How to Write a Good CV
NOTE - Stafford House Study Holidays requires an application form from teaching and activities staff, and not a CV. These are tips for more general use, as we know that a lot of people are applying for permanent jobs while they are working at our summer schools. Having said that, what is mentioned here also applies to the application form that you may want to send us.

When you apply to jobs all over the world, the first impression the company will have of you is through your Curriculum Vitae. It is important that this displays you at your best, and there are a few things you can do to make yourself more presentable through your CV.

Structure

• Be clear and concise. Your CV should not be more than 2 pages long.
• The first page is always the most important, so highlight your skills and achievements at the beginning of the CV, particularly if you are addressing a criterion in the job description. Remember that if you are applying for a teaching job, the employer wants to read about your teaching.
• Structure your CV logically and use clear headings and sub-headings, so that the employer can pick out key facts easily. They also break up the page, so it looks more interesting.

Writing Tips

• Try to address all the issues in the job description. Larger organisations (like universities) will have a general HR department, who select candidates for interview by 'ticking boxes'. Make their life easier - and therefore improve your chances - by stating what you know/have done. HR people who don't understand your specialisation won't be able to read between the lines.


• Be transparent. Don't hide anything but, conversely, don't make it too elaborate and difficult to read. Always tell your potential employer what you have been doing with your time. If you were not working, what were you doing? It could be travel, study, or a variety of things that make you a more interesting person. Gaps in employment are not always a disadvantage. What you did may have taught you new life skills or broaden your horizons.


• If you are new to teaching, or don't have much experience, your main selling points will be your personality and your qualifications. Mention your best personality traits in a 'Personal Profile', and follow that with your qualifications, starting with your teaching qualifications. Highlight a few important points about your course, for example the levels you taught, if the tutor gave you good marks in a particular area, and optional work you did. This will make you sound enthusiastic about your teaching.


• Don't overdo the history. A common mistake is to list every job you've ever had, even if it's not relevant. If you don't have much experience you should aim to stress the positive points of what you've done e.g. the levels/ages you've taught, extra-curricular activities, methodologies you've learned to use. If you have lots of experience, try to summarise it on the first page, and put a short chronological list of your positions on the second page.


• Qualifications are generally listed in the following order: teaching qualifications; degree; the rest. If you have a degree, the subjects you took before you went to university are fairly irrelevant, apart from languages - that GCSE in French your mother made you take could prove very useful!


• All dates and details should be accurate and easily verifiable. Your employment history should be clear, and have no unexplained gaps in it, at least for the last five years. However, please note that some companies, including Stafford House Study Holidays, require a FULL employment history.


• Check your spelling and grammar. Use the spell check, or ask a friend to proof-read it for you.


• Correct details - Assume that your CV is so impressive that the employer wants to contact you. How can they if your details are wrong? One mis-spelling in an email address, or the wrong number at the beginning of a phone number could mean that even though they want to contact you, they can't.

Technical Issues

• If you are emailing a CV, make sure that it is in a format the recipient can easily read - PDFs and Microsoft Word (for PC) documents are best. Occasionally we receive odd formats in the office - like Works and Word for Mac, which won't open on our PCs - so we have to ask people to re-send them. Other employers might not bother.
• Be careful with colour - a tasteful colour of paper might be OK, but avoid coloured text. Black text on a white background is always a safe bet.
• Use a sensible font that's easy to read, especially if you are faxing it through. If you are emailing a Word document, stick to the fonts that come with Word/Windows (others might not work on the other person's computer).