clude, ‘legal work, commercial work and voluntary and pro-bono experiences’.
WRITING THE PERFECT CV by Zara Ann Loh University of Liverpool
A CV is the most important document that we submit to potential employers. For most of us, it is the first form of ‘contact’ that we have with these employers and it is a reflection of our accomplishments and abilities. Very often, our CVs determine whether we land a position or an interview in the firms we apply to or not. As such, we should not disregard the importance of having a CV that stands out amongst the 800 or more applications that employers across the board receive annually. You might find it useful to follow the ‘H.I.R.E.D’ guidelines, 14
that have been compiled based on popular tips given by employers, when drafting your CV. Headings Employers have indicated that headings and sub-headings should enable them to read your CV more easily. For example, instead of listing all work experiences down under a generic heading, applicants should create sub-headings and list the work experiences down according to their nature. These sub-headings can in-
principles from the case to the question will not gain us the desired grade. Similarly, applicants must elaborate on their abilities and skills. For example, if you Also, consistency is key and the same type of headings were tasked with legal research or taking draft stateand bulleting should be used throughout. It is often the ments from clients at your previous legal internship, little details that distinguish a well-written CV from the you should mention these tasks and duties as well. others. However, CVs should not be overly lengthy and should Interests be succinct and kept to 1-2 pages. Employers go through many CVs and an overly lengthy CV is unlikely to add Many people think that their interests are not important value to your application. and should be left out of their CVs. This is untrue as a person’s interests often gives potential employers an idea Detail of the applicant’s abilities. Applicants should not leave out details about their involvement in extra-curricular Lastly, applicants should also ensure that their applicaactivities as these activities will indicate to employers tions or CVs are well detailed and spelling or grammatthat you are capable of working in a team or capable of ical errors should be avoided at all costs. It is advisable good time management. for applicants to get a third person to read through their CVs. A detailed CV shows employers that the applicant In addition, each application that is sent out should is meticulous and sincere and as such, attention should have a ‘personal’ touch to it. Applicants should research be given to this aspect. on the firms that they are applying to and read up on the firm’s ethos and ensure that their applications display Thus, the factors listed above should be taken into conthat their values and beliefs are in line with the firm’s sideration when drafting a CV and might serve as refervalues and beliefs. This is likely to make an application ence if you have already drafted a CV. stand out from the others. Relevance While applicants are often encouraged to list down all work experiences including their part-time jobs, good applicants often use part-time job experiences to demonstrate their skills. For example, simply listing you’re your involvement in voluntary work or your parttime job does not show employers the relevant skills that you have acquired or honed. Instead, applicants should write about the impact that they made at their previous workplaces or projects that they were involved in. Applicants can also demonstrate skills gained from their past experiences such as their ability to work under pressure to meet the demands of customers at their part-time jobs. Elaborate This is an extension of the point above. Applicants should always elaborate on their work experiences whenever possible. Like our law essays, merely listing down a case and not discussing the relevance of the
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