Why is a good CV important?
Anyone working with young people knows just how difficult it is for them to find work at present. They are competing in a job market against older people with years of experience. According to recent research by Rathbone, 37 per cent of teenagers believe bosses do not trust the younger generation to work effectively. The CV is therefore one of the best tools a young person has to sell themselves to a prospective employer. Rathbone recently met a young person from Salford who had everything, except a decent CV. Within hours of tinkering and tailoring she had a job interview and now works full-time at the Department for Work and Pensions.
What are the essentials of a good CV?
To compile an effective CV, get the young person to imagine they are a scriptwriter pitching a story to a Hollywood producer. As human resources departments are bombarded with applications you have to make an impact incredibly quickly, being brief – the CV should be two pages maximum –but at the same time including plenty of content, especially in the personal statement at the beginning.
The young person must also consider the order of the details. Actual hands-on experience is the most important element that recruiters are looking for today, so it should be prioritised ahead of qualifications.
It is also important to remind young people that the language and terms they use to talk to each other are not acceptable in the corporate world. That also applies to the email address the CV comes from. The amount of CVs Rathbone receives from inappropriate email addresses, starting with “Hi-ah&rdquo
