How to
Write a Winning CV
Lucy Hawkins, Careers Adviser
#careersbeyondprofit
Curriculum Vitae:Ellie Sanders
Adress: 2 Saltash Way
Saltash
Cornwall
PE12 Z28
Telephone: 07785 314529
Email: ellie.sanders@spc.ox.ac.uk
Education
2010 – 2013
2002 – 2009
You are an employer
and have 10 seconds
to look at this CV...
What do you pick up?
St Peter’s College, University of Oxford, English Language & Literature
Saltash School, Cornwall
A levels:
GCSEs:
Engrish Literature A*
Mathematics – A*
Geography A*
English Language – A*
French A
English Literature – A*
AS level:
Science – A*A*
Mathematics A
French – A*
Geography – A*
Sociology – A*
Deign & Technology – A*
Work Experience
Jan –May 2010: Bar staff, Spice Cocktail lounge, Al’s Cafe (part-time casual work)
Duties included:
Washing up, serving patrons, calling time, using till, signing rota
Often involved unsociable hours and difficult working conditions
2007-2009: Waitress, Silver Spoons catering (part-time casual work)
Outside catering company serving weddings, corporate events and functions
Silver service trained
Worked as part of a team with large turnover of members
Sept-Jan 2009: Administrative Assistant, Cornwall Hospice (temporary full time work)
Duties included:
Filing, record keeping, computer usage, telephone skills and typing
Part of a team supporting the running of this important hospice.
Unpaid experience
2011- Present: Student Hubs Liaison Officer, Oxford Poverty Action Group (voluntary role)
Monthly meetings with local council and other local charitable groups
2011-2012: Entz Officer, Oxford Aid to Haiti (voluntary role)
Worked with JCR Entz Officers to put on a full termcard each term
Ran the Oxford Haiti Challenge, managing three difficult team members
Jan-June 2010: Volunteer Intern, Oxfam GB (voluntary role)
Administrative support
Interests: Travel, hockey, reading, cooking and socialising
Referees
Ms Alex Hargreaves
UK Poverty Officer
Oxfam GB
Oxfam House
Oxford
Prof. Gillian Murphy
Tutor
St Peter’s College
New Inn Hall Street
Ellie Sanders
St Peter’s College, Oxford, OX1 3BJ (until 27 June)
2 Saltash Way, Saltash, Cornwall, PE12 Z28 (from 27 June)
07785 314529 ellie.sanders@spc.ox.ac.uk
Final year Oxford student with charity experience, administration
and event management skills and a passion for fighting poverty.
Education
2010 – 2013
2002 – 2009
University of Oxford, BA (Hons) English Language & Literature
Ensuring 12 essays of 3,000 words each submitted on time each term
Received college prize for outstanding first year exam results
Saltash School, Cornwall
A levels: English Literature A, Geography A, French A, AS level: Mathematics A
GCSEs: 5 A*, 3 A, 1 B
Relevant Experience
2011- Present
Student Hubs Liaison Officer, Oxford Poverty Action Group (elected role)
Ensure attendance at monthly meetings between local campaigners
Representing Oxford Hub (student volunteering body) to share best practice
Brokered successful collaborations between two charities and Oxford Hub
Let’s try that again.
What do you pick up
now?
2011-2012
Entertainments Officer, Oxford Aid to Haiti (voluntary role)
Planned time to commit ten hours a week for a year to this student organisation
Designed and delivered a full programme of awareness-raising events in Oxford
Led Oxford Haiti Fundraising Challenge, raising £5000 by engaging 80 students
Jan-June 2010
Volunteer Intern, Oxfam GB (voluntary role)
Developed awareness of organisational management and policy structures
Delivered accurate record keeping and data-entry for the UK Poverty team
Given responsibility to field telephone enquiries, praised for professionalism
Sept-Jan 2009
Administrative Assistant, Cornwall Hospice (temporary full time work)
Learnt good administrative practice including record keeping and file management
Developed good working relationships in a short period of time
Additional Experience
Jan –May 2010 Bar staff, Spice Cocktail lounge, Al’s Cafe (part-time casual work)
2007-2009
Waitress, Silver Spoons catering (part-time casual work)
Managing time to work an average of 10 hours/week outside of study
Developed excellent customer service, communication and problem-solving skills
Skills & Activities
Travel
Independently travelled around Europe in Summer 2009 using work exchanges
IT Skills
Confident user of Microsoft Office, CMS systems, Mac and PC, basic HTML
Sport
Keen hockey player, on St Peter’s College team throughout time at college
Referees
Ms Alex Hargreaves, UK Poverty Officer, Oxfam GB - 01865 438721 – ahargreaves@oxfam.com
Prof. Gillian Murphy, Tutor, St Peter’s College - 01867 652781 gillian.murphy@spc.ox.ac.uk
Learning Outcomes
• Understanding of the function of a CV
• Knowledge of how to enhance CV
functionality
• Understanding of recruiter use of a CV
• Awareness of common problems in CVs for
‘beyond profit’ routes
Q: What is a CV for?
A: To get you the interview
Q: How does it do that?
A: Shows that you meet criteria, gives no
reason to deselect you
Preparing a CV
• Make a list of what you’ve got:
Exams, qualifications, work experience, internships,
wider reading, hobbies and interests, awards,
positions of responsibility, jobs, voluntary work,
personal responsibilities, travel, committee work,
memberships, projects, dissertations….
• Consider what the reader is looking for
• Select evidence from your list that matches...
Matching evidence
They want? My evidence?
Relevant degree
Relevant experience
Communication skills
Creative / problem solving skills
Influencing skills
People leadership
Flexibility
Organisational awareness
Knowledge of the issues
Technological skills
Language skills
Qualification, relevant papers
Jobs, internships, extra-curricular,
charity work, travel, academic
activities
= give tangible examples of how
you’ve developed these
Developed as above / wider reading
List skills, give skill level – if
necessary explain acquisition
Headings
Name
Contact details
IT skills
Techniques
Nationality/work permit status
Personal profile?
Career objective?
Education
Language skills
Additional Skills
Achievements
Scholarships
Qualifications
Work experience
Employment history
Awards
Publications
Presentations
Relevant experience
[Insert field] experience
Posters
Conferences
Positions of responsibility
Research experience
Projects
Courses / Training
Other experience
Interests & activities
Professional development
Referees
Top 5 CV tips
1) Tailoring
• A relevant CV has to be tailored to what
they’re looking for
• Base this on the selection criteria, but also use
the job description, published lists of
organisational values and wider research
where possible
Top 5 CV tips
2) Action language – not job description, but
what you:
• developed
‘Gained understanding of...’‘Improved awareness
of...’
• were responsible for
‘Ensured that...’ ‘Represented the group
at...’‘Managed the systems for...’
• achieved
‘Increased society membership...’ ‘Initiated new
projects in...’
Top 5 CV tips
3) Specificity
• Numbers and details add real power to a CV
• Don’t worry if you raised ‘only’ £50, what was
the target?
• Describe your role accurately and fully
– ‘Part of a team’ – did you lead or make tea?
• Avoid generic process descriptions
– ‘Spent 3 months writing reports’ – How
many? Successful?
Top 5 CV tips
4) Credibility
Can you
• …summarise each role?
• …describe why you did each activity/job?
• …show how your past leads up to this
application
• …demonstrate all cited skills if asked?
• …confirm everything comfortably?
Top 5 CV tips
5) Presentation
• Always check for typos, consistent grammar
• Consistent tenses
• Simple, clear and scannable layout
• Use links where they add value
• 1 or 2 pages – but full pages
• Covering letter/email – clear and concise
• Do the 10 second test – and the 1 minute too
1 minute test
Use Ellie’s second CV
You’ve done the first sift –
now to decide on a short list
of candidates.
• Mark Ellie’s CV against the
criteria – in 60 seconds
• What advice would you
give Ellie ?
Ellie Sanders
St Peter’s College, Oxford, OX1 3BJ (until 27 June)
2 Saltash Way, Saltash, Cornwall, PE12 Z28 (from 27 June)
07785 314529 ellie.sanders@spc.ox.ac.uk
Final year Oxford student with charity experience, administration
and event management skills and a passion for fighting poverty.
1 minute CV test:
You haveEducation
60 seconds to tick which of the following selection criteria
2010 – 2013
University of Oxford, BA (Hons) English Language & Literature
Ensuring
12 essays
of 3,000
words
submitted
on CV
time each term
you are confident
Ellie
meets,
based
oneach
her
1 page
Received college prize for outstanding first year exam results
2002 – 2009
CRITERIA
Saltash School, Cornwall
Tick?
A levels: English Literature A, Geography A, French A,
AS level: Mathematics A
GCSEs: 5 A*, 3 A, 1 B
2.1 degree
minimum or greater
Relevant Experience
2011- Present
Results orientated
Great team player
2011-2012
Student Hubs Liaison Officer, Oxford Poverty Action Group (elected role)
Ensure attendance at monthly meetings between local campaigners
Representing Oxford Hub (student volunteering body) to share best practice
Brokered successful collaborations between two charities and Oxford Hub
Entertainments Officer, Oxford Aid to Haiti (voluntary role)
time to commit ten hours a week for a year to this student organisation
Positive mindset to Planned
help solve
problems
Designed and delivered a full programme of awareness-raising events in Oxford
Led Oxford Haiti Fundraising Challenge, raising £5000 by engaging 80 students
Understanding of UK poverty issues
Jan-June 2010
Volunteer Intern, Oxfam GB (voluntary role)
Developed awareness of organisational management and policy structures
Ability to adapt to changing
workload
Delivered accurate
record keeping and data-entry for the UK Poverty team
Given responsibility to field telephone enquiries, praised for professionalism
Confident
taking own initiative when necessary
Sept-Jan 2009 Administrative Assistant, Cornwall Hospice (temporary full time work)
Learnt good administrative practice including record keeping and file management
Developed good
working relationships in a short period of time
Planning and organisation
skills
Additional Experience
Excellent written and oral communication
Jan –May 2010 Bar staff, Spice Cocktail lounge, Al’s Cafe (part-time casual work)
Waitress,
Spoons catering (part-time casual work)
Accuracy2007-2009
and attention
to Silver
detail
Managing time to work an average of 10 hours/week outside of study
Developed excellent customer service, communication and problem-solving skills
Prioritisation and time management skills
Skills & Activities
Travel
Independently travelled around Europe in Summer 2009 using work exchanges
Confident
user of Microsoft
IT Skills
Confident userAccess
of Microsoft Office, CMS systems, Mac and PC, basic HTML
Sport
Keen hockey player, on St Peter’s College team throughout time at college
Ability to update web pages using CMS system
Referees
Ms Alex Hargreaves, UK Poverty Officer, Oxfam GB - 01865 438721 – ahargreaves@oxfam.com
Prof. Gillian Murphy, Tutor, St Peter’s College - 01867 652781 gillian.murphy@spc.ox.ac.uk
Top 5 mistakes on
‘beyond profit’ CVs
• Don’t de-emphasis something unpaid!
• Be aware of what their concerns might be
(adaptability, approachability, realism,
empathy etc.) and head them off
• Use the subheadings that work for you:
• Positions of responsibility
• Relevant experience
• Charity experience
Further resources
• More PDF guides available on our website
CVs, Visual/Video/Infographic CVs, Skills-based
Academic CVs, Consulting CV etc
• See a Careers Adviser
For CV reviews and any other advice
• Employer-led application sessions
• GoingGlobal – for international CVs advice
www.careers.ox.ac.uk/careersbeyondprofit
01865 274646
reception@careers.ox.ac.uk
Q&A
#careersbeyondprofit