RECRUITING NOW

ARGYLL and Lochaber offer a wide range of career paths, from manual to professional, and everything in between. Our recruitment guide is a great way to find vacanciesas well as get ideas for jobs that might suit you. For those looking to get into the world of work for the first time, we also feature opportunities for trainees and apprentices. The first step in applying for that dream job or apprenticeship is preparing a resume, or CV. Whether updating a current CV or starting from scratch, My World of Work suggests using the following checklist to make sure everything is covered.

1. Contact details

It’s important to provide a range of up-todate contact options including your home address, your main phone number and your email address to make it easy for employers to get in touch with you.

2. Employment history

Make sure to include the jobs that are relevant to the position you are applying for. If you haven’t had much relevant experience, you may want to include your entire work history.

3. Education and qualifications

Your education and qualifications may not be directly related to the job you are applying for, but they’re still important achievements that any employer will want to see.

4. Skills and strengths

Emphasising your skills and strengths is vital when writing a CV. A strength is something you’re naturally good at. A skill is something you acquire with education and experience. Make sure to demonstrate how your skills and strengths will help you to do well in the job.

5. Your personality

Your CV should follow a fairly standard format and the interview is where your personality is really important, but you can still stand out from the crowd with the language you use.

6. A prioritised layout

The way you lay out your CV will depend on your age and work experience level. If you have don’t have much work experience or you’re looking for a career change, you should place your skills and strengths section before employment and education.

7. A good simple format

Unless you’re going for a highly creative job, getting too fancy with fonts and borders will only take the focus from the important information in your CV.

8. Good spelling and punctuation

There’s no room for poor spelling and punctuation in either your cover letter or your CV. Spell check should be the very last thing you do before sending it off.

9. References available on request

You don’t have to include references in your CV, but make sure to state at the end of your CV that they are available ‘on request’.

10. A cover letter

Most employers will expect a cover letter with your CV. It gives you a chance to get across your personality, ambition and to explain any gaps in your CV.