Resume, CV and interview advice

By MiKe Hughes (Managing Partner : Premier Training Partnership)

A curriculum Vitae (CV) is basically a summary of your life and employment history. It is essentially a marketing tool to emphasis your achievements and skills, its primary purpose is to get you an interview with your prospective employer.

There are many professional organisations who will prepare for you a professionally designed CV, and no doubt it will look wonderful and will be beautifully bound etc. It will probably cost you an arm and a leg - but will it get you an interview?

Personally speaking as an employer of accounting staff at all levels, I see many CVs from a variety of candidates and they are very mixed indeed. Generally speaking if I see a CV which looks as though it has been designed by a professional it usually goes straight in the waste bin. If a candidate is unable to produce his/her own CV then I  conclude that you are unlikely to have the skills to fill an important job!

I know many people would disagree with me, but this article is purely a personal view point and I just don't like professionally produced CVs. I like a CV to be brief and to the point, highlighting experience and accounting/ bookkeeping qualifications. Basically I don't have time to read pages and pages of your interests and hobbies.

I rely a great deal on the CV and it is the contents and substance which matters not the presentation. So my first piece of advice is not to waste your money on glossy professionally produced CVs - do it yourself.

Planning your CV

If you are fortunate enough to have your dream job then you won't find this section particularly useful. However if you are looking for a career move or if you are trying to secure that all important first job in Accounts then please read on.

In a competitive market the need to market yourself and get yourself in front of a prospective employer has never been more important.

It requires careful thought and an action plan. How you describe, present and sell yourself will decide the outcome of any application. You must remember that when preparing your CV that it is your primary opportunity to make a positive and memorable impact on your prospective employer.

First you need to collect all the documents and materials to write your CV:

• Letters of acceptance from previous employers (if any)
• Letters of resignation to employers (if any)
• Job descriptions for all positions held
• Educational certificates/ transcripts
• Courses attended since leaving school
• References

These documents are best collected throughout your career and placed in a safe place as these will make preparing your CV much easier in the future.

Writing your CV

Always consider the reader when writing your CV. If you are applying to a large organization it will be read by the personnel department, when applying to a smaller company it will be read by the owner or the Finance Director. You have to make your CV stand out from the competition! Are you what they are looking for? Would your CV make the manager want to telephone you and invite you in for an interview?

Your CV should be tuned to the position you are applying for! For example when applying for a payroll position you should highlight your payroll skills, when applying to a medium size company then highlight your skills on dealing with medium sized companies. In other words each CV should be tuned to the company /position you are applying for!

Many candidates and advisors would say wait until you have been invited to interview before researching the prospective employer. I would disagree! Often I have 'phoned candidates on receipt of an impressive looking CV only to be disappointed by their lack of knowledge when speaking to them on the telephone.

Therefore my second piece of advice would be 'Don't start preparing your CV until you have thoroughly researched your prospective employer and the position being advertised'.

Be prepared for a telephone call days or even weeks after you've submitted your CV and be prepared to discuss your CV- a thoroughly researched CV will help your recall.

The CV

This Heading is probably the most important section of all and should not be under-estimated. This should include:

• Full name
• Home address
• E-mail address
• Telephone number(s)
• Date of Birth
• Age
• All Educational qualifications
• Professional qualifications
• Main skills (Key words only)

Bullet points break up a CV, always keep in mind that the recruiter normally scans through many CVs and should be able to identify the main points within 30 seconds. Your Job title is the most important point in your work history, so list it first, followed by the employer, city, and dates for starting and ending of employment. Any ad hoc projects must be backed up with examples of issues that were tackled on this basis.

Do not make false or exaggerated claims- honesty is always the best policy. If the interviewer finds inconsistencies in your CV you will not be successful.

Finally, ask a trusted senior colleague to review it and to give you an honest critique, and to check your spelling and grammar.

You will definitely reach the interview stage if you keep your CV crisp, focused and highlighting yourself as a go-getter.

INTERVIEW ADVICE

Once you have been invited for interview you will need to review your CV and make sure that you have positive answers if the interviewer wants more detail on the information you have supplied.

Be prepared to talk about every detail of your CV- what aspect of finance you enjoy working in and why? Training courses that you've enjoyed? Do you want to specialise e.g. Tax, Audit or Management Accounting?

To be continued....

If you have any cv or interview tips then please email them to me at mike@premiertraining.co.uk

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