When you’re writing a CV this is a very easy trap to fall into.  A good CV should introduce you and tell the prospective employer what you can bring to his organisation.  Now, you don’t want to insult his intelligence by telling him things that are ‘a given’ for the type of job you are doing.   For example, it is obvious that an accountant will prepare accounts, or that a shop manager will manage a shop, so that’s not the type of information that needs to be included in your CV.     

What you do need to do is to demonstrate the level you are working at by including in your CV information about your actual job.  Say something about your employers so that the reader can identify the environment you are working in.  Try to include some metrics to demonstrate the size and scope of the business so that the employer can asssess the level of your function.   

Then say whether you are working alone or as a team member.   If so, how large is the team?   Who do you report to?  What is your particular area of responsibility?  Try not to make your job sound boring by just stringing out a long list of responsibilities.   Use short bullet points to explain why you are doing the things that you are doing.   For example, don’t just say ‘data input’ say something more interesting like ‘maintaining accurate records to support management reporting’.   By sounding enthusiastic with a real interest in your job you will be able to present yourself in a more positive light to the prospective future employer.  

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at 3:59 pm and is filed under CV Writing advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.