# The primary purpose of a CV or Résumé is to tell prospective employers something about you. It should make him/her want to give you that all important interview. (From time to time there may be others to whom you may also wish to send a summary of your career and interests.)
# The terms CV and Résumé are virtually interchangeable but, from time to time, one or the other may be more fashionable. If a prospective employer uses one of these terms, it may help to use the same term when corresponding with them.
# A covering letter is an opportunity to be a little less formal than in a CV. This is your chance to tell your prospective employer how enthusiastic you are and how excited you are about applying for their specific position.
# Always keep in mind that employers use the PLU ('people like us') principle and try to pick employees who will fit in. Therefore, it's not a bad idea to do a little research about the company and include some of these facts in your covering letter.
# Prospective employers see many CVs and covering letters and, therefore, it should be your aim to compile documents that stand out from the crowd. There are a number of ways of doing this:
* By using an attractive writing style that's easy and quick to read
* By only presenting information that will be of interest to your prospective employer
* By making your document attractive and eye-catching
* By not making the document too long
* By using the bullet format
# Never alter the facts and never make things up - it's amazing how often you'll be caught out. However, a seasoned writer should be able to take the bare bones and make them sound interesting. Also remember that there are good ways and bad ways of presenting the facts.
# Many people put their job history at the top of a CV but it's modern practice to begin with a list of your personal attributes
# You should always keep a standard CV that can be modified to suit the particular employer.
Let's say you have experience and qualifications as a hairdresser and as a masseuse; if you were applying for a job as a hairdresser you wouldn't put the qualities that make you a good masseuse at the top of your list of merits.
Your standard CV may say that you are a member of a number of car clubs. However, if you were applying for a job in a motor showroom, you would elaborate on your interest in cars, show some technical knowledge and use jargon that the man in the street may not know.
# Make sure that your list of references is carefully selected. It always helps to include someone like a doctor or Member of Parliament. Always make sure that everyone on your list knows that they're there, so that they don't get a surprise if they're contacted.
# Although it's illegal for employers to discriminate on the grounds of sex, sexual preference, religion, age or disability, an employer is not obliged to give reasons for not employing people. Therefore, these are things that are better left out of a CV. As an example of a potential problem, let's take the case of a person in a wheel chair. If they put that in their CV, the prospective employer would probably not invite them in for an interview because he/she would anticipate problems that probably don't even exist. If they don't mention their disability and they get an interview, the prospective employer would soon see that they're disabled but, of course, the interview would be the time when they should be able to convince the interviewee that there won't be major problems in employing them.
Let's take another example: if one is over 50, there are ways that good writing techniques can be used to present a full CV without mentioning age or the year one started work.
# There is an art to writing attractive CVs and covering letters. Obviously you know more about yourself than anyone else but, often, one may fall into the traps of being too verbose and of not readily seeing the specific things that will make you attractive to an employer. It should also be kept in mind that poor spelling, bad grammar and inadequate expression of thoughts, often lets people down. Write-to-the-Point, an Australian company offering a range of professional writing services, recently conducted a market survey that showed that 91% of those polled said that they could see advantages in a professionally written CV. There are a number of individuals, organisations and businesses that offer to compile CVs and covering letters, so you may decide to shop around before selecting a writer that suits you.
Write-to-the Point's market survey also revealed that people identified a number of possible pitfalls to having a professionally written CV:
* Expensive
* No individuality
* Time-consuming process.
The same market survey revealed that the overwhelming majority of people were prepared to pay up to A$100 for a good CV and even more if it was an intricate document.
Therefore, based on the results of this poll and of industry experience, I would recommend that you look for a professional writer who offers:
* Individualised service based on a viewing of your current CV
* A reasonable price
* A quick turn-around time.
If you give consideration to these hints you should end up with an attractive CV and covering letter that will help improve your job prospects and, thus, your quality of life and your lifestyle.
Albert Isaacs
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