What is a CV? It’s your curriculum vitae – a Latin expression meaning ‘a summary of your life’ (the word ‘vitae’ is pronounced ‘vee-tie’) and is abbreviated to CV; Americans tend to call it a resumé.
Your CV should not be a shopping list of everything you have ever done; it should be focused to show how well prepared you are for a particular type of work. You use your CV to show how you are the right kind of person for the kind of job you want to get. This means that although you will have a basic CV, you might want to make some minor changes, depending on the kind of job for which you are applying.
There are two aspects to consider when preparing your CV: appearance and information.
Appearance
• Good-quality paper (use something other than stark white if you can).
• Readable Sans serif typeface (Arial is a good one) in no less than size 11; 11 is the smallest easily readable font size.
• No spelling or typographical errors.
• Neat and orderly presentation.
Remember that you are a professional and there is a certain standard expected from your work. You want your CV to show that you are neat, polished and professional. Spelling and typographical errors make you look careless; a disorganised or illegible presentation will mean you never even get shortlisted.
Information
There are two cardinal rules about what information you put onto your CV:
1. Never, ever, ever lie, exaggerate or ‘manufacture’ information in your CV.
2. Present your information in a clear, organised and sensible way.
You will need to use headings to present your information properly. Most people put them in the following order:
Name and contact details
You could head this section ‘Personal details’ or put the information at the top of the paper like a letterhead. Whereas your date of birth was once expected, it is no longer required in an attempt to stop age-based discrimination.
Employment
Starting with your most recent employer, work backwards and outline the last 10years of work:
• List each job with start and finish dates (month/year). Give the employer, the general location, and your job title. List any special training, experiences or responsibilities (think about things that will illustrate your preparation for the job for which you are applying).
• You mustn’t leave large gaps in your history, although it is acceptable to leave out very short-term or ‘second’ jobs if they don’t add anything. If you had a large gap because you were doing volunteer work, put the volunteer work as a job.
Education
Qualifications
Because this is a professional CV, you need to include a section about your professional qualifications:
• Give the award in your ‘Education’ section; in this section say what kind of nurse registration you have, when you registered, your PIN and your expiration date.
• If you are awaiting your PIN, say that it is ‘pending’ and give the date you applied.
• If you have taken specialist nursing courses that give you a registerable qualification, they should be listed here as well.
Achievements
If you have done anything ‘special’ you should have this heading.
• Published works (books/articles).
• Elected office in your nursing course, professional organisation, trade union, etc.
• Any special awards, commendations or recognition.
2005Author, journal article ‘How reflection causes brain damage,’ published in Journal for Cynical Students, Volume 1, pp. 230–239.
2006Author, ‘Hand-washing and the student nurse: a life of grime,’ textbook published by Baillière-Tindall.
2007Elected Branch Chairperson, Royal College of Nursing.
Hobbies and interests
You can use a separate heading for interests (if you want to list any). The purpose in listing interests is to show yourself as a balanced, well-rounded person. If your hobbies and interests don’t do that for you, don’t list them!
References
Who can your prospective employer contact to find out how wonderful you are? The kinds of things referees are asked about are your timekeeping, your absences, what kind of employee you were, if there were any concerns or problems about you or your work and whether the employer would hire you again. They will also be asked the dates of your employment:
• One reference will always be from your current employer: if you are at university and just qualifying, your university will be accepted as a reference. Ask who to put down as the contact person.
Make sure you get permission in advance to use people as referees. Tell them you are applying for a job, remind them the kind of job you are applying for and – if necessary – remind them of the things you want to make sure they highlight in the reference.
Give the name, address, contact details and a very brief comment of why they are a referee. It is OK to list your references on a separate piece of paper; it looks neater.
Finally …
Keep one master copy of your CV to make sure what you put is consistent with future CVs!
If you are struggling to put your CV together, you could use the ‘Wizard’ in Microsoft Office, or look on the internet for some ideas. There are also many good books about preparing your CV and, often, your university will be able to give you some advice. You can even pay someone to put your CV together, but this is not usually necessary unless it’s a very complicated CV and you have no idea where to start.
HOW TO APPLY FOR A JOB
First, think about what kind of job you want. Don’t assume that you have to take whatever you can get – there are lots of choices out there! In Chapter 1 we discussed how to decide where you want to work; this section is about how to go through the steps of application.
So, you have decided what kind of place you want to work in. Now all you need to do is get a job and you can move on with being a nurse. There are many different places to look for job vacancies:
The internet
• Employers probably have a website that lists vacancies; call them and ask.
• There are dedicated employment websites: http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/ is the official NHS jobs website.
• The Nursing Standard and Nursing Times and Nursing and Midwifery Council websites have job listings.
Publications
• Call your local newspaper and ask which night has the best employment listings. Employers tend to advertise on a particular night each week.
• There are free employment newspapers.
Events
• Career and jobs fairs are held all over the UK, usually sponsored by a publication (such as the Nursing Standard or Nursing Times) or organisation (such as the RCN).
• There are nursing exhibitions in which potential employers have stands to promote their organisation to prospective employees.
• The NUS or your student union or university might sponsor a jobs fair.
• NHS Trusts sometimes join together for a job fair.
Go directly to the place you want to work
• You could call the human resources department of a place you would really like to work.
• You might send in a CV and covering letter asking about job openings.
• You could look out for vacancy bulletins on the wards or in the workplaces that interest you, if you are on placement there or if you know someone who works there.
Once you find out about a job, you need to make sure your CV is ready (see above).
YOUR APPLICATION
Next you need to prepare your application. Try to get two copies of the application form. If you can’t, photocopy the form and use the copy as a test to make sure you complete everything properly. Hints for completing an application form:
• Use black ink.
• Print in uppercase (capital) letters.
• Be neat and legible (if you just can’t, get someone to do it for you!).
• Don’t abbreviate anything unless it is such a common abbreviation that it won’t matter (St, Rd, etc.).
• Spell things correctly.
• Make sure the information in your application matches your CV.
• Complete the entire application: if something isn’t applicable, put a line through it or write ‘N/A’ (for ‘not applicable’).
Basically, your application is a reflection of you. If you can’t be bothered to spell something properly, won’t follow simple rules or can’t be neat, then how badly do you really want that job? And how likely are employers to want you to work for them?
I have reviewed applications, and interviewed people, and I can tell you that most interviewers make the first step towards offering you a job when they read your application. I remember one of my colleagues on an interview panel saying: ‘Her application was a mess – I bet her presentation is a mess, too’. That interviewer had already made her mind up. The market is tough and you don’t need anyone to have a preconceived notion about you, unless it’s that you are the best candidate.
YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT
The part of the application that often throws people is the ‘personal statement’. In this section, your employer is looking to answer the following question:
If I get 100 applications that all look the same, why should I shortlist this person rather than someone else?
You should make sure that your personal statement covers three key areas. Now, before you read this part, I know you are probably British and ever-so unaccustomed to saying good things about yourself: this is the time to pretend that you say nice things about yourself all the time. The three key areas are:
1. Your experience, knowledge and skill relevant to this post (throw in the policies, etc. that you know are important for this post).
2. Your education relevant to this post.
3. What you expect to get out of this post, to further your career, knowledge and skill.
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