CVs and LinkedIn
CVs
Many employers will require you to submit a CV as an initial stage of their recruitment process. Your CV is a personal marketing tool, presenting your skills, attributes, experience and qualifications to employers to demonstrate your suitability for a job or opportunity. The advice and links below will help you to put together a professional, graduate-level CV that will impress employers.
Your CV needs to be:
- Accurate and up to date
- Organised, concise and well presented
- Tailored to the role you are applying to
- Unique to you
One of the best ways to get started is to look at some examples to get an idea of how to structure your own CV and what type of information to include. Visit the Career Success Toolkit on the Personal Best App to view the following:
- CV Examples – to see different ways to present a CV
- CV Template – to help you get started putting your information together
- CV Self-Assessment Checklist – to self-assess your CV and understand how recruiters may score it
- Action Words – to help you to use strong, positive verbs to showcase your experiences
You can also find more advice and example CVs and covering letters on the TargetJobs website.
With over 1 billion users, LinkedIn the largest professional online network. Using LinkedIn is a key opportunity to engage with employers and if you think of it as your online professional portfolio it can be just as important as your CV. It is also a valuable tool in career researching and planning.
- Many sections on your profile can be transferred from your CV, but make the most of the additional sections such as your headline, summary and ability to add media. Use the resources below for guidance.
- Build your network! Connect with course mates, colleagues from past and present work experience, school friends, alumni, University staff, employers you meet at careers fairs, professionals you meet at other networking events and more! Industry related connections are particularly useful.
- Use LinkedIn’s alumni tool to support you career planning by researching where º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ alumni from your course are now. What sector are they working in? What was their first role after university? Did they take any further study? Which employers have they worked for?
To get started using LinkedIn, and to create and develop a powerful LinkedIn profile, take a look at the following resources:
LinkedIn for Students - LinkedIn’s own guide for students getting started on the platform offers some useful tips to create your professional identity, starting to pave your career path and grow your network.
The Ultimate LinkedIn Cheat Sheet - This visual guide shows how you can quickly create the best possible Linkedin profile, maximise your online visibility, build your contact list and even get contacted about a new job.
5 great ways to use LinkedIn
Profiles
Just like with Facebook, you create an individual profile on LinkedIn. It’s important that you create an effective profile as this is what employers and recruiters will look at and search on. You profile is rated 0-100% in terms of completeness and you need to get as close to 100% as you can to improve your chances of appearing in search results and to advertise your skills and experience the best you can. Use LinkedIn’s help pages to get started and build your identity.
Connections
Facebook has ‘friends’, LinkedIn has ‘connections’. LinkedIn will search your email contacts and profile for people you already know who are using the service. You can also search for fellow alumni or colleagues you’ve worked with. However, it is important that you think carefully about whether you want all your email contacts to be invited to connect with you on LinkedIn.
Groups
Groups are a key tool for raising your profile, promoting your knowledge and interests and making new connections. LinkedIn will suggest groups to you based on your profile and you can also use the search function. Group membership can give you an insight into what issues are hot in the sectors where your interests lie, help build your network, and give you a heads up on jobs in that area.
Companies
Companies will also have their own profiles that you can follow to get the latest news on job opportunities and industry developments. You may find that you have people in your connections or groups that work for that company.
Alumni
LinkedIn has a special Alumni function on which you can search for º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ alumni by what course they did, skills they have, what they currently work as, and what company they work for. This could be extremely beneficial to you to find alumni that are in a career you aspire to get into. You can connect with these individuals and network with them. Who knows, it may just get you your dream job!