This week was all about CV’s and cover letters. This year it was essential for me to build a good CV and cover letter as I am applying for placement roles for next year. I learned a lot from my lecture, but I decided to do further research. This post will also be a good reference point to look back on when writing my CV and cover letter.
CV
A CV is a document that you use to apply for jobs. It gives employers an overview of your qualifications, education, skills, and experience. It is usually the first contact you have with an employer, so it is important to get it right.
Research
I had made CVs in the past, but I never quite knew what to include in them, so it was important for me to do some research.
The main categories I found to put in a CV include: Contact information, bio, skills, work experience, certifications, references, and other achievements. Here are some of the top tips I found when creating a CV:
- It should be no longer than 2 pages: This is because employers don’t spend long looking at CVs so it should only have relevant information
- Tailor your CV to the job: This tells me that I should include skills and experience that will be relevant to a job in UX/UI.
- Keep it up to date
- Spell check: This is important as many employers skip over CVs with mistakes. Therefore, it’s important to spell check and get someone else to check it too.
- Be honest
- Make it look good: This is especially important in the design industry
- It must be legible: Don’t use crazy fonts or very small text.
- Add page references
- Work backward: This means that the most recent experience, qualifications etc. are first.
- Make sure to link your portfolio website: This encourages employers to look at your work and find out more.
Cover Letter
A cover letter is an extra document you can write to accompany your CV. The purpose of this is to show your enthusiasm and better describe why you are right for the job. I think that this can show your personality more than a CV. It should be a summery of your experience, aspirations, and why you’re right for the job.
Research
I decided to investigate what makes a good cover letter and the tips that you should follow when making one:
- Simple and concise: Like CVs, an employer isn’t likely to spend a long time reading it so only include what is relevant.
- It should be consistent with the style of your CV
- Always spell check
- You should find out who to address it to: This makes it more personal and shows that you are willing to put effort in.
- Be enthusiastic: This is the time to show that you are passionate about the company and the work they do.
- Research the company: For example, tell them why you like them and their work.
- Tailor your letter to each job: This makes it more personal and honest.
Overall, I found this class very useful. Beforehand, I wasn’t familiar with the concept of cover letters but now I can see how they can be hugely beneficial. Doing further research into this has given me more confidence moving forward as I write my own CV and cover letters.