WRITING A CV

Your CV & cover letter make the first impression on the prospective employer.

The Student Support Advisor in your local SU office will be glad to help you with these.

Your CV should include personal details, education, employment experience, skills, interests/achievements and referees.
It should be no longer than 2 pages A4

Be wary of templates-employers have seen them lots of times before. If you want to be original, use your own design. However - keep it simple -if you are going for a creative position – go for a CV with a bit of flair that shows off your skills. If you are not, don't.

Give highest priority to your best and most recent examples of your ability to do the specific job for which you are applying.

Be positive, direct and concise

Use action verbs (eg managed, organised, developed) to quantify your experience

Make sure you give concrete evidence to back up the skills you say you have

Tailor your CV for each job to which you apply

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Sample CVs

http://www.dit.ie/DIT/careers/students/cvslettersapplications.html

http://www.gradireland.com/advice/articles.asp?SectionID=4

http://www.careers4graduates.org/job_seeking/jsgdcv.phtml

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The Cover Letter is a vital part of your application - your CV is incomplete without it. The cover letter gives you another opportunity to sell yourself. It adds detail to the factual information in your CV and highlights the most interesting and relevant parts of your CV to an employer.

Your cover letter should be concise - 1 page of A4.
It should be laid out as a formal business letter with your name and address and those of the employer.
It should be sent to a named person - not "Dear Sir/Madam" .
Use the spell check and grammer check.

Letters starting Dear Sir end with Yours faithfully.

Letters starting with Dear Mr Jones end with Yours sincerely.
Never use Yours truly

Your letter should contain 4-5 short paragraphs detailing :
Who you are

Why you're writing

Why you want to work for that particular company

Why you feel that you are a suitable candidate

End on a positive note