…or Professional experience, or Legal experience, or Research experience. Use headings to your advantage. If you can group together a set of experiences to really highlight things that are relevant to the role, do so. If, by grouping experiences under specific headings, you can create a sense of commitment to an area or position a very relevant piece of experience at the top of the section, do so.
If you are applying to train as a solicitor, you could include within Legal experience a mix of related paid work, spring weeks, unpaid internships, volunteering where you’ve used relevant skills. Remember that reviewers will tend to pay particular attention to what’s listed first.
Within each role, use bullet points to describe what you did. Start each bullet point with a verb – and ensure that you are describing things that are related to the job description. Make sure that it’s clear to the reader precisely what you did and, where relevant, quantify what was achieved. The reader needs to be able to quickly understand your specific contribution. At this stage, they need to be able to appreciate what you can do without asking any follow up questions, without spending time thinking ‘I wonder what this means – did they organise the event entirely on their own, or were other people involved’. Remember that you have the recruiter’s attention for a limited time, so you don’t want them to be using that time trying to decipher what you mean.
By the end of your CV, the recruiter should have clear specific examples of how you have used the kinds of skills that relate to what they have listed in the person specification and job description. It’s absolutely fine to list more bullet points under one role than another if that experience is more relevant.
EmploymentInbound customer service adviser, Energex UK call centre 2016-2018
- Helped customers assess energy costs and tariffs
- Ensured quality and compliance standards during the switching process
- Met and exceeded sales targets consistently
Maths tutoring for 11+ 2015-2016
- Assessed pupils' level of maths and confidence in their abilities
- Prepared and delivered individual lessons
- Achieved 100% pass rate of students