CVs! Important. Future. Job. Money. I know, I probably overthought it a bit. However, I don’t find them difficult to deal with anymore. In my opinion, if I can continually edit my CV as my life continues, it’s never really finished. There’s always more to add.
Going into this, I hadn’t even heard of the LifeSkills CV builder. As I’m still at GCSE level, I hadn’t even thought of writing my CV – yet. There is a lot of skill to writing a CV and I know I don’t have it – yet.
So what to do when faced with writing your CV?
1. Jump In
How can you know if you don’t try? Just jump in. The LifeSkills CV builder takes you along every step of the way, and gives helpful tips on what information you might need for each part as well. It’s really simple to follow.
2. Personal Information
The first step of this process is to give the CV builder some of your social media details – they ask for Facebook and Twitter.
You don’t need to give any (but you definitely should, as it’s part of the point and helps later on in this CV building… you get what I’m saying).
Then you get asked to enter personal information such as your name, email address and phone number. You have to put in these details, as well as your address and postcode.
Then you’re asked for a personal intro video. It’s not essential, but if you’ve ever liked Skyping or Snapchatting, you should definitely do it – as you will stand out massively from the crowd.
3. Personal Statement
Then, of course, your personal statement. I found this the trickiest part of the whole process, but the CV builder helps, giving examples of statements you can work from. When writing the personal statement, stay true to your unique style – you can’t afford to just sound like everybody else. Add in interesting characteristics about yourself and your achievements and where you see yourself going.
Also, remember when you had to add social media details? Well, this is why. The CV builder scans through your Facebook and/or Twitter account and shows you posts or pictures you may have uploaded to give you ideas of what to add into your CV. If you’re always tweeting about the football, your food or what you’re listening to, the CV builder will pull out all the inspiration you need to give some life to your personal statement beyond the basics.
4. Adding Achievements
That’s the first part done. Now is the time to really big yourself up as much as possible.
You’re asked to list all of your ‘achievements’. Go for it! If you’ve finished your GCSEs or A-Levels, put down the grades you got. Or where you got your work experience. If you’ve ever volunteered anywhere at all, formally or informally – even with friends and family – get that in there too. You’d be surprised how impressive it will look when you get it written down. Do you play an instrument or a sport? Have you represented your school in anything? Have you completed any Duke of Edinburgh levels? The list goes on. No milestone is too small, get it in there.
5. Sharing your work experience
It’s not always the glamorous job you hoped it would be, but having any work experience is gold dust, if you know how to get the most out of it (and then write about it). This section asks for your job title, the company name and the role and responsibilities you had.
Then you are asked for references – in other words, the people you have worked with. References are important because it gives another opinion on you for the employer. It can strengthen your position, as it gives a real life view on you. Pick the people you know you built strong relationships with and who understand what you are about.
6. Key Skills and Interests
The last section might feel a bit general, but make sure you use it as a really clear and persuasive way of summarising your best attributes. There will be some overlap with the Personal Statement and Achievements, but that’s OK. The key here is to boil it down to the very biggest and best parts of what you have to offer.
Having now completed those six steps myself, I would say you can’t go wrong giving the CV builder a go, especially if you are a newbie like me. I found it so useful, as it helped me prioritise and break down what makes a strong, well-rounded CV. The highlight for me was the way it uses your social media accounts to help inspire what you should put in your CV. Give it a go and see for yourself. Enjoy!
