help re CV

[TLV]

there is a job going near to where i live, its 16hrs which suits me great and the money is good too, I spoke to the guy in charge and they would be flexible with what days I want to work, my problem is my CV as its been 10yrs since i've done one and I want to give a good impression, any advice please

Hi there what help do you need? Is it 16 years since you worked or 16 years since you did a CV? Lots of websites around with templates etc, what I'd say is keep it simple, one side of A4 if you can, simple font such as Ariel, no fancy bits. Start with the basics like name, address, then go backwards in chronological order through jobs that you have done focusing on what you achieved not what you were resonsible for. So better to say "re-organised the office filing system" than "filing" IYSWIM. Then list your educational quals and anything else like clean driving licence. If you have not worked for 16 years, then maybe begin with a paragraph entitled key skills and list the things you do best. I'd also suggest doing a covering letter saying what skills you bring to this specific job and how enthusiastic you are etc. It's a bit cheesy but I think recruiters would still like to see that someone has made a bit of an effort.

Oops just re-read your msg, 10 yrs not 16 sorry!

Hi there, good luck! If you have MS Word there is a CV wizard which can help with formating, make it look professional etc.

In the CVs I see I think the most common mistakes are:

1. Not tailoring CV to the specific job, too many are just blanket mail outs. Try to work out what skills and experience you have that is relevant to this particular job and big them up.
2. Putting too much about why they want the job and not enough about why they are right for the job. Enthusiasm is great but it's not what really counts.

HTH

I agree with MissG, I would put all past jobs chronologically, starting with the latest one first (just in bullet point form) and write a killer profile on yourself with emphasis on your strong points targeted at the new job. Remember your CV is only a history of what you've done, you need to tell them what you could do for them.

Workthing.com is absolutely the best for CV advice, in my professional opinion...