Even if you don鈥檛 have any formal work experience or qualifications yet, don鈥檛 worry! Your CV just has to tell employers what you鈥檙e good at, what you鈥檙e interested in and what you鈥檝e achieved in life so far.
You can often upload it when applying for a job online and they鈥檙e great to take to jobs fairs.
You should include:
The CV shouldn鈥檛 be more than two pages long. For readability, avoid huge blocks of text. Recruitment experts recommend the Arial or Cambria fonts, to keep it professional. Avoid Word Art or wild colours! Run it through a spell checker on your computer, or get someone else to read it. You also don鈥檛 need to include a photograph or your date of birth.
Now that your very first CV is looking its best, you鈥檙e ready to start applying. Check out our wide range of听Apprenticeship vacancies听with top Welsh employers who are currently recruiting.听
]]>Mrs Winter took a tour of the accessible centre, spent time with both staff and learners, and heard first hand about the positive impact 樱桃福利视频鈥檚 Traineeship programme is having on learners. The MP was told how 樱桃福利视频 offers all learners a pathway to employment or further study.
Beth Winter MP said: 鈥淚t was lovely to spend some time in the brilliant new 樱桃福利视频 training centre in Aberdare today.
鈥淚t is vital that we have a variety of opportunities and skills pathways for young people in our communities and I came away feeling inspired by the passion of staff and the enthusiasm of learners.鈥�
During the pandemic, 樱桃福利视频 made a significant investment in digital technology, to ensure learners received the very best specialised training to prepare for modern work. This investment is ongoing and can be seen in the new centre, where a large state of the art, interactive whiteboard – called a Prowise Touchscreen, takes centre stage. It enables digital collaboration between learners and staff, learning at home, in the classroom, or linking with other centres.
樱桃福利视频 is no stranger to Aberdare, having been previously located in Victoria Square. The new Canon Street centre offers a bigger space for learners, in a more prominent location. The centre also boasts an outdoor space for learning and teaching, with plans for a kitchen garden in the pipeline. It has the capacity for up to 100 learners.
Regional Manager Hollie Keepings said:听鈥淭he centre has a great location in the town’s main street, but it鈥檚 what goes on inside that really counts.
“We aim to provide bespoke support to each individual learner whilst they embark on their learning journey with us, coupled with outstanding wellbeing support – which is core to everything we do.”
樱桃福利视频 Managing Director Richard Spear added:听鈥淲e were delighted to welcome Beth Winter MP to our Aberdare centre today, to meet our dedicated team and our fantastic learners.
鈥淏eth shares our passion for ensuring everyone in the community has the opportunity to fulfil their potential and we look forward to working with her to improve the economy and skills levels of the Cynon Valley.鈥�
樱桃福利视频 Training has seven centres across South Wales, including Cardiff, Caerphilly, Barry and Bridgend. The newest one in Aberdare offers support and training opportunities to 16-18 year olds looking to join the world of work. Learners can complete a Traineeship in Hairdressing, Childcare, Business Services and more at the specialist site. They are also given advice and guidance on writing CVs, interview techniques and other tips to land their dream job.
]]>Keep it up to date
Firstly, make sure all the information on your CV is up to date. Regardless of whether you鈥檙e looking for a job or not, it鈥檚 good practice to add to your CV every time something significant occurs in your career.
Tailor your application
Tailoring your application is vital; an employer or recruiter should read your CV and immediately see key skills relevant to the job they are recruiting for. For example, if you鈥檙e applying for a retail position, and you鈥檝e got experience in both care and retail, make sure that your retail experience is more prominent on your CV so it stands out. Also, really think about if each job/experience detailed on your CV is relevant – your first Saturday job might not be anymore.
Read through the job description and highlight the essential qualities/requirements of the role, then read your CV; how many of these keywords and skills can you see in your CV?
Personal Profile
Directly underneath your name and contact details (email, phone number, location, LinkedIn profile link), it鈥檚 a good idea to write a personal profile to tell the employer who you are, what you鈥檙e looking for, and your top skills in a couple of sentences. This summarising statement is a great way to grab the employer or recruiter鈥檚 attention and outline what you鈥檙e all about before they read on. Don鈥檛 forget to tailor this to each application and include keywords mentioned in the job description!
Example: Currently working in a management role in the Hospitality industry, I am looking for a new challenge to put my strong organisational and people skills into practice and further my professional development.
Focus on achievements
This is your opportunity to sell yourself as an individual and show off your successes. Rather than listing your duties, focus on your achievements, turning passive sentences into active ones.
Example: Change 鈥榓 promotion was rewarded to me after a year of service鈥� to 鈥業 was awarded a promotion after a year of service.鈥�
Give specific examples to back up your claims too, using figures where possible. Active, achievement-focussed language and statistics highlight the impact you had in your previous roles.
Example: Change 鈥業 was responsible for selling stock to businesses鈥� to 鈥業 consistently hit my sales targets, increasing sales by 30% over six months.鈥�
Keep it short and to the point
The general rule is to limit your CV to two pages maximum. Of course, if you鈥檙e just starting out, you may only fill one page comprehensively, and that鈥檚 okay. Or, if you have a lot of high-level experience, you may need more than the two page limit.
Make it easy for your potential employer to read by using bullet points throughout and keep sentences short.
Check your spelling
This tip is arguably the most important: ensure everything on your CV is spelt correctly. Employers who have large numbers of applications will see any spelling and grammar mistakes as a way of differentiating between candidates, therefore it is imperative your CV is error-free. Use spelling and grammar checkers and ask someone else to proof-read it for you.
Make it look good
Your CV should be easy to read, so choose a clear font such as Arial or Times New Roman and ensure you leave sufficient white space around each section. Use headers to section your CV so the reader can easily find your experience, education etc. Keep it simple with black text colour on white paper; you want your experience to make you stand out as a candidate, not your design (unless of course, you are going for a design role!).
Most people send their CV to employers or recruiters in a Microsoft Word document or PDF format, however PDF is recommended as different versions of Microsoft Word may affect the format.
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Now you鈥檝e read our top tips and your CV is looking its best, you鈥檙e ready to start applying. Check out our wide range of Apprenticeship vacancies with top Welsh employers who are currently recruiting.听
]]>We鈥檝e put together some top tips on how to use social networking to progress your career.
Stalk yourself and remain professional
It鈥檚 well known that employers look up potential employees on social media. In fact, research by YouGov found that . The top three reasons given听which discourage employers from hiring a potential candidate, were offensive language, anti-social behaviour, and bad spelling/grammar.
Review all your social media profiles and check your privacy settings. Then do a quick internet search of your name, you might be surprised what pops up. Have you posted anything that you wouldn鈥檛 want a potential employer to see? Consider deleting it or go to your privacy settings and make your profile as private as you can.
Imagine you鈥檝e spent an evening writing a job application emphasising how passionate you about a job, only for your potential employer to discover your Twitter rant complaining about your current job. The key thing is to think before you post! This applies for all social media platforms but is especially important if you are using an account for professional purposes.
Professionalism on social media also applies to your photos too. Even if you鈥檝e locked down your privacy, your profile photo will always be public so it鈥檚 important to ensure you would be happy for a future employer to see it.
Set up a LinkedIn account
LinkedIn is a social network all about expanding your professional and industry connections. You create your own CV-like profile to share with potential employers, peers and useful contacts. It鈥檚 a great platform for connecting with your past and present colleagues, searching for jobs, getting involved in industry conversations, and reaching out to those in your sector, whether that be for sales leads or career advice.
Once you鈥檝e created your profile, start conversations by joining relevant industry groups and engaging with posts from companies and peers.
As well as connecting with those you already know, you can also utilise LinkedIn to network with other people who do your dream job or work in the industry you want to get into. Invite these people to connect with you and message them with any questions you may have: how did they get your dream job? What kind of skills do you need to do their job? What鈥檚 your top tip for someone aspiring to do their job? Most people will be flattered and happy to help. You never know, you might get an opportunity from reaching out in this way.
Watch this space for our guide to setting up your LinkedIn profile.
Don鈥檛 just accept anyone into your network
Although it鈥檚 a good idea to reach out and connect with people you don鈥檛 know in your industry, be careful about who you are linked with on social media.
Just as it鈥檚 important to think before you post, accepting someone into your network on any social media platform, is an endorsement of that individual. Think about who you want to be associated with online just as you would offline in the real world.
Follow and engage with others
Follow organisations, key professionals and publications relevant to your chosen industry on social media platforms. You can easily do this on Twitter and LinkedIn in particular. They will share interesting and relevant news, initiatives and opportunities so you can keep up to date with what鈥檚 going on in your field.
Following prospective employers too is a great way of getting to know about job opportunities and vacancies, as well as keeping up to date with the latest company news 鈥� this will be particularly valuable if you are invited for an interview.
Don鈥檛 be afraid to engage and ask questions either. Reaching out to say 鈥業鈥檓 really interested in working for you. Do you have any current opportunities?鈥� could end up landing you your next job.
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Looking to progress or kick-start your career and gain a nationally recognised qualification? An Apprenticeship could be for you! From Accounting to Care, find out more about the routes we offer here.
]]>Key information
The purpose of your CV is to summarise yourself to a potential employer, therefore there is certain key information that you need to include. You also want to aim for a structure similar to the following example:
As this is your first CV, you should aim to fill one side of A4 comprehensively, but no more than two pages.
Personal Profile
A personal profile is the place to tell the employer who you are and what you鈥檙e looking for in no more than four lines.
Clearly and simply state your current situation and what type of work you are seeking. Have you just left school? Are you looking for part-time work? What sector are you applying for? If you can, also include the main reason why you think you鈥檇 be great at the job you want. If you鈥檙e looking for a retail job and you have strong people skills, say so.
Example: 听听听听听听听听听听听 Currently working towards my GCSEs, I am seeking a post-exam apprenticeship in听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 retail where I can showcase my strong people skills and develop my customer service听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 skills.
Education
List your educational achievements, beginning with your most recent qualification. If you don鈥檛 have your results yet write down your predicted grade or that it is 鈥榩ending鈥�. As this is your first CV, this section comes before any work experience. Once you have a job or two under your belt, this section will move down further down the page.
Example: 听听听听听听听听听听听 Whitchurch High School, Cardiff, September 2011 鈥� June 2018
听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 9 GCSEs including grades A-C in Maths, English, Science, Geography, IT
Work Experience/Skills and Hobbies – You have more experience than you think
This is the important, meaty section of the document and the place to talk about your paper round or those evenings you babysit for your neighbour.
Start by making a separate list of all your achievements: if you were your class representative or a member of the football team, write it all down. You may not realise that these are responsibilities that will showcase transferrable skills. Even if you haven鈥檛 had a job before, you most likely have more experience than you think. All those extracurricular activities, voluntary work or school work experience help you develop these transferable skills you can highlight in your CV. Skills such as time management, reliability, communication and people skills are all things employers are looking for in a candidate.
Look at the job description and tailor the information you provide. A CV is all about proof: you need to highlight instances when you demonstrated as many of the required qualities as possible in detail. Use your list of achievements to match your experiences and skills with the job requirements.
Avoid long paragraphs and use short sentences or bullet points to make your CV easy to digest and to highlight key information.
Example: 听听听听听听听听听听听 As captain of the school hockey team, I have experience of both leadership and听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听teamwork. This position also demonstrates commitment in my dedication to the training听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听and matches.
References
When you apply for a job, you will usually be required to supply two references before you can be employed by the company. Typically this will include your last employer, however if you are still at school or haven鈥檛 had a job, this can be your personal tutor, teacher or work experience supervisor. Importantly, remember to ask politely before you use someone as a reference.
Be aware that you do not have to put the names and contact details of your references on your CV. You can simply say 鈥楻eferences available on request.鈥� This is particularly useful if you鈥檙e not sure yet who to put down as a reference as it gives you time to sort it out.
Check Your Spelling!
This last tip is arguably the most important: ensure everything on your first CV is spelt correctly. Employers who have large numbers of applications will see any spelling and grammar mistakes as a way of differentiating between candidates, therefore it is imperative your CV is error-free. Use spelling and grammar checkers or ask someone else to proof-read it for you.
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Now you鈥檝e created your first CV, you鈥檙e ready to start applying. Check out our wide range of Apprenticeship vacancies with top Welsh employers who are currently recruiting. 听
Good luck!
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