol contains a wide range of careers resources from CV Builder, Careers Planner and Jobs Search Engine as well as a range of videos for further help and tips. You can find ERol on the Employability Tab with in Student Portal (X-Stream).

If you have graduated with in five years you can still access ERol, please email Mark Burns, Careers Information and Technology Advisor for access.