CV Advice & Tips - Harper Recruitment Group

During this uncertain period, we may find that we have some time on our hands to reflect. We know that searching for a new role can be challenging, that’s why we’re here to help.

Harpers would like to offer our support to you, to make sure your CV is in tip-top shape for when we’re back to normality.  

Here are a few tips to consider when writing your CV:

Up to date details:

• At the top of your CV, ensure your name and appropriate contact details are clear and up to date so potential employers can contact you with ease.

Profile:

• Create a summary of your work experience, traits, and qualities. Try to make your personal profile short and sweet. Be sure to keep it professional and not to add any hobbies in there, like bowling or walking your dog! This is the first thing a potential employer reads so you need to get your most important qualities, traits, and experience across. We would suggest that you tailor this for each role you apply for, so it is relevant.  

Key Skills:

• Bullet point your key skills, such as your ability to multitask, your excellent telephone manner and your IT package skills such as MS packages, Sage and any in-house databases you have used. Try to put these in order of importance towards the role. This will help your potential employer spot any key words, tasks or experience they are looking for.

Education:

• Write a summary of your education including your qualification, place of study and your grade(s). Try to keep your qualifications relevant to the job you are applying for and to make sure they are in date order (most recent first).

Education example: 

Institution name – Dates attended (from – to)

Qualification/subject – Grade

Employment history:

• Ensure you write your CV in date order (most recent experience first). State the company you worked for, your job title and the accurate dates of employment. Any date gaps in your CV will be questioned by your potential employer. Try to bullet point your duties so your potential employer can read your CV clearly and can pick out the experience and duties they are looking for. Try to keep your duties relevant to the job you are applying for.

Employment history example: 

mmm yyyy - mmm - yyyy: Company Name

Job Title 

Outline:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Key Responsibilities:

• xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hobbies:

• Feel free to write a summary of your hobbies. Try to keep it simple and professional.

Spelling & Grammar:

• Check your spelling & grammar and ensure you read through your CV thoroughly. Have a friend or family member proofread to check for anything you may have missed. Even one spelling mistake could lose your chance of getting shortlisted for a role!

Consistency:

• Keep your formatting consistent. Ensure you use the same font throughout, have the same amount of spaces between previous jobs, put in bold your employer, job title and dates, use the same bullet points and font throughout your CV.

File name: 

• Once you have completed your CV, ensure you edit the file name to read your full name and the date i.e. Joe Blogs 2020 

Things not to include in your CV: 

There are a few things you shouldn't put in your CV, here are a few examples: 

• Age and date of birth: The only dates that should be on your CV are from employment and your qualifications. Your age doesn’t affect your ability to do the job, and it’s illegal for employers to ask about age under the Equality Act 2010.
• Marital status: Like your age, your marital status and dependents don’t affect your ability to do your job. These details are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, and it’s against the law for employers to ask about them, so don’t include them on your CV.
• A headshot: In many countries, it’s common practice to include a photo of yourself on your CV. But the UK is not one of them.

Use our tips to ensure your CV is professional, clear and concise, this will help your chances of standing out to any potential employers.

If you are still a little unsure or have any questions, please feel free to contact us at:

cvadvice@harperhr.co.uk

Apply online for our current live vacancies here: https://www.harperhr.co.uk/job-search or send your up to date CV to jobs@harperhr.co.uk to register on to our database.