News Article- AccendoCV suggestions

Feature: The Guardian
Publish date: February 2008

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Ben’s CV is pretty good as it stands but there are adjustments that he could make that would really help pull it all together

To begin with, it is too long. A good CV should aim to take up no more than two pages, any more information is probably unnecessary. With tighter spacing Ben’s CV would immediately be punchier to look at and more readily absorbed. Whilst on the subject of layout, another irritating (to some readers and potential employers) little mistake is the wandering formatting. You do need to be confident that the CV wont change as this one did in transit immediately making it a little difficult to unpick. With regard to the content we feel that the first section could be improved by being more upfront with what it is that Ben is trying to do with his CV. Instead of ‘Skills and Attributes’ he could more usefully define who he is and where he is going in an objectives or profile statement.

Ben is a mature student and should say so; it is an achievement that will catch the eye. Employers are often interested in late developers. Mature students are perceived as bringing with them useful extras; they have already learnt how to work, they can be very strongly motivated, and they may well reach the height of their game while working for them. Employers are no fools they will see these things if they are shown them in the CV. And as a mature student, Ben can minimise his early academic career, as it distracts from his recent achievement.

The claims re: banking and commercial systems need to be precise. It would not be wise of Ben to only target the banking sector…..office systems are, after all, office systems. Its Ben’s ability to understand what the system has to deliver that is important; he can then articulate how that is to be achieved. Useful to be familiar with MS products but it would be just as useful to emphasise his understanding of commercial operating methods and processes that are supported by these systems.

There are achievements sprinkled within the document that are worthy of much greater emphasis but are currently being lost, for example:

• Improved key measure of customer service by 70% - how and why- benefit to employer.
• Improved a process of the job to improve efficiency and save money...how much over what time.
• Awarded one of the regions Star Performer awards in 2000 for outstanding performance……. by increasing sales from £x to £X++.

These are items that would be of interest to any future employer. He could also expand some of his other roles and a good example of this is his work in Summer Vacation Camps where he was responsible for successfully co-ordinating over twenty excursions – no mean feat!

Finally Ben needs to understand the channels to his target job market – what are they how do they work.With a little coaching he will appreciate the value of some desk research on businesses and how to make a direct approach to the Companies that interest him. He can then target the content of his CV and covering email to suit.