Students Wishing to Apply for Full-Time Graduate Positions Or Internships/Work Experience

CV GUIDE

For Students Applying for Part-time Jobs

(includes covering letters)

This step by step guide has been produced to help students who plan to apply for part-time jobs whilst studying for their degree.

Students wishing to apply for full-time graduate positions or internships/work experience can obtain information and advice from Careers Network (located in University Centre), please visit: www.intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careers

Remember, the demand for flexible working hours is on the increase which means competition for part-time work is high so a good CV is important!

For part-time job vacancies, please visit the Job Zone and Worklink in the Guild of Students.

You will be able to view Job Zone vacancies in the Job Zone section of the Guild website at www.guildofstudents.com/jobshop, or in the Guild of Students.

The University also has its own dedicated internal recruitment agency, ‘Worklink’, which will connect you to on-campus casual work opportunities. To access the service please register online at: www.worklink.bham.ac.uk

To increase your chances of gaining part-time/vacation work we would advise you to register with both the Job Zone and Worklink services, and keep checking both for vacancies.

Job Zone Opening Times: 10am – 4pm Monday to Friday during term 11pm – 3pm Monday to Friday during vacations (may vary)

Job Zone Contact Details: Tel: 0121 251 2500 Email: [email protected] Website: www.guildofstudents.com/jobshop Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/GuildJobZone Follow us on Twitter: @guild_jobzone

Worklink Contact Details: Tel: 0121 414 5000 Email: [email protected] Website: www.worklink.bham.ac.uk

Contents

Step one: Gathering the facts Page 3 Step two: Evidencing your skills Page 4 Step three: Purpose of your CV Page 4 - 5 Step four: Deciding what info is relevant Page 5 Step five: Drafting and editing Page 5 General Guidelines Page 6 Example CV Format Page 7- 8 Covering Letter Page 9 CV Frequently Asked Questions Page 10 Resources Page 11 Writing your CV at a glance Page 12

STEP ONE

Gather the facts for each section:

Section Suggested content Personal Details Name Address Phone number Email address

Optional: Date of Birth Nationality Gender Education Gather dates (year * to year *) and put in reverse chronological order: Degree A Levels or equivalent GCSEs or equivalent Academic prizes /awards Training Additional qualifications and courses: e.g. First Aid, I.T., Health & Safety Qualifications Employment History Gather dates, inc. months and put in reverse chronological order: Previous paid employment Unpaid work experience Voluntary work Interests Hobbies, Clubs, Sport, Societies include: Any positions of responsibility you’ve had Competition success Grade/Level achieved Responsibilities/Achievement Additional to above s References Name, full address, phone number and email address (if applicable) of: 1. Personal Tutor 2. Previous Employer or Volunteer Coordinator or Work experience supervisor

STEP TWO

Think about the skills you have and how you can evidence these skills:

N.B. This is a guide only; a CV is a personal document and should reflect your skills and abilities rather than a list of generic competencies.

Skill/Personal attribute Example Communication Being a student ambassador Customer Care Previous part-time job e.g. shop assistant Clerical/Admin Helping a relative with their business Team work Gap year e.g. overseas expedition Responsibility Treasurer of Society Reliability Voluntary work Organisation/Ability to prioritise Management of academic studies I.T. Use of Microsoft packages on course Initiative/Proactivity Undertaking a training course e.g. First Aid Willingness to learn Academic Project

STEP THREE

Think about what you are using your CV for. Remember, a “one size fits all approach” to CVs rarely gets you the job you want.

Purpose Tip Responding to a job advert, which asks for a Read the job description and person specification. CV Highlight any skills the employer is looking for e.g. communication skills. Then referring to the info gathered from steps 1 & 2 list all activities where you have communicated effectively with others: in part-time jobs, as a volunteer, on your course, in your leisure time. Mention communication skills in the description about that activity/job on your CV. Do the same for each skill mentioned in the person specification.

Group together relevant experiences under a separate heading. E.g. if you are applying for a retail position, use a heading 'Relevant retail experience' and list and give details on the occasions you have done a job/activity which includes customer service, using tills, handling cash, even if means the work experience not in strict date order.

Making a speculative approach to an employer Think about what role you are seeking within that company and find out what the requirements are by telephoning the Personnel/HR Department (if applicable). Try and get a named contact if you can. Read the job descriptions of similar roles offered by other companies that have advertised those positions. Then follow steps above. Think about using a Personal Profile (see example in CV layout section of this booklet) at the start of your CV to briefly summarise what position you are seeking and the relevant skills/attributes you have. Expand on this in your covering letter Page 4 Putting together a targeted CV for a particular Telephone the agency or call in to check their recruitment agency (one that recruits for registration process to see if they accept CVs and clerical positions within certain companies, for find out what kind of roles they recruit for. If they do example) want a CV make sure it is tailored using the tips above. For example; if sending your CV to an agency specialising in clerical work, you may wish to have a separate heading for “Administration Experience” and highlight your I.T. skills, organisation/ability to prioritise, communication via telephone/email etc….

STEP FOUR

After the above considerations, decide what information from step 1 and 2 is relevant.

Questions to ask:

 What level of detail is required from my education?

 Which training courses are relevant?

 What level of detail is required from my work history: are there certain previous roles/positions that require emphasis?

 If I have more than one employment-related referee, which one will be most appropriate?

 Which skills/personal attributes are required by the position?

STEP FIVE

Drafting and editing

You now have the information needed to produce a CV. The drafting and editing stage can be the most time consuming – you may have to write several drafts before you are happy with the result.

Before you send off your CV check that it shows the employer you have:

 the skills/experience needed for the job  the personal qualities required by the company and position  an understanding of the job requirements

The following sections give some general guidelines and an outline example format for a CV for UK employment.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

 Style – There are no hard and fast rules. The example given in this booklet shows the typical key sections and some advice on what to include. However it is important to adopt your own style while paying attention to the general guidelines below. Using CV templates in word-processing packages can be restrictive – best to start with a blank document.

 Length – Usually two sides of A4 maximum.

For some part-time jobs, one side of A4 may be enough to fulfill the requirements of the post

 Paper – If it’s going by post, good quality white/cream paper is the norm. Gimmicks can be risky and are rarely appropriate for part-time employment.

 Layout – The CV should be concise, clear and easy to read. Avoid long, wordy paragraphs. Break up the text with headings, bullets, bold type and margins. Employers read CV’s very quickly – do skills/attributes the employer is looking for stand out if the CV is only scanned for a few seconds? View it from a distance – does it look neat and professional?

 Active words – When describing your experiences, use active rather than passive words/phrases such as ‘involved in’ or ‘required to’ or ‘my main duties were’. Examples of active/positive words are given below. Using these words, as appropriate, can add interest to the section where you’re describing the duties you performed in a job, for example. They can also draw an employer’s attention to skills rather than just tasks/duties.

 Accurate  Achieved  Active  Completed  Confident  Developed  Flexible  Generated  Friendly  Led  Innovative  Implemented  Organised  Managed  Motivated  Persuaded  Tactful  Planned  Responsible  Represented  Reliable  Shaped  Supervised

 Spelling and grammar – Check and double check – when using spell-checker, watch out for U.S. spellings of words e.g. “license” – the UK spelling is “licence.”

 Feedback – After drafting your CV, bring it along to Job Zone in the Guild during the CV checking service hours or ask a friend with excellent written English skills to look at it.

EXAMPLE CV LAYOUT

NAME…..

[Clearly at the top of the page – you don’t need to have “Curriculum Vitae”. First name followed by family name e.g. Sarah Omaya]

Contact details here – Include both term and home addresses (with dates) if applicable, telephone/mobile and email address (but not a jokey/informal one – change it if necessary).

Additional personal details such as date of birth and nationality usually go here (although this is optional; they are not required under current UK employment law). If your gender is not clear from your name, you can add this here if you wish to do so.

PROFILE

Optional (in most cases you can include this information in the covering letter). It is a short statement summarising what you can offer and what position or type of work you are looking for. E.g. “Second year Drama student with excellent I.T. skills and previous office experience seeking a part-time data entry position with a local business.” Make it focused and relevant and avoid vague statements such as “I am an ambitious team player…”

WORK EXPERIENCE

Month-Month Year Employer name Job title Description

Normally listed with most recent first. However you can group the experience to emphasise that which is most relevant to your application, even if it is not in date order. For example this section could be split into “relevant work experience” and “other work experience”. You can also group similar work together, so if you have had three jobs in retail over a period of time with different employers, you can group these together. Don’t forget to include unpaid voluntary work in this section. When describing your experience use active words, include achievements and emphasise relevant skills developed.

EDUCATION

Year – Year University of Birmingham BA or BSc (Hons) ………..

Year – Year Name of School

*A Levels: Subject (Grade), Subject (Grade), Subject (Grade) *10 GCSEs: Including Maths (Grade) and English (Grade) *Adapt according to your qualifications.

Start with the most recent first. University – you don’t need to list modules or summarise your degree qualification, just give the title. School education – indicate your pre university qualifications (A levels, Access course etc). Earlier qualifications such as GCSEs can be summarized as above. International school qualifications may need a brief explanation if you are applying to employers outside your home country. A large “Education” section is not normally required for many part-time jobs, unless the part- time job for which you are applying is specifically related to your degree subject or qualifications.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

 Skill – description

This section usually includes skills such as IT and languages. What you include and emphasise will depend on the position applied for. You may decide to move your Additional Skills above your Education, if you feel they are particularly relevant to the position for which you are applying. For example, if you are applying for a data-entry role, you could have a separate section for “I.T. Skills” and evidence your familiarity with Access or the relevant package.

INTERESTS & ACTIVITIES

 Activity/dates – description

This section is a good opportunity to highlight skills relevant to the job applied for. Focus on your most recent activities and describe your level of involvement, achievements and positions of responsibility (where applicable) for each activity. Don’t worry if your personal circumstances (family commitments, part-time job etc) mean that you don’t have many extra curricular activities, but still mention briefly your spare time interests and emphasise your skills in the rest of the CV.

REFERENCES

Name Name Position/Job Title Position/Job Title Institution/company name Institution/company name Address line 1 Address line 1 Address line 2 Address line 2 Address line 3 Address line 3 Country (if applicable) Country (if applicable) Postcode Postcode Telephone number Telephone number Email address Email address

Give the names and contact details of two referees, usually a current academic and a recent employer. Remember to ask your referees if you can include them and let them know what sort of work you are applying for. If you are an international student, ensure that you give an email address if you are using an overseas referee who can supply a reference in English. You may wish to include the statement “correspondence in English welcome” underneath the email address.

COVERING LETTER OR EMAIL

In the majority of cases you will need to send a covering letter or email with your CV.

The covering letter is part of your application. Its purpose is to make the recruiter want to look at your CV and to see quickly your relevance for the post. The emphasis should be on what you can offer rather than on what you want. The letter helps target your CV to the job and allows you to highlight relevant skills and experience. There is no standard format, but follow the general guidelines below.

General guidelines:

 Style – Personal style is important, but you can find some example outlines in the resources listed.  Length – Ideally no more than one side of A4, typically 3-4 short paragraphs.  What to include –  Job for which you are applying with reference number if applicable  Brief introduction of yourself  Summary of why you are interested in post and your suitability, referring to the skills required, supported by evidence  Closing paragraph stating the number of hours/time you are available, ways to contact you and your availability for interview – end positively e.g. “I look forward to hearing from you.”

 Letter format – If it’s going by post, make sure it is set out as a business letter. Check modes of address (Dear Mr. Smith is “Yours sincerely”, Dear Sir/Madam is “Yours faithfully”) and include your address, their address and the date at the top.  Email – In many cases you will be asked to send your CV as an email attachment. The usual way to do this is to have the main body of the covering letter in the email, with the post applied for clearly in the subject box. Just because it’s going by email, don’t use informal email style.  Hand written? – Unless asked for (only rarely these days) it’s best to type it as it looks more professional.  Feedback – After drafting your letter, bring it along to Job Zone for some impartial feedback from staff before sending it off to employers.

Guidelines for a speculative application:

In addition to style guidelines above you may wish to include:

 What type of work you are seeking  What hours/days of the week you are able to work  Using job descriptions from similar roles and information from the company’s website, a summary of why are interested in this type of work and the relevant skills you have (seek advice from the Job Zone if you are unsure of the requirements)  Conclude with positive closing paragraph asking them to hold your details on file if no vacancies are available.

CV Frequently Asked Questions

Should I send a CV even if I haven’t been asked to? No: if you have been asked to complete an application form, there is no need to send a CV as such employers want every candidate to apply using the same application method. Sometimes, employers will say that you are welcome to send a CV in addition to the application form. In this case do not be tempted to miss out sections on the application form and ask the employer to “refer to attached CV.” You still need to complete the application form in full even if you are sending a CV.

Do I always need to send a covering letter? Yes. It is good practice to send a covering letter, even if you have not been asked to

I haven’t got the work experience that the position is asking for, should I bother applying? Competition can be high for certain part-time jobs, which means that people who do have experience will be at an advantage. However, if you feel that you do have the skills/competencies required you could consider using a skills profile after the personal details section of your CV and evidence each skill from your wider experiences e.g. academic studies, societies, clubs, gap year and/or family/friends. For examples of skills profiles, please visit www.prospects.ac.uk and www.doctorjob.com.

I have a lot of qualifications, should I include them all on my CV? If you are applying for a tutoring position, it may be relevant to use your academic background to demonstrate your subject knowledge; however for most part-time positions a brief summary of your academic record is all that is required. Don’t leave out qualifications as this may result in unexplained gaps on your CV. Putting your relevant experience and skills before your education will draw employers’ attention to the skills/attributes they are looking for.

I’ve had a lot of jobs; how do I include my full work history without increasing the length of my CV? Consider grouping together experiences under headings such as “Retail experience” or under skills headings such as “Customer Care.” Only detail your recent and relevant experience and summarise the rest.

I’m an international student and my only work experience is from my home country, does this count? Yes! The key is to make sure you are highlighting relevant experience, so if you have worked in catering and are applying for similar positions in the UK, put this experience above other jobs/experience you have had.

Do I need to include the qualifications I obtained from my home country if I’m applying for a part-time job? Employers are going to be more interested in your work experience; however you may wish to include your non-UK qualifications so that you don’t have unexplained gaps in your CV. A brief summary is all that is required.

RESOURCES LIST

CV advice for graduate jobs, work placements, vacation jobs or part-time work:

CV Clinic (CV and Covering Letter checking service for University of Birmingham students):

Operates weekdays 1pm to 4pm during term-time (please check during vacations) at Careers Network on the first floor of University Centre. An Adviser will check your CV or covering letter in a 15-minute appointment.

Visit www.intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careers for details, call in to Careers Network on the first floor of University Centre, or telephone them on 0121 414 6120.

You can opt to book on the day, or just go along (it is advisable to book during busy times of the year)

Useful websites: www.prospects.ac.uk www.targetjobs.co.uk www.skill.org.uk/info/ index.asp – national bureau for students with disabilities

Available from Careers Network:

Applications, CVs and covering letters booklet A Level Playing Field - Equality and Diversity booklet (AGCAS) Reference books e.g. “How to write a Curriculum Vitae” Careers Magazines and Publications e.g. Real World

WRITING YOUR CV AT A GLANCE

Record of Achievement

gather the facts and Previous CV think about your skills

Certificates

think about the purpose

Research the jobs Use other you in resources which you for ideas are on layouts interested - draft and edit ready to websites, 'target' books

Your CV