CVs; how important are they?

CVs, how important are they? A CV is the first thing an employer will see that reflects you as a candidate. You may be a really strong candidate with an outgoing and exuberant personality, but if your CV is dull, repetitive and boring – this is the first impression you make.

When you are applying for an apprenticeship, we can appreciate that you may not have the best understanding of how to format your CV and what sort of information you should include – so we’re here to help.

My best advice would be to include everything you think an employer would want to know. You want to ensure that there is as little return as possible with questions about a lack of information or gaps in your CV. Try to include:

Personal Details

Make sure that you include your personal details; your name, address, phone number and email address.

Personal Profile

Use this opportunity to tell us about yourself, sell yourself before we even begin speaking to you, so make this section all about you. Try and add the following points:

Skills

Identify all your key skills and strengths here. Again, we don’t know you, so you have to show off your abilities and let us know what you think will enable you to excel in the role you have applied for.

Education

Here we need your educational background – tell us about your grades, experiences, and achievements while at school/college.

Work Experience

Let us know what you have done in a working environment and the experience you have gained. Don’t panic if this section isn’t particularly lengthy, we don’t expect you will have a lot of experience in the workplace.

Have you undertaken any volunteering work or work experience placements?

Hobbies and Interests

In this section, we are looking for you to again just give us a brief bit of information as to what you like to get up to in your free time. Do you have a sport you participate in? Or spend time with your family doing certain activities?