I've been in my current job 14 years, seen the perfect job advertised and need to update my CV...can anyone help please?

[Eddas]

I haven't been looking for a job, been fairly disallusioned with my current one for a while but due to circumstances was 'sticking it out', however I have seen a perfect job in the paper and am going to phone them in the morning

So tonight I would like to draft a cv incase when I ring them tomorrow they ask to see one, rather than an application form. The ad says they would like to see people informally before interview and am hoping I can visit tomorrow as that would be perfect.

I have been with my current employer for 14 years. I also have a 2nd job which came about due to circumstances and didn't have an interview, so I have not had to have a cv for a very long time. I have absolutely no idea how to start writing one as the last one was a leaving school cv and I assume having work experience I will need totally different content?

I have searched old threads on here and found that my a-levels will be largely irrelevant for example, so do I still put those on?

Also, I have done a fair bit of voluntary stuff which would be relevant to the job I am applying for, so where does this go?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me

Do I need to put references on the cv?

If so because I have 2 jobs do I just put those down?

I feel I could put a great referee down, but not a job based one, from a committee I am on. The job I want is less than a mile from my house and the committee I am on also has the chair of my local parish council on it too, although he probably couldn't do it from a councillors point of view as the committee is not related to that, but the interviewer would know who he is!! Is that one stage too far?

I REALLY want this job!

ooh Eddas how exciting! I would put voluntary stuff either in section entitled "Skills and experience" or just put it down with your jobs, if that seems sensible.
There's nothing to stop you putting 3 referees down

ooo hi SPB

I am SO excited, it is literally perfect for me, the job spec is just me. Plus I was speaking to a collegeaue a while ago and was joking about leaving and I said oh I wouldn't leave here, not unless xxx came up and that's not gonna happen. Well this is xxx

I MUST calm down

Are a levels the highest level of qualification you have? if so i would put them down.

I also would break your jobs responsibilities down in to bullet points so it is clear exactly what you do.

I also would start with a clear personal statement about yourself and what your key strengths are.

Thanks scarlettsmummy2. No A-levels not the highest I have a relevant qualification.

I am an accountant and have AAT, other than that A levels and GCSE's (done in 1997 and 1995) One of the A levels is relevant (Business Studies) so I think I will include them.

The job I want is Finance Officer in a school

I have been treasurer of the local pre-school and am on the PTA, also am now administrator of the pre-school.

I am struggling with the personal statement, my drafts are waffly and not conscise, I am not getting my point across.

I want to say that basically I want to leave my job because I have realised this type of accountancy is not my strong point, I am better suited to bookkeeping work, but don't want sound like I couldn't do this job as I know I can. I haven't left before because I was waiting til my son started school (started in Sept) but would that be ok to put? I also wouldn't be thinking of leaving for any job but this one is so local and term time only (well 40 weeks, so pretty much!)

Some tips:
Keep it to two pages maximum

Put education last - your experience is far more important and interesting

Do include any relevant courses you have been on or things you have done to develop yourself; if you've been in one job any length of time it's important to show you haven't just been treading water

Do highlight the particular skills you have that directly match teh job you are going for - use their Job Description and match yours to that IYSWIM

i wouldn't worry too much about references - especially if you are having any difficulties keeping to one page.

Do send a covering letter/email - and DO ensure you find out the exact person to send it to and address it to them

There are some good example out there on the internet.
Good luck!!

Thanks Finbar. The trouble is I have been treading water, since having my dc, I didn't realise until recently and this is another reason I feel I need to move on.

How exciting! I would avoid giving a negative reason for leaving your current job, and concentrate on postive ones for applying for this job, iyswim. Also avoid mentioning the 'school hours/term time only' thing too much and maybe concentrate more on the skills you can bring to the job - obviously accounting skills, but you've also had lots of experience with children, which is likely to be very useful for working in a school office. First aid skills are usually desirable for anyone working in a school office, and a good knowledge of safeguarding children procedures as well.

Good luck!

" I want to say that basically I want to leave my job because I have realised this type of accountancy is not my strong point, I am better suited to bookkeeping work, but don't want sound like I couldn't do this job as I know I can. I haven't left before because I was waiting til my son started school (started in Sept) but would that be ok to put?"

Too much about you! Think of it from their perspective: what makes you more useful to them than the next person? What can you bring to the job? Give concrete examples of what you have done in current job that you are proud of, that are relevant to this job.

see I need help

Thank you both, yes I don't want to be negative, the main reason for changing jobs is that I want a new challenge. I don't think i'll get that where I am, I need a change of direction, I have been there too long. and I really want to stay in finance/accounts because that's what I'm good at but want to make a difference too (how cliche!)

I wouldn't mention your son at all, it isn't relevant.

I would say you are leaving as you would like to further your career and gain experience in a new area. I also would mention that you have had a CRB check if you have- might seem a bit odd, but I short listed for a support worker last month and applicants got extra marks for this, and as this position is in a school I am sure you will need one.

Although my son is not relevant for why I haven't moved on from my job yet, because this is a school application would it be appropriate to mention in my personal statement that I have 2 primary aged dc? If it were another job I wouldn't but this is a school job...

no, it isn't appropriate in any situation to mention children as they don't have any impact on your ability to do the job, and you do not know what the person reviewing your cvs own personal opinions are- you could make them think of you in a negative way.

sorry, misread your last post- in a school situation it could possibly be relevant, however, i probably wouldn't chance it as you are going for a finance position which is not working directly with children. You could always mention it at interview.

I will leave it out and mention it if I get to an interview

How is this for the personal statement?......... too long?

I am organised, committed, have attention to detail and have extensive experience in accountancy and administration. I work within a team making sure all work is completed on-time and within any deadlines set. The majority of my work is computer based, involving accounting software (Iris and Sage) and also Microsoft Excel and Word. I work closely with client?s to ensure they receive the best possible service.

When I took over the administrator job at xxx Pre-school in September 2010 I set up new systems to organise the work. They are now all computerised even setting up online banking and changing the wages to be paid directly into the bank rather than by cheque!

Through my job with xxx Pre-school I have a current CRB check.

I am a Finance Officer in a school :-)

You will probably find that they will not accept a CV and you will have to fill in the standard application form, which would make things easier. Depends which LA it comes under though.

I was told that the reason they interviewed me was because I had the AAT,so I would really push that point. I would also push the community/voluntary side of things, particularly the treasurer role as that would be relevant to the day to day running of things such as collecting trip money, dinner money etc.

I would be wary about saying you want to get away from accounts and more into book-keeping. Of course,it depends on how the school is run, but part of my role is to create the management account reports e.g. set the budget for the governors to approve,and to monitor spending in all areas, as well as the day to day processing of the invoices, banking etc.

If you get to the interview stage and they ask you why you want to transfer from 'industry' to education you could say something along the lines of being interested in working for more of a 'not for profit' organisation, and that you have a very real interest in education since you started your family. They may ask you to do a practical exercise as well as the interview - I had to do a field trip costing spreadsheet.

Good luck with it all, you certainly sound like you have the necessary enthusiasm!

Marking space - need to read tomorrow

I have set the cv out;

Name
Address
Phone numbers
Email address

Personal statement

Work experience

voluntary experience

Academic qualifications

References

Is that ok?

I need to include the voluntary work as it is relevant (village fete committee, PTA, Pre-school committee)

wizbit93 i'm glad you stumbled across my thread, thank you.

Yes what I mean rather than bookkeeping is management accounts rather than year end stuff. Just conentrating on one thing rather than 200 different people doing allsorts of things!

So my AAT will be good then, it's kinda lost at the end of the CV, all though I do think I will need to file an application form anyway. But the CV will be helpful if I don't get this job so would like to get it up to date.

Yes, it is always handy to have a CV, if anything it helps you to focus on your achievements.

The AAT will be a huge help and you could talk about the different subject areas covered if you get to interview. I think the fact you have been in a job for 14 years is a huge positive too, it shows commitment. This is a crucial thing for a role such as this I feel, as governors change every few years so to have a Finance Officer who can show commitment such as that could be a real bonus from a business continuity point of view.

I would not be afraid of mentioning children, especially as your experience within the preschool is recent, so you will have heard all the terminology such as safeguarding, CRBs etc. I was a Nursery Nurse before having a complete caree change and going into accountancy and had already worked in a different school as a NN so that all helped with my application. I would go through the 'essential' and 'desirable' attributes when you see the job description/person requirements and make sure you really point out in your application that you can meet them. If there are a lot of applicants it literally could come down to a point scoring exercise as to who gets an interview. Good luck again!

Don't want to turn this into a spelling and grammar thread, but do check it over and/or get it proof-read, e.g. "work closely with client's" is incorrect.

I still put A-levels on and I'm 45. For my last round of job applications 3 years ago, I took the grades off as I assumed not relevant, and one of the companies wanted to know the grades....

In general I would say your ordering looks good.

Skills first, then jobs (reverse chronological order), then education (reverse chronological)

Never mention kids or family or personal info (I work with CVs and have seen everything, including weight and shoe size!)

I don't put age on either, though I guess they could work it out

Usual to put "references available on request", you don't need to list their details on your CV

If you need a paper CV - becoming less common as online application forms increase in popularity - do a web search for CVs and find a format you like, then copy that. Keep it simple and clear.

Hobbies - jury seems to be out on this one. I never mention mine (who cares if I like cake-making or scuba-diving, I think they're only for the young who don't have enough job experience to fill up 2 pages) but plenty of people do include them.

stopraining I knew someone'd mention that. Hadn't spell checked before I posted. All changed now. Although I do struggle with ''' Spelling/grammar isn't my thing

Thank you for the input, it's helping. I have something that looks a bit like a cv now.

I just hope I'm given an interview but there'll be alot of applicants won't there

I have left the kids out of the form and the only personal info on there is my name, address, phone numbers and email. I'm not telling 'em my weight

If you have a full clean driving license then it doesn't hurt to add that somewhere.

References available on request is fine as a statement at the bottom. Bear in mind that you may be up against younger candidates who will emphasise their education, you have both education AND lots of relevant experience so don't just focus on one. A levels hold a lot of weight as do your professional qualifications. I disagree with an earlier poster who advised you to put qualifications at the end of your CV. I personally would put them at the front after name, contact details and personal statement.

Please don't make reference to wanting to get away from accounts either in CV or at interview! ANY negative gets picked up on very quickly and it can make you be perceived as dissatisfied and troublesome.

You want to convey that you have THOROUGHLY ENJOYED accounting,however, you are keen to expand your experience in book keeping (or whatever).

Good things to convey from your earlier posts:
"the main reason for changing jobs is that I want a new challenge"
"I need a change of direction"
"I really want to stay in finance/accounts because that's what I'm good at but want to make a difference too (how cliche!)

Things I would think twice before conveying!:
"I don't think i'll get that where I am"
"I have been there too long"
Hobbies (can lead to pre-judging without meeting you first)
Children (at least on a CV). Children (your own) don't really have a place on a CV unless they are directly relevant to the job you are applying for in some way (not in terms of hours/convenience/proximity of job to school!)

Experience: On the left of the page, put your company name. On the same line but to the right, put the dates to and from that you work(ed) there. Bold type helps pick out relevant headings. Try and keep bulletpoints to max two lines.

Eg
WHSmith ... ... ... .1998-Current
Finance Officer

• List 1st most important job priority

-2nd most -3rd most (DO think about this! People can and do put... make the coffee as the first responsibility then "run the company" (more or less) at the end!!)

Tesco... ... .... .1996-1998

Finance Assistant

etc.

Voluntary work goes in "Additional information" section.

HTH!

No hobbies !
They shouldn't be relevant to your ability to do the job well. They should be recruiting against an agreed job description and person specification nOT whether you are an ace at rock climbing!