What is a CV – Your CV, short for curriculum vitae, is a personal marketing document used to sell yourself to prospective employers, it is the ticket to get you that initial foot in the door to secure you an interview for your dream job. It should tell potential employers about you, your career history and your skills, abilities and achievements to date, highlighting why you’re the best person for the job in question. Here we have listed 10 top tips to secure you your dream job…..

1. The Basics – Start your CV with your personal details including name, contact details (telephone number & email address), where you are based – this doesn’t need to be our full address, just the Town or City in which you live would suffice i.e Wigan, Preston, Ormskirk etc, and if you have one your LinkedIn profile

2. Presentation is key – Ensure your CV is clearly presented, bullet points are a good way to make your CV easier to read, as oppose to paragraph after paragraph

3. Personal Profile / Summary – This should be located on the first page of your CV underneath your personal information – research shows that the upper middle area of the first page is where the recruiters eye will naturally fall – so make sure this is where you put the most information to secure you that all important interview

• A brief of your experience i.e I have over 10 years Reception / Secretarial / Accounts experience to date…..

• What makes you right for their role

• About you – what kind of person are you?

4. Understand the job description for the role you are applying – read the job description thoroughly, matching your skills and experience to the key points in their role and highlighting this in a clear way on your CV, both in your personal profile and in your job roles, putting the most relevant to the role at the top

5. Bullet Points – Bullet points are a great, snappy way to list your duties in each of your roles it is an easy way for employers to quickly pick out the key points that they are looking for in their role – make sure you tailor these to the job / person specification

6. Education – this varies on the kind of role you are applying for as to where you would put this on your CV – for example if you are a graduate looking for your first role relevant to your Degree I would suggest you put your Education on the first page underneath your summary so the recruiter can quickly see your qualified for the role, however if the role in which you are applying for relies more on work experience I would put your education on page 2 as the recruiter would need to be drawn to your career first and foremost.

7. Skills / Achievements – Ensure you list skills relevant for the role in which you are applying and any achievements (Page 2)

8. References – This is personal preference whether you put this on your CV, or put available on request – there is no right or wrong, if you do decide to list them they should be someone who has employed you either currently or in the past who can vouch for your skills and experience, or if you haven’t worked before it is fine to use a Tutor or Teacher as a referee. You should try to include 2 if possible.

9. Keep your CV up to date – this is very important especially if you are registered on various job boards, recruiters want to know what you are doing now so make sure this is maintained regularly

10. Proofread – There is nothing more important than your CV being accurate – this is the employers first exposure to your attention to detail – you have to get it right!

Here at Forrest Recruitment we pride ourselves on formatting CV’s per candidate, whether you are an Accounts Assistant, a Receptionist, or a Secretary we will tailor your CV and make it job specific to the role we are putting you forward for.

If you are on the lookout for a new secretarial / administrative / finance position, please give our team in Wigan a call on 01942 825285. The areas we cover are – Wigan, Chorley, Preston, Leyland, Skelmersdale, Ormskirk and Southport – we look forward to hearing from you!