To target your CV for a particular position you need to know what kind of role you would like and which position and company you would like to work for. Draw up a work-plan and look at where you want to be not only today, but perhaps in 5 years time. Being fulfilled in your job will make it easier to stay motivated and may give you a good stepping stone towards your ultimate job goal. Think about what really makes you happy at work. Perhaps you enjoy working with people, achieving targets, or perhaps you want to gain recognition in your own work field. Choosing the right career at the very beginning of your working life will make a difference to where you are in a few years time. So take time and sit down and think about where you want to go.

Job Opportunities

Where to look depends on the position you are looking for. Vacancies may be advertised in all manner of places, the internet and other media.

Local shops, the Post Office and the Library may be places you have not yet thought of. Positions which need to be filled quickly may occasionally be found in any of these places before they are advertised in the local press. Your local job centre and advertising pages in local and national press may also hold a host of opportunities. Speak to people too, relations, friends, acquaintances. Many positions are filled before they are ever advertised by someone who knows someone. Having your CV ready and up-to-date when a job opportunity arises may well help you jump the queue. Getting your CV in on time will give the recruiter the impression of a well organised individual who is ready to move forward.

Punctuation and Spelling

Be positive, be clear and above all ensure your curriculum vitae is from spelling errors. Just one mistake can reduce your chances of an interview of between 38 and 48%. If you are managing your CV yourself, check and re-check the spelling. Better still have someone you know has this skill - check it for you.

Sending Curriculum Vitaes

by E-Mail

Recruiters in specific areas may prefer you to send your Curriculum Vitae by Electronic Mail. If you are doing so there are several things to taken into consideration. Sending out a CV which has been cut and paste into an email will not suffice. The formatting will without doubt be lost. Whilst compatible software was an issue several years ago, adobe downloads ensure *pdf files are readable by most computers. Alternatively phone the company you are applying to and ask them what format they would prefer. Companies have been known to accept CVs in word, works, PowerPoint, adobe *pdf, etc, please check. Please note if you already have a CV in *pdf format we can edit this for you.

Improve your Spelling

CV Tips for School Leavers Students and Graduates

Improve your spelling and grammar by reading more, read more of your specialist subject and other things that you are interested in.

If you use a computer regularly use the spell and grammar check button; if you do not use a dictionary some handy calculators now have spell check and thesaurus abilities. Get into the habit of checking your spelling. Words that sound the same may not necessarily have the same meaning or spelling, check and re-check. For example “I can hear what is going on”. “Come over here and see this”. There/there/they’re are also all pronounced the same but each has a separate meaning. Be aware too that American spelling is very different to English. So please be sure to ensure you are using the correct dictionary on your computer. If you are dealing with a foreign company then try to use their spelling. e.g. British spell colour with a u whilst American dictionaries leave the u out, color.

Key Words

Nearly all computers can now manage a basic search for key words. Just type a word, relative to some document you have, in you computer’s search programs and files and you will see what we mean!

Your First CV - School-Leavers CV

Focus your CV and Target your First Position

References and Testimonials

How to dress for interview.

How to close a meeting.

Urgent CVs CV Services, UK Curriculum Vitae, CV Professional CVs Email CVs or Electronic CVs Cover Letters