CV Writing

After a two week hiatus from life as a graduate job seeker and part time blogger, it is time to once again put metaphorical pen to paper. I would like to say I've returned from Barcelona revitalised and ready for a fresh assault on the job market, but after a few days back at work I feel myself slipping back into the same old ennui. Best get to work applying for jobs and writing blogs...

As promised prior to my departure, I thought I would write about the difficult art of CV writing. For the majority of us, condensing all of your achievements on to two sides of A4 is certainly a challenge. With many people taking the route of GCSEs and A-Levels followed by a degree, simply listing your education can take up valuable space. Add in a few extra-curricular activities, work experience placements, part-time jobs and personal interests then writing a detailed CV becomes a serious exercise in brevity. Nevertheless, it is likely employers will only take a fleeting glance at your details when it lands on their desk so maximum impact is a necessity.

The first draft of my own CV was a definite fail in this respect. As someone who listed one of their strongest attributes as their lucid writing style, I set about proving this point with paragraphs of text. My CV eventually clocked in at a hefty four pages; I imagine any employer who looked at it for thirty seconds would remember little more than my name. So I set about ruthlessly editing, cutting and condensing; gone was my beautifully crafted prose only to be replaced by ugly bullet points and half sentences. The many sections were reduced to just two: education and relevant experience, arbitrary categories that erased many personal achievements dear to my heart (it seems my Thomas Alleyne's Community Service Award will be wiped from the slate of history). It was a trying experience, but after extensive formatting, my CV was a mere two pages and I'd like to think had a little more impact.

I am now in the situation that every time I find something worthy of a place on my CV, I must remove something less relevant. In fairness, that isn't too difficult seeing as a short period of exam invigilation still somehow makes the grade. Nevertheless, it is a little frustrating to be cutting things out when all you really want to do is demonstrate your strengths by telling potential employers as much about yourself as possible. I tell myself that is what interviews are for, but I can't help but feel my two pages of bullet points forms a document without a personality, a piece of paper that says so little about the person it is supposed to fully represent. Then again, if I were to write my CV in the same manner I write this blog I fear I may never get a job. Bullet points are perhaps a necessary evil!



Thanks once again for reading, your comments are encouraged as always!