Graduate / Entry Level CV Advice
As a recent graduate, recruiters will look to invest in your recent qualifications to prepare you for a position in their company. Obviously, being a graduate, employers won't expect you to possess years of experience on your CV, rather that you can demonstrate enthusiasm, motivation and a positive attitude.
The primary objective of a graduate-level CV is to demonstrate your motivation and goals; this can be achieved by detailing any projects / dissertations or demonstrate relevant skills needed for the post you're applying to.
What to take into consideration when writing a graduate CV:
- Unless you have more recent and relevant employment experience, follow your opening profile with details of your academic achievements – including the university, dates, title of your degree and all relevant modules.
- Provide evidence of your transferable skills by including all unrelated paid experience. Although working as a part time Sales Assistant may not relate to your chosen career path, this period can be used to highlight skills such as: communication, team working or organisation - all transferable into any role.
- Have you attained any unpaid, but relevant, experience? If so, include it! Just because you were not paid, doesn't mean you shouldn't include details of the skills you gained.
- When writing your CV, you should think about distinguishing between relevant and other experience - putting relevant first to help accentuate your skills.
- Usually, extra-curricular activities are not needed in a CV unless they're relevant to the position you're applying for. However, in a graduate / entry level CV, you should provide details of any extra-curricular activities that can be used to highlight your motivation / achievements.
- Usually, entry level CVs are around 1 page - this will obviously vary depending upon the amount of experience you've gained.
- Include details of any internships – more information about internships can be found here: http://www.thecvstore.net/Internships.htm
Related Pages:
- How do you write a CV?
- What makes a good CV?
- What are functional / chronological CVs?
- Graduate CV writing services
