It takes an employer an average of only eight seconds to decide whether to place your CV on the read or junk pile, so you have to make an impression quickly.
- Open with a strong profile that highlights the very best of your abilities and how this makes you the ideal candidate for the job. But remember it is not a wish list and should be backed up by evidence further on in your CV.
- Avoid gimmicks like strongly coloured paper, or photos. They don’t impress (unless of course you look like Brad Pitt or Elle MacPherson).
- Use punchy dynamic language; avoid essay style writing. Long, rambling CVs go on a short route to the bin.
- Make sure it is concise and easy-to-read. Now isn’t the time to prove your knowledge of uncommonly used words.
- Don’t send the same CV to different employers. Take time to target your CV to the specific needs of the school, e.g if the last Ofsted report shows that the school needs to do a lot of work around planning, then think about your experiences and strengths in this area and highlight this in the Professional Profile section at the beginning of your CV.
- Make sure your CV has a clear structure so that employers aren’t having flip the pages more times than a chef in a burger bar to find the info they need.
- Tell the truth. To say that you coordinated EAL when in fact you covered for the EAL teacher when she was off sick for a week is a gross exaggeration. It’s horribly embarrassing if you are found out.
- Don’t leave gaps. Otherwise there will be awkward silences during interview as you attempt to plug them.
- Always remember to check for spelling and grammatical errors because if you can’t be bothered to do it then employers won’t bother with you.
- Ask a friend to read it over and to be brutally honest with you.
With thanks to Malcolm Cooke, a specialist in writing CVs for teachers from Dynamic CVs www.cvs4teachers.com
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