GUIDE TO WRITING A CV OR RESUME FOR GRADUATE JOBS & INTERNSHIPS | no work experience? fear not!

Summary

In this video, the speaker shares personal advice on crafting a compelling CV, highlighting the importance of tailoring it to specific job applications and emphasizing transferable skills. They discuss the significance of honesty and the inclusion of education, qualifications, work experience, key skills, and hobbies. The speaker, drawing from their own successful CV that landed them an internship and a graduate job, provides practical tips for creating a document that stands out in a competitive job market.

Takeaways

• 😀 Tailor your CV for each job application, highlighting relevant experiences, skills, and values.
• 📝 Emphasize transferable skills, even if you lack direct work experience, by identifying activities that demonstrate these skills.
• 🚫 Be honest and avoid fabricating information or plagiarizing others' CVs.
• 📄 Aim for a CV length of one to two pages, being concise and avoiding unnecessary bulk.
• 🏫 Start with your most recent education and qualifications, listing institutions, qualifications, grades, and any relevant rewards.
• 📈 Include a work experience section if applicable, with dates, role overview, and relevant skills demonstrated.
• 🔧 Opt for a skill-based CV to showcase your abilities and provide examples of how you've demonstrated them.
• 🏞 Include hobbies or additional interests and achievements to show you're a well-rounded candidate.
• 🔗 Provide references under a 'Referees' section, indicating they are available upon request.
• ✅ Proofread for spelling and grammar errors, and ensure consistent, readable formatting to catch the employer's eye.

Q & A

What is the primary purpose of a CV according to the speaker?

The primary purpose of a CV is to advertise oneself as the perfect fit for the job, showcasing why one is employable and suitable for the position being applied for.

Why is it important to tailor a CV for each job application?

Tailoring a CV for each job application is crucial because it allows the candidate to highlight experiences, skills, and values that are most relevant to the specific job, increasing the chances of standing out among other applicants.

What does the speaker suggest about including work experience on a CV if one is a student with limited experience?

The speaker suggests that if a student has limited work experience, they should still include any relevant work experience, emphasizing transferable skills gained from those roles, even if they are not directly related to the job being applied for.

What is the significance of transferable skills in a CV, as mentioned by the speaker?

Transferable skills are significant in a CV because they represent abilities that can be applied across different roles and industries, allowing candidates with limited direct experience to demonstrate their potential value to an employer.

Why should one be honest when writing a CV, according to the speaker?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of honesty in a CV to avoid moral wrongs and potential issues during background checks or employment. It's about presenting an authentic and accurate representation of one's qualifications and experiences.

What is the speaker's opinion on the length of a CV?

The speaker believes that a CV should be one to two pages long, suggesting that one should commit to either one full page or two full pages for a neater appearance and to avoid unnecessary bulk.

How should one list their education and qualifications on a CV, as per the speaker's advice?

One should list their education and qualifications starting with the most recent and working backwards in time, including the names of institutions, qualifications achieved, grades, and any other relevant rewards or achievements.

What approach does the speaker take for the 'Key Skills' section of their CV, and why?

The speaker takes a skill-based approach for the 'Key Skills' section, listing skills and providing examples of experiences where they demonstrated those skills. This approach is chosen because it allows the speaker to emphasize the relevance of their skills to the job, even if their experiences are not directly related.

Why does the speaker recommend including 'Additional Interests or Achievements' on a CV?

The speaker recommends including 'Additional Interests or Achievements' to show that the candidate is well-rounded and to highlight the development of desired traits through hobbies and interests, which can be appealing to employers.

What is the speaker's advice on the presentation and formatting of a CV?

The speaker advises to ensure the CV is free of spelling and grammar mistakes, to have consistent and easy-to-read formatting, and to use bold or underline to separate sections or highlight key points to catch the employer's eye during a quick scan.

Outlines

00:00

📝 CV Writing Advice for Job Applications

The speaker begins by sharing personal advice on crafting a CV, emphasizing the importance of tailoring it to the specific job one is applying for. They discuss the significance of transferable skills, which are essential for job seekers with limited work experience. The speaker also stresses the importance of honesty and originality in CV creation. They proceed to share their own CV, highlighting how it helped them secure an internship and a graduate job at a global company. The CV is described as a concise, one to two-page document that effectively advertises the applicant's suitability for the job.

05:02

🎓 Education and Qualifications in a CV

In this section, the speaker details the structure of their CV, starting with the education and qualifications section. They advise listing educational history in reverse chronological order, starting from the most recent. The speaker includes their university and college experiences, specifying the subjects studied and the grades achieved. They also discuss the relevance of including work experience, even for students, and how to highlight transferable skills from various roles that can be applied to the job being applied for.

10:03

💼 Work Experience and Skills in CV Crafting

The speaker continues by discussing the inclusion of work experience in the CV, suggesting that even part-time jobs like working in a coffee shop can demonstrate valuable skills such as working to tight deadlines and handling responsibilities. They then focus on the 'Key Skills' section, opting for a skill-based CV over an experience-based one. This approach involves listing skills and providing examples of how these were demonstrated in past experiences. The speaker also touches on the importance of including IT skills and how they are often sought after by employers.

🌟 Hobbies and Achievements as CV Enhancers

The final paragraph discusses the inclusion of hobbies and additional interests in a CV, arguing that they showcase the applicant as a well-rounded individual. The speaker shares personal examples such as participation in the astronomical society and a boat club, which highlight teamwork and leadership skills. They also mention having a full driver's license as a sign of commitment and work ethic. The speaker concludes with advice on including references, suggesting that referees should be available upon request and should be individuals with whom the applicant has had a professional relationship.

Keywords

💡CV (Curriculum Vitae)

A CV, or Curriculum Vitae, is a comprehensive document used by individuals to detail their education, skills, experiences, and achievements. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of tailoring the CV to the specific job for which one is applying, highlighting how their CV was effective in securing an internship and a graduate job at a global company.

💡Tailored CV

A tailored CV is one that is customized to match the requirements of a particular job posting. The video script mentions that the speaker's CV was tailored, focusing on relevant experiences, skills, and values that aligned with the job descriptions, which is crucial for standing out in a competitive job market.

💡Transferable Skills

Transferable skills are abilities that can be applied across different jobs or industries. The script discusses how students, even without direct work experience, can identify transferable skills from their activities and education, such as data manipulation or teamwork, and include these in their CVs to demonstrate employability.

💡Honesty

Honesty in a CV refers to the truthful representation of one's experiences and qualifications. The video speaker stresses the importance of being honest and not fabricating information or plagiarizing others' CVs, as it is morally wrong and can lead to disqualification or worse, in professional settings.

💡One to Two Pages

The video script suggests that a CV should ideally be one to two pages long, as this is sufficient to convey relevant information without overwhelming the reader. The speaker shares their personal preference for committing to either one full page or two full pages for a neater presentation.

💡Education and Qualifications

This section of a CV lists an individual's educational background, including institutions attended, degrees earned, and grades achieved. In the video, the speaker includes their university and college education, emphasizing the relevance of including results and specializations to showcase their academic achievements.

💡Work Experience

Work experience on a CV outlines an individual's professional history, including roles, responsibilities, and accomplishments. The video script provides examples from the speaker's own CV, such as an actuarial internship and a job at a coffee shop, where they highlight how these experiences demonstrate relevant skills like data handling and working to tight deadlines.

💡Key Skills

Key skills are specific abilities that an individual possesses, which are often sought after by employers. The video discusses how the speaker chose to list skills in bold and provide examples of how they were demonstrated, such as research and analytical skills, communication, and time management, to show their suitability for the job.

💡Additional Interests or Achievements

This section of a CV includes personal interests, hobbies, or non-academic achievements that can provide insight into an individual's character and additional skills. The speaker in the video mentions being part of the astronomical society and a boat club, which not only shows a well-rounded personality but also indicates teamwork and leadership qualities.

💡References

References on a CV are individuals who can vouch for one's professional capabilities and character. The video script advises including a section for referees and noting that references are available upon request, suggesting that the speaker values the endorsement of their abilities by others in a professional context.

💡Proofreading

Proofreading is the process of reviewing a document for errors. The video emphasizes the importance of proofreading a CV to ensure there are no spelling or grammatical mistakes, which could detract from the applicant's professionalism. The speaker suggests having someone else review the CV to catch any overlooked errors.

Highlights

The speaker shares advice on writing a CV for job and internship applications, emphasizing the importance of tailoring the CV to the specific job.

The CV should be one to two pages long, with a preference for full pages over one and a half.

Education and qualifications should be listed in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent.

Work experience should be included with dates and a brief overview of the role, highlighting relevant skills.

Transferable skills are crucial for students with limited work experience and should be identified and emphasized.

Honesty is key; do not fabricate experiences or plagiarize others' CVs.

The CV should include a section on key skills, with examples of how these skills were demonstrated.

The speaker suggests a skill-based CV over an experience-based one for university students.

Hobbies and additional interests can show employability and well-roundedness, and should not be overlooked.

References should be included but can be listed as 'available upon request' if space is limited.

Proofreading for spelling and grammar mistakes is essential to maintain a professional image.

Consistent formatting and clear section separation are important for readability.

The speaker's CV includes a personal banner line to make a strong first impression.

The speaker's CV is tailored towards research and analytical skills, which are relevant to the job sought.

The speaker suggests making a note of recent activities or experiences regularly to ease the CV writing process.

The speaker encourages viewers to share their own tips and ask questions in the comments for community support.

Transcripts

hi

everybody so graduate job and internship

application season is upon us and

the other day i was giving my sister

some advice on writing her cv

and i suddenly thought to myself wait

let's just share this advice on youtube

i'm going to talk through how i put

together a cv which got me both an

eight-week internship

and a graduate job which i'm in now at a

global company

i'm not claiming to be an expert i'm not

a couriers advisor

i'm sure you will find much better cvs

than mine but my cv did work in securing

me a role

and the internship scheme that i did

last year had thousands of applications

with only a small percentage actually

being successful

so my cv held up against that

competition i know in some countries

including the us

a cv is referred to as a resume so just

to avoid confusion i'm talking about the

one to two page document

that you send off to employers when

you're applying for a job cv

stands for curriculum vitae which in

latin

i think means course of life and your cv

is an advertisement of you it's meant to

convey why you're the perfect fit for

the job

and make you sound really employable in

this video i am going to be talking from

a uk perspective

as i have applied for jobs in the uk but

i'm sure a lot of it can be applied

internationally

and please do comment down below how

things differ in the countries you live

in i'd be really interested to hear

okay so before we dive into the details

and i start sharing my own cv with you

guys i wanted to cover

the two key things that i think are most

important when writing a cv

the first thing is that a cv should be

tailored for the job you're applying for

you're going to have some experiences

skills and values that are relevant to

some jobs but not others and you need to

pick out which of those experiences

you need to mention on this particular

cv for this particular job

and the second key thing is transferable

skills

so many students say ah i have no work

experience i have nothing to put on my

cv

but yes you do it's just a case of

sitting down and pinpointing

the exact activities you have done to

gain those transferable skills oh

actually i lied there's a third key

thing

and that is to be honest don't make

stuff

up in your cv and don't plagiarize

anyone else's cv

including mine hopefully i don't need to

explain to you guys why that would be

morally wrong

okay so i'm now going to open up my most

recent iteration of

my own personal cv this was last updated

during my third year at university

so around this time last year i could

have shown you the exact cv

that i used in early 2019 to apply for

my internship which ended up getting me

my grad job

but i've decided that this version is

actually way better i've made so many

improvements since then

when i was updating this last version of

my cv i did have an astrophysics

research placement in mind

i never actually sent off the cv or used

it since i decided to go down the

actuarial route

but yeah that's why some of it is geared

towards

research and analytical skills and

astrophysics stuff

a cv should be one to two pages long so

you can see that i've gone for two full

pages here

in my personal opinion i don't think you

should opt for one and a half

pages you should either commit to one

whole page

or two whole pages it just looks neater

whether you go for one page or two pages

just depends on how much you have to say

don't bulk it out for the sake of it you

want to be concise

nobody wants to read through a load of

waffle and all it ends up doing

is hiding the actual important stuff in

your cv

so starting with the top of my cv i have

my full name

obviously i would include my surname in

an actual copy i'd be sending off

then in the second line i put a header

line about myself

this is the banner line i guess

the first thing i want the employer to

see when they see my application

i am a third year physical natural

sciences student

at cambridge or at least i was i'd

suggest doing something similar putting

your subject what year of your degree

you're in

underneath my header line i put my

contact details so my home address my

mobile my email

and of course these have been blanked

out for obvious reasons

the first main section of a cv should be

your

education and qualifications you should

list your most

recent education first and then work

backwards in time

until you've reached your secondary

education people don't want to know what

primary school you went to

so don't include that only include

schooling where you've achieved a

qualification

so obviously i attended jesus college

university of cambridge you're going to

want to put the dates that you attended

that particular institution i

also opted to put an individual bullet

point saying i was specializing in

astrophysics just because i was using

this cv for an astrophysical placement

if i had intended to use this cv for an

actuarial role

they really wouldn't have cared whether

i was specializing in astrophysics

i would have just left it at this first

line it's also important to include

your results so far so i included my

first year result and second year

results then we go backwards and time

again

to my sixth form college so i did two

years at this particular college 2015 to

2017

and i listed my a level results so there

you go for everyone wondering what i got

for a levels those were my results

so yeah this section is fairly

straightforward to fill out you just

want

to put the names of the institutions you

studied at the qualifications you've

achieved along with grades

and any other rewards you think might be

relevant moving down to the next section

i have included a work experience

section if you're a student you may not

have work

experience in which case skip over this

section don't worry about it but this

was relevant for me

as always it's important to include the

dates that your work experience took

place

and also give a brief overview of your

role

so i was an actuarial summer intern in

insurance consulting

and then these three bullet points were

very much

picking out what i thought was relevant

to the position i was applying for

i wanted to highlight that i'd use

statistical knowledge and logic to

evaluate

risk because i knew the position i was

applying for involved

statistics i also said i proficiently

handled and manipulated large

quantities of data that right there is a

transferable skill

doesn't matter if it's data on insurance

policies or data on astrophysical

surveys

i could turn my hand to either of those

with the data processing skills i had

developed

this job down here was literally working

in a coffee shop i gave it a fancy name

rather than just saying coffee shop

worker

and really the key thing i wanted to

highlight from that is that i worked to

tight deadlines in a professional

environment

it shows organization it shows

responsibility i do

just want to say again that it's only

worth including things on your cv

if you can tie them in to the job you're

applying for

and make them seem relevant if i was

applying for a job

in media say and i was applying to be a

production assistant maybe

i don't think they'd really care if i'd

proficiently handled and manipulated

large quantities of data

so i would not bother including that in

the cv the next section i

included is key skills this is where i

made a conscious decision

to go for a skill based cv rather than

an experience based cv i don't know if

you call it that

but essentially i've decided to list the

skills which you can see in bold here

and then underneath each skill give

examples of the experiences where i've

demonstrated those skills

i could have done it the other way

around i could have put in bold

the experiences i've had and then

listed below them the skills i think i

developed

while having those experiences when

you're a university student i feel like

you haven't had a lot of big experiences

that might be relevant to the role

you're applying for and a lot of the

time it's lots of small things that

build up to

one big skill so i think it's easier to

go for the skill based approach

a job description should hopefully give

a flavor of what the role involves

and what skills they are looking for

they might even list down the skills

explicitly

make a list based on the job description

of the skills you need to demonstrate

you have

to show you are a perfect fit for the

role and then

sit down and think of examples of when

you have developed

and shown those skills you should list

the skills in the cv

in the order you want them read so

really you want your most impressive

skills the best skills that are most

suited to the role up the top of the key

skills section

and the less important ones or more

generic skills down the bottom

i started by identifying research and

analytical skills as part of my skill

set

heavily research based degree discipline

practical classes have given me a keen

eye for detail

my first example of showing these skills

is literally

in my labs at university i could use

scientific terms like

wavelength and optics theory because i

knew the person reading my cv would be a

scientist for this particular role i was

applying for

my other example was achieving a gold

crest award for participating in the

engineering education scheme i'd say

the more recent your experience is the

more valuable

it is as an example employers are going

to be

looking for you to have demonstrated the

skills in recent timelines to show

that they are your current skills after

listing what i'd done with

the team i said explicitly at the end of

the sentence

what i gained from doing this cut

straight to the point leave nothing up

for guessing

the next skills i listed were

communication and presentation skills

obviously i need to evidence those

skills my first example is obviously my

most recent experience

i present a series of youtube videos on

my university experience

currently attracting over 700 000 views

a month

a lot of these things youtube videos

speech and drama festivals they're not

exactly the most academic thing you

might not think of them

as something to put on a cv but actually

transferable skills are developed in

those activities

and i'm sure if you have a little think

about the societies you've joined at

university

whether you write in the newsletter

rather you're part of a committee

have a little think about all of the

things you've got involved in in recent

years that you don't think about as work

and think how they might be able to

relate to skills you've developed and a

position you might want to work in

organization and time management i said

i take part in

extracurricular activities at university

and my social media channel has

lots of subscribers and i manage all

this alongside my degree

work i can juggle commitment and

prioritize

i think time management is so so

important

and it's something a lot of employers

are looking for you are not going to

have exactly the same example as me

it may be that you've organized a pub

crew at university

well that works too finally i listed it

skills i said i've done microsoft office

matlab latex

i specified where i'd use them at

university and on a summer internship

i'd say it skills is quite a staple on

job applications a lot of employers are

looking for it

it's well worth sitting down and having

a play with microsoft word microsoft

excel just so you can write on your cv

that you're proficient in microsoft

office

my little recommendation is on an

ongoing basis

even when you're not putting a cv

together make a note

of the recent activities or experiences

you've done in the past month

so when it comes to writing a cv it's

easier to remember what you've done and

really pick

each activity apart and think what are

the transferable skills i developed and

then

see if they match up with the job you're

applying for the next section to include

is hobbies or as i call it additional

interests and achievements because it

sounds

so much better you may be thinking this

section is a waste of space

like who cares about your hobbies well

think again

additional interests or hobbies show

that you're a well-rounded person

and often you will develop desired

traits through doing these hobbies

the first interest i listed as i was

applying for an astrophysical research

placement

was the astronomical society at

cambridge and then i mentioned

boat club now i did a team sport while i

was at university

and that is very good that is team

working skills

not only that i was a cox and coxing

actually

you need a lot of leadership for the

rowers are all listening to you

you're the one calling the shots so

really saying that i coxed and i was

part of a rowing team

looks quite good finally i said i have a

full driver's license

it's not the most important thing on the

cv but definitely worth mentioning that

shows that i have a work ethic

and that i can commit to challenges last

thing you should put on a cv

is references so i have a section called

referees

but then i put references are available

upon

request and that's what you should do

when you run out of space a referee

is someone who's going to write to the

employer and say i recommend this person

really you want to aim for two referees

often at university you don't have a lot

of choice you have to choose your

director of studies just make sure that

whoever you choose you've

worked with or engaged with them in a

professional context and also

always ask them first before putting

them down as a referee

once you're happy that you've included

everything you want to

check for spelling mistakes and grammar

mistakes please

don't leave a cv with mistakes in it's

just so unprofessional

get someone to read over your cv for you

and also make sure your formatting is

consistent and easy to read

you can use bold or underline to

separate out

sections or highlight key points

remember employers are often just going

to be scanning over cvs rather than

reading every single word

so you need to catch their eye my

formatting could be better i reckon i

think that's definitely something to

improve on on my cv

and yeah those are my thoughts on

writing a cv

i'm not going to sugarcoat it it's a

really tough job market out there

at the moment you need to bring your

a-game and it is well

worth spending some extra time on your

cv

and if anything it's just to do yourself

justice when you have the experience you

shouldn't

be hiding that away you need to make

sure the employers know that

if you have any tips of your own please

drop them in the comments below

equally if you have any questions drop

them in the comments too

i can try reply or i'm sure other

members of the community can try help

out too

and give the video a like if you want to

see more videos

relating to job applications follow my

instagram subscribe to this youtube

channel if you want to

keep up with my graduate life and thanks

for watching guys

see you later bye

[Music]

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