Resource 1: CV and cover letter writing

Creating your CV - top tips

In a competitive job market, your CV needs to help you stand out from the crowd. Follow these simple tips to help you land your dream job! 

Clear and concise

Your CV is more likely to be read by a machine than a human, so make sure it is clear and concise. 

Personal details

Always include your full name, mobile number, email address and location, London, for example. 

Keep it simple

• Choose a clean font like Calibri or Tahoma, NOT Comic Sans.  
• Don’t use logos or images to represent any brands or businesses.
• Use black and white only, no colour.
• Use bullet points for each role, no descriptive paragraphs.
• Keep it to two pages, three maximum.  

Don’t include a picture of yourself – you want someone to judge you on what you can do and have done and not what you look like. 

Layout

• Personal details, which may also include a LinkedIn URL if you have one. 
• Personal profile or statement (see more on this below). 
• Career/work experience with most current role first. 
• Education and academic achievements. 
• Hobbies and interests. 

Personal profile

Your personal profile should include positive affirming words that describe you in a professional context, for example team player, able to work on own initiative, reliable, excellent interpersonal skills, high attention to detail, numerate, etc 

Make your hobbies sound interesting and don’t just put ‘reading’ or ‘travelling’. Expand on them – what type of books do you enjoy? Have you travelled on your own or been to some out of the way places? Have you done something for charity, or have you taken part in a race or led a sports team to victory? These give a little insight into who YOU are, and may be used as an ice breaker in an interview 

And finally

If you have gaps in your CV (for illness, travel, studying), don’t be afraid to include them. 

Be truthful on your CV – there's always a risk you will be found out! 

And ALWAYS check, check and CHECK AGAIN for typos or grammatical mistakes – ask someone else to read through your CV if you are unsure. 

You can find more help on how to build an excellent CV online. Prospects, which is primarily a graduate career website, describes the different types of CV, including for a school-leaver as well as for a graduate, with examples; and job search site Indeed provides a range of templates you can use. 

Resource 2: Managing rejection and overwhelm

In this video resource, Gemma Fieldsend, a mental health trainer at Charlie Waller Trust discusses managing rejection and overwhelm. This video is to help normalise some of the emotions you may feel when applying for hobs and provide you with some strategies and tips on how to maintain good wellbeing during the process.