How to write an Outdoor CV
The following is some advice for people who
are either writing their CV for the first time, or
are updating it before applying for full time jobs
or freelance positions. The overall aim should
be to keep it short and neat and to provide
only information an employer is interested in.
By following the advice below, being honest
and with a bit of luck, you will maximise your
chance of at least getting to an interview. From
there you’re on your own!
Name
Make your name obvious. If an employer is
leafing through a bunch of CVs, he won’t notice
your name if it’s in 10pt text. It should be
legible, so choose a sensible font and make it big
enough to read from a short distance. If you’re
emailing a digital copy, don’t send yet another
cv.doc, put your name in the filename.
By all means include the words ‘Curriculum
Vitae’ if you wish but, if you are running out of
room, they take up valuable space.
Contact Details
If an employer can’t get hold of you, they can’t
employ you. Make sure your contact details are
up to date and clear. Put them near the top of
the CV so that they are easy to find and use.
Include an address where post can be sent to
you and where you will receive it reasonably
swiftly, as contracts need to be sent out and
Professional Matters
I
n an industry where people
move from organisation to
organisation frequently and
many staff are seasonal, it can
sometimes feel like life in the
outdoors is one continual job
hunt. As bad as it is to keep
applying it can be just as bad
to be a centre manager who is
on the receiving end of 300 CVs
a year and has to sift through
them to work out who is the right
person for the job.
by
Sam
Moore
you will almost certainly have to sign and
return forms. Email is the preferred means of
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communication for many people nowadays so if you
Freelance work should be listed as such, with a list
have an address, put it under your postal address
of clients and examples of activities and courses you
and check it regularly. A mobile phone number is
have run. Some details of the range of clients you have
ideal if you are out and about a lot but it is worth
worked with is a useful guide to the employer of your
also putting a home number where you can receive
experience. List any relevant voluntary work you have
messages if you work in areas where there is little
done with the same information as above.
reception.
If you are new to the industry, or haven’t worked for
Ensure your name is obvious and your contact details
many organisations, list any work you have done with
easy to find.
groups such as the Scout Association or schools. Also,
Qualifications
list your previous jobs, even if they are not outdoor
related, your employment history can tell an employer
This is what will initially decide whether your CV gets
a lot about you, even if it is in another sector such as
kept or binned. Most centres cannot operate without
teaching of the armed services.
appropriately qualified staff so an employer wants to
see straight away which qualifications you have.
Education
Limit your education history to the two highest levels
List all your national governing body qualifications,
that you achieved. For example, A-levels and then
grouped by activity. If you have watersports
Degree. List the highest first and include the name of the
qualifications, put them together, likewise with
establishment, the dates you attended and a summary
climbing or mountaineering. Include any ‘training’
of the qualifications you achieved. For example:
modules you have completed as although they do
not allow you to work at a higher level, they give an
employer an idea of where your career is going. You
should also include the dates on which you achieved
1997-2000 Isle of Skye Sixth Form College
2 A-levels (Maths A, Art C), NVQ2 Spanish
the qualifications as this gives an employer some
If you have just left school, it is worth mentioning if you
idea of your experience.
have Maths and English GCSEs.
Employment History
The outdoor education industry is one of the few
Personal Interests
Your personal interests can tell an employer a lot about
where having lots of previous jobs is considered a
your attitude towards the outdoors. List your outdoor
bonus. Having worked with a lot of centres/institutions
interests here, along with some idea of the level at which
shows that you have a range of experience and an
you do them. For example:
understanding that there is more than one way to
deliver outdoor activities.
You should start with the most recently held position
and work backwards in chronological order. Include
the job title and the dates during which you held the
post. You should also include a short description of
the role, your duties, the type of clients you worked
with and the activities you delivered.
Rock Climbing
I took up climbing around 4 years ago and have climbed
all over the UK. I lead at VS and F6a. Venues have
included Stanage, Harrison’s Rocks, Llanberis Pass,
Gogarth, Wye Valley, Pol Dubh and the Isle of Lewis.
Overseas, I have climbed in Northern and Alpine France,
Spain, Italy and California.
Try to give the employer an idea of how much you have
Here is an example:
done and how broad a spectrum it has been over. If
May 2002-September 2002 Group Instructor,
Snowdonia Outdoor Education Centre
Delivering activities including canoeing, kayaking,
orienteering, sailing, archery and assault courses, to
you have been involved in a project as a volunteer, for
example, conservation work or public education, include
it in a similar manner.
Conservation
groups of up to 12 primary school pupils from deprived
inner city areas. Pastoral duties included overnight
I have been volunteering for the BTCV for eighteen
responsibilities and character development. Other duties
months. During that time I have been involved in three
included equipment purchase and maintenance and
rubbish clearance projects at a local woodland and have
general office work.
been an assistant warden, helping the public discover
these beautiful places.
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Horizons (46)
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Institute for Outdoor Learning
List any major trips you have been on and, in particular,
The font should be legible, try a sans-serif like
any you have planned or helped organise. A trek in the
‘Arial’ or something that is easy on the eye like
Himalayas with a trekking company is very different to
‘Times New Roman’. Avoid script fonts, curly
one you have organised yourself.
writing and the like.
Any competitive sports you have competed in should
Unless you are exceptionally talented at desktop
be included, along with significant results or records.
publishing, resist the urge to ‘jazz up’ your CV
Don’t limit yourself to outdoor sports, include any major
with pictures, coloured boxes, wavy lines, zebra
achievements. e.g.
stripes etc.
I raced in two marathon seasons, one in K2 and one in C2.
Bad design is worse than no design. The exception
High points of the seasons included finishing the Devizes to
to this is a picture of yourself, which can make
Westminster race and winning at the Schools National.
your CV stand out from the rest but make sure it
References
Include at least two referees. Ideally one of them would
be from your previous job, although this is not always
possible. In addition to their name, put their position
is small, clear and shows you at your best. A head
and shoulders shot is probably all you need and,
as above, if you can’t do it neatly, don’t do it.
Covering Letter
or job title and the organisation they work for. If they
Keep your covering letter brief. Describe yourself
work independently, list their highest qualifications. More
in a couple of sentences if you must, but avoid
important to most employers is not what your referees
clichés and hackneyed phrases such as “I am
say but who they are.
a good team player but I am happy to work by
myself if needed”. Show that you have done some
Once again, make your potential employers life as easy as
research about the company, describe why you
possible. As well as a postal address, include a telephone
want to work for them and what makes you right
number and email address for your referees, speeding up
for the job. Keep this to two paragraphs, it’s your
the time it takes to contact them.
CV that will sell you, not your letter.
Layout
In your final paragraph include two very important
Nobody expects an outdoor instructor to be a graphic
bits of information. Let the employer know the
designer. However, your CV needs to be well laid out and
best way to contact you (home phone, mobile,
clear. As mentioned earlier, employers are interested
email) and when you are available from. If you
in specific information, so lay your CV out in the order
can start immediately, say so.
suggested here. Have clear headings and make sure you
don’t cramp everything together.
The Final Step
The most important step in writing
your CV is the final one.
Get someone (or two or three
people) to read through your CV
and covering letter and check your
spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Nothing looks more careless than an
obvious mistake. n
Author’s Notes
Sam Moore runs Totem Personal
Development (www.totemdevelopment.
co.uk), an outdoor training company
based in Wiltshire. He is an APIOL and
specialises in adventure education through
open outcome courses for adults. He got
so fed up with rewriting his CV that he
started his own company so he never had
to apply for a job again.
Photos: with Creative Commons License
Institute
for Outdoor Learning
Horizons
(46) Summer 2009
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