CV tips
Preparing your CV and covering letter
To secure an interview you must attract the publisher’s attention by submitting a compelling and immaculately tailored CV and covering letter, without spelling mistakes, inconsistent punctuation or ungrammatical sentences. Many new entrants applying for their first publishing jobs, as well as those applying for subsequent jobs, fail on these points at this initial hurdle.
A typical CV (or résumé) will have the following headings:
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Personal details
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Personal statement – a short description of your attributes and personal qualities
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Education
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Relevant previous employment and work experience, paid and unpaid – other
employment can be moved later on in the CV -
Skills and qualifications
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Personal interests
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References
The CV is an organized summary of the key facts (not opinions) about yourself. Bullet points may be a useful way of emphasizing essential points about a job or your degree. While emphasizing your assets, the CV must be truthful. Each element should prove to the publisher that you have the qualities and skills for the job: omit those that do not. It should not be longer than two A4 pages. For those with little work experience, the chronological CV laid out in a form style is usually the best approach. The information is listed in chronological order under headings.
Under personal details give your full name, contact address with home and mobile telephone numbers, email, date of birth, and nationality. The education section lists college and school details, with dates, courses taken, grades achieved, special projects, scholarships, prizes. Spotlight any occupational training courses which show relevant skills.
If you have relevant employment and work experience, you will want to put this near to the top of the CV, usually in reverse chronological order – the most recent first. Provide employers’ names, your job titles with duties and responsibilities, promotions, special awards, and accomplishments (for example ideas that reduced costs, increased profitability, streamlined administration) – a few key points for each job. Relevant work outside publishing should be emphasized, for example offi ce, library or bookshop work, preparing a firm’s literature or magazine, compiling mailing lists, public and customer relations, teaching, and work overseas.
Whatever the CV format, the skills emphasized may be those pertaining particularly to specific jobs, for example design or proofreading, and those which are more generic, such as computer literacy, website development, driving, languages, numeracy, administration, communication (for example, presentations, telesales). At management levels, applicants often start their CVs with a personal statement highlighting their achievements, skill and experience. This is followed by sections on their career history and key skills.
Activities and interests may be incorporated under the above headings or listed separately. If you are about to leave full-time education, your skills and keen interests (for example, photography, sport) assume great importance because with little work experience they mark you out. You should list your leadership or administrative positions, and achievements.
The CV usually ends with the names and telephone numbers of your two or three referees who can convey your character, stability and competence to perform the job. Brief them beforehand. One should act as a character reference. You can state, if necessary, that they should not be contacted without prior consultation. It is increasingly common is to say that references are available on request.
Use factual, concise simple language – without abbreviations or jargon – and active verbs. Have someone who is literate or familiar with recruitment to check and edit your CV. It is vital to avoid basic spelling and grammatical errors: for example, check your use of apostrophes and avoid mixing up their and there. Use good quality white paper (avoid colour printing and coloured paper). Set good margins with adequate spaces top and bottom. Leave one line space between sections. Try not to break a section at the bottom of the fi rst page (a heading should be followed by at least two lines of text, or carried over). Number the two sheets. Insert your name at the top of page two.
