Skills Based CV
Above is my first draft of my skills based CV. I have written big paragraphs explaining how my experience relates to each skill. I have also written more directly about work experience. I feel this CV is good but very long winded and over developed, I feel an employer, for example, may get bored or not have the time to read the amount I have written.
For advice I booked in a one to one CV appointment with CEC. Here is the email confirmation:
This 20 minute appointment was very useful and I found the employee very approachable and easy to talk to.
We began with me filling her in on the type of placement I would be applying to and how I wanted to develop my CV so it wasn't as long winded as it was in the first draft.
I was then shown lots of different examples of structures for a skill based CV. After choosing one which most applied to my subject, we began rethinking how I could develop the layout of my own, so it would be more compelling to an employer.
To start, we changed the 'CV' title to my name. She also told me to remove the 'Email:' 'Mobile' titles in the profile section, as these weren't needed. Below are the notes I made on the document (in red) throughout the session, mainly based on layout ideas.
To continue, we decided that I should have a small bio, then my education, where I could talk about the relevant modules on my degree course. I would then go onto to write about my relevant media experience, skills, additional experience and conclude with references. In reflection, this new layout was much more precise and interesting to read. It allowed me to talk about my skills in a less story like way, in comparison to my first draft of the skills based CV.
Another point of discussion in this meeting, was how to order the paragraphs, due to me previously repeating points or topics. To condense, I will write my points in bullet points. This makes it easier to read and also gets rid of the 'story like' aspect to my CV.
To conclude the meeting, the advisor then gave me advice on writing a cover letter. She told me how to write for both an advertised and non-advertised position by giving me past student examples on how they wrote their own.
After applying these changes, I feel my CV now looks very professional and I feel confident that I can now start contacting big corporations with it, without feeling like its too long winded or layed out incorrectly.
Finally, this is my final and complete draft of my skills based CV:
