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There is, really, only one person fully qualified to produce such a personal document and that is you. But there is no reason why you can’t get assistance from others. It is worth getting the opinion of someone you trust to keep the perspective of the CV in the realms of reality.

It is easy to over embellish your resume, especially since many of the job advertisements one sees are seemingly asking for the impossible or at least for someone who has given up all hope of having a life outside work!

Above everything else your CV is a marketing tool to sell yourself. It is imperative that you provide statements about yourself and present it in such a way that gains the interest of your target audience. There is no magic format or style of prose that will convert unconvincing content into a world beating CV.

In general terms you should look to cover:

Motivation:

What is your attitude to work? What is it that gets you up in the morning? Employers are generally interested in behaviours such as:

• Interest in the company’s business
• Assertiveness to get tasks done
• Diligence in doing things properly
• Amiability to others whilst carrying out those duties

It is worth qualifying your matching attitudes under a profile heading in your resume or in the covering letter of your specific job application.

Skills:

The most common skills & attributes sought by employers include:

• Communication Problem Solving Attention to Detail
• Energy Enthusiasm Initiative
• Adaptability Leadership Organisation

Tick all the boxes? Great but now you need to demonstrate it in your CV.

Knowledge:

It is more than just your qualifications and training it is your familiarity with a type of work environment and your areas of expertise.

If a job description clearly states a need for specific knowledge then the advertiser is after experience and no amount of skill, transferable or otherwise, will make up for it. Nothing beats being there having done it before.

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