CV's - a few key points

Help us to help your by ensuring your CV is relevant for the job or role you are applying for

Our Intern Katie recently wrote a brilliant Blog about writing a CV (https://www.kensingtontutors.co.uk/post/cvs-and-cover-letters-a-quick-guide)

. After finishing Uni, Katie found that the jobs and Intern roles she was applying for all required a CV, something she had never written before. Even with a degree in English, Kate found this task daunting - hence the blog which has lots of really useful information.

I love Katie's Blog and didn't want to change it but, having recently read 35 CV's sent by job applications for a recent tutor roll we had, of which I would say 3 had the skills I asked for and were presented in a sensible way, I felt I needed to add a few important points, some of which Katie did mention.

• Please make sure your CV is linked to the job/role you are applying for. It doesn't matter if you don't have much work experience, what is important is that you link your work experience to the skills asked for in the job description. I'm not saying re-write your CV for every application, but do tweak it a bit so that it is clear you know what the job/role you are applying for is all about!

• Update your CV and make sure you send the latest version with your application. Reading that you left your last role in 2023 makes me wonder where you have been. If you have taken a gap year, that's fine, just put it in, so that you have no gaps. Gaps in your work time line are always concerning.

• Katie suggests a few lines at the top of the CV to introduce yourself. That is a good idea but do make sure it is relevant and really describes you, rather than just being a list of adjectives. Reading you are enthusiastic, empathetic, energetic, goal-orientated and committed, all in one sentence makes me wonder if you have just picked words out of a thesaurus. Linked to this is ensuring that opening sentence is relevant to the job/role you are applying for. Reading a CV which describes performance skills, productions you have been in and your desire to follow an acting career is very confusing if you use this when applying for a teaching job! It suggests you are sending your CV out indiscriminately or that you want the reader to search through it to find the 6th months teaching experience you do actually have, buried on page 3.

• If a role says a specific skill is essential, and you do not have this, you are probably wasting your time applying. For example, we often ask for qualified teachers, yet many applicants are not qualified teachers! However, I know the job market is tricky and we all need a break sometimes, so if you really feel that you have relevant skills (maybe you supported students in this particular subject while you were at Uni, maybe you tutored your siblings or neighbours), make sure that is clear in your application and on your CV. You might think tutoring your siblings/neighbours isn't worth putting on your CV but if the job is asking for those skills do put it on, and draw attention to it in your covering letter.