Producing the CV to get your next job in marketing
Introduction
Producing the ideal CV is a very subjective issue. Whilst
there's no right and wrong answer there are some simple rules
that will help you to produce a document that is both functional
and interesting. Always remember that your CV is the most
critical document in your search for a job, more important than
the covering letter. It is the first opportunity for a potential
employer to get to know you. First impressions count so it needs
to be good.
Network Marketing (www.networkmarketingjobs.com) and The Book
(www.thebook.uk.com) have been offering this advice to
candidates registered with them for over 10 years.
To create a good CV you'll need to consider the following:
Audience
Structure
Content
Length
Presentation
Audience
It is critical to be conscious of the reader who will be making
a decision on whether you are invited to first interview. In
most instances it will be the recruiting manager however there
are still some companies in which Personnel have the
responsibility for the first sift.
If a line manager is reading your CV he or she will want to see
recent and relevant work experience. If Personnel have
responsibility they may be using a scoring process whereby you
will have to state different relevant skills on the CV to be
considered. For each you must ensure the information they need
is easily understandable and logically presented.
Structure
The structure to a cv can be very simple. We are not trying to
confuse the recruiter so try and make it as simple as possible.
Try using the following headers. Personal Details Education
Experience Company Profile Position (repeat the previous two for
each role) Additional Information/interests Personal Details
Name Address including postcode Contact numbers including mobile
Email address Date of Birth
Qualifications
Put qualifications in reverse chronological order - i.e. your
most recent qualification first. This is likely to be your most
relevant qualification and so should be the one read first. Do
put qualifications right back to GCSE/O'level but don't detail
each one, a number will do for example '8 GCSE's'.
Believe it or not - this should have taken you about half of the
first page.
Now the main part of the CV -
Experience
There are many different views on structuring this element of
the CV however we firmly recommend providing information in
reverse chronological order showing your most recent first. This
relevant and recent rule applies throughout the CV.
It is vital you communicate clearly who you worked for, job
title and between what dates.
For example: Employer : Network Marketing Position : Recruitment
Consultant Dates : 6/98 to Present
Company Profile
Don't assume the reader will know your current company or
understand it's relevance to their market place. Provide a brief
one-line explanation of the company including size, product or
service and area that you work in. Put the URL of your company
on there too to help them out.
Position
Explain the level of the position, what the reporting lines are.
Describe the key responsibilities of the position. Use this area
to highlight key competences that will be of interest to the
reader. Although we would usually advise against using 'buzz
words' it is essential that you spell pout the disciplines
within marketing that you have been involved with. Don''t assume
that the reader will know.
Detail key achievements during your time with the company. These
will demonstrate that you are a commercially focussed marketer
who understands the impact of marketing on the business as a
whole.
Repeat this process with previous roles that are highly relevant
to the application. For roles not demonstrating skills relevant
to the application summarise in one line to save space.
Additional Information
Round off the CV with a couple of lines explaining your personal
interests/hobbies. These are important as they may demonstrate
how you could fit into a close knit marketing team.
General Guidance
Length
In an ideal world a CV should be approximately 2 pages. Any
recruiter with a pile of CV's to look through will initially
glance at the first couple of pages of each CV to find proof
that the candidate has the relevant skills. Any information that
forces the CV to be longer than two pages should be about your
interests and activities or additional skills not covered in the
main body of the CV.
Presentation
Choose a clear type face/font Make effective use of bold,
itallics, underline but don't overcomplicate the document. Be
consistent throughout. Remember that the CV will most likely be
downloaded from an email so use a well recognised package such
as word or if you are in a more creative environment Acrobat.
Try and make it look visually appealing by using logos of the
companies you have worked for alongside your experience section.
Salary and Benefits package details can be left to the covering
letter. It is not enough to demonstrate the relevance of your
experience in the covering letter - this should be done in the
CV.
There's no need to put references on - these will be requested
and followed up once an offer is made.
Final Checks
Read your CV carefully checking spelling and punctuation. Ask a
third party to check it, they will probably spot errors that you
don't. A common area for mistakes is dates.
Do a final check on layout.
Try emailing the document to yourself to check that it prints in
the required format.
We hope this provides clear guidelines regarding your CV
however, once registered with Network Marketing we will be
delighted to offer constructive criticism wherever necessary.