Applying
for an advertised job vacancy
To target your CV to a specific employer within
a certain industry sector refer to the information
provided in the article 'How to tailor your CV for
your industry sector'.
Sending out a CV cold to a company who has not advertised
a vacancy
It can sometimes pay off to send off your CV to
companies even if they are currently not advertising
for work.
In this case it is especially important to carry
out research into the company. Between your CV and
covering letter you need to get across that you
know exactly what it is that they do, and that you
know where they are heading. If you can tailor your
experience to what you think that particular company
needs then you are in with a chance (do not fabricate
experience).
In your positive objective statement correlate your
ambition and perceived career path with the direction
you think that this particular company should be
heading in. For example Business to Business development,
Internet publishing, E-commerce.
You have to convince them that their business needs
you.
Applying for work experience
If you are not sure which direction your career
should take then work experience is a good way of
helping you to narrow down your choices. It is also
a good idea if you have decided on your career and
want to experience some time in the job, perhaps
with a large prestigious company.
Demand for work experience within organisations
such as the BBC, and with the 'broad sheet' newspapers
is very high, therefore you have to ensure you have
a quality CV to stand out from the pack. Unless
you have serial work experience tendencies you probably
don't have much employment history to write about
in your CV. If this is the case do not worry, instead
you need to convey your passion for the industry
sector, and get across your enthusiasm and desire
to get a foot in the door. As part of your introduction
state how you would like your career to develop
in the area to which you are applying for experience,
but do not be vague, focus on a specific area you
are interested in.
Show how your GCSE, A-Level or degree choices reflect
your commitment to the sector.
Describe the relevant skills you have learnt as
part of your course, for example computer skills,
teamwork, and public speaking. Perhaps you have
extracurricular activities that would be of interest;
for example a team captain, a passion for a particular
author or butterfly collecting.
If space is available (two sides is standard) then
references could be included at the end. Try to
get an excellent reference from an appropriate professional.
For example if you are applying for lab research
experience, then ask your biology teacher to sing
your praises on paper.
Configuring your CV depending upon the medium in
which it is being sent Sending your CV via e-mail
The only sure-fire way that the reader at the other
end can access your e-mailed CV is to save it in
txt format or paste it into the body of the e-mail.
This unfortunately does not offer much scope for
inventive layout and design. txt format should only
be used if you are really unsure of the system capabilities
of the employer at the other end of the modem. In
the main, a Word document will be fine. This will
allow you to use some snazzy fonts and use tab and
margin settings. PDF format is another option, but
they are large files and the recipient may not appreciate
you filling their email inbox to capacity.
With e-mail you can use hyper links within your
CV to guide the reader. For example if you have
a smart Web Page, then put the URL down and the
reader will be able to visit at the click of a button.
Do not over do it, simply because it is e-mail format
this is no reason to have elaborate backgrounds
of automatically playing midi files. Write a formal
e-mail, Dear Sir/Madam, please find attached my
covering letter and CV. You may also want to paste
your covering letter into the body of the e-mail.
This method of distributing a CV is now standard,
and many industries, especially the I.T, publishing
and Internet sectors often actually prefer receiving
a CV this way. You can also possibly expect a more
rapid response.
Sending your CV in the post (snail mail)
Producing a hard copy CV is an art form, selecting
the fonts, the margin widths, and the type of paper.
Keep it simple and you won't go wrong. Buy some
A4 envelopes so you don't have to fold your masterpiece.
Address the envelope carefully with a quality pen
- a spidery scrawl or something that looks like
the doodles of a 3-year-old will not impress.
Sending your CV by fax
Make sure you use a cover sheet with the name and
department of the CVs recipient in bold writing.
Keep margins in and state whether you are expecting
a response by fax - if you are using the libraries
fax machine, you don't want to have to wait by it
all day for a possible reply.
Don't spread yourself too thinly
Targeting your CV also means being selective as
to whom you send it. There is no point in distributing
your CV far and wide if 90% of the jobs to which
you are applying are not relevant to your qualifications.
Take your time to tailor it to each applicant, and
keep a record of the date on which it was sent off
so that you can follow it up with a phone call or
e-mail if you don't hear back after a week or so.
