With our Graduate Recruitment and Placement Fair just a couple of weeks ago, you and your friends might have been struck with a burst of motivation to improve your CV for graduate job, placement or internship applications.

Creating a concise, yet informative CV that stands out from the crowd can seem quite daunting but with the Careers Service’s top tips you’ll be able to perfect yours in no time.

Follow the five simple tips below to elevate your CV.

• Format

• Relevance

• Results

• Spelling

• Cover letter

Format

The Careers Service highly recommends you organise your CV in a chronological format. This means start by listing your education and experience in reverse chronological order (start with the most recent and work backwards). This format is generally preferred by employers as it is easy to skim through.

Relevance

Make sure your CV relevant. You should tailor it specifically for each position/job you’re applying for to include relevant information. Be sure to provide information about your studies, previous work experience relating to the job you’re applying for, extracurricular activities, etc.

Results

It is crucial to emphasise results to highlight your past work experience achievements rather than stating your previous responsibilities. Using strong action verbs, such as, ‘managed’, ‘implemented’, ‘co-ordinated’, ‘achieved’, can help to give your CV extra impact.

Spelling

While this tip may seem obvious it is essential you proofread your CV. Read it out loud to yourself, use the spelling and grammar tool in Word or consider asking a friend to go over it for you to make sure you have no spelling or grammatical errors.

Cover Letter

Finally, always include a cover letter alongside your CV unless specifically stated not to. A cover letter helps to highlight the important parts of your CV and your motivation for applying for the job.  

“What am I supposed to include in a cover letter?”

This might be a question that crosses your mind when applying for a job, placement or internship. There is no set right or wrong answer to this, however the Careers Service recommends you follow the next few steps to bring your cover letter to the next level.

Address & Introduction

First, make sure you address the letter to the correct person and follow this with a brief introduction. Explain why you are writing the cover letter, where you found the job advertisement and include a strong, confident and positive opening statement to make a good first impression.

Why you?

Next state ‘why you’. Use key points from your CV that are relevant to the role you’re applying for to show why the recruiter should employ you. Keep your summary as concise as possible including specific examples of past experience. State what you can bring to the company mentioning things such as your degree, part-time jobs, volunteering, extra-curricular, etc.

Why them?

Then discuss, ‘why them’, why this specific employer. Your cover letter should be tailored to the organisation. Demonstrate you’ve researched the organisation, mention their values, projects, etc. Be sure to mention any contact you have had with the company.

Why the role?

Follow this with ‘why the role’. Explain why you are interested in the particular role and why you want to work for this organisation.

Sign off

Finally, finish your cover letter politely and on a positive note. Sign your letter with ‘Yours sincerely’ if you know the name of the person you are writing to or ‘Yours faithfully’ if you don’t know the name, followed by your signature.

As well as all these tips, we also have some great online resources to help your CV and cover letter cover letter stand out. CareerSet, an AI-generated feedback tool can help you highlight your skills and experience in a way that’s appealing to employers.  

Also, take advantage of the 1-2-1 appointments with our Careers Service CV who can offer feedback and advice on your CV to improve it as well as providing assistance with cover letters and LinkedIn profiles.