Unitemps held its first webinar, ‘How to write a standout CV’, on Thursday 8th February 2024. During the 45-minute webinar, Gill Frigerio, Jenny Hammond, Amanda Bramall, and Andréa Skelly shared what Hiring Managers look for in a CV and how to write a CV that stands out to help you secure the job you are applying for. It was an excellent opportunity for our panel to share their expertise with the 365 attendees, who listened and engaged throughout the session by asking plenty of questions. Check out the full webinar recording or an overview of the questions covered below:
1. Is there an ideal layout for a CV?
Your CV is your foot in the door to a prospective employer, explains Andréa Skelly, as she highlights the importance of selling your personality, skills, and experience all concisely and clearly to get through to the interview stage. Watch the clip to discover all the useful tips Andréa outlines as she shares the ideal CV format.
2. What do employers look for in a CV?
From references, achievements, and success stories to showing your personality, Amanda Bramall covers what Hiring Managers look for in a CV to enable you to get your CV in the interview pile. Learn what Amanda has to say about using your CV as a selling tool.
3. How should you present your skills in your CV?
Jenny Hammond reveals that there are a few different ways that you can present skills on your CV depending on the experience you have. Listen to Jenny’s advice as she touches on where to include skills, such as within a personal statement and under work duties, and how to add skills without having any previous work experience.
4. How do you write a CV without a job history or prior work experience?
Learn what Jenny Hammond has to say about using a ‘Skills CV’ when your experience is limited to help you highlight skills from your studies or extracurricular activities.
5. As an international student, how can you outline the work experience you did overseas to attract UK employers?
If you’ve been educated overseas, have you thought of converting your grades to the UK equivalent? Find out more about what Andréa Skelly has to say about adding overseas job experience and education to a CV.
6. What makes a CV stand out?
Lastly, our panel members sum up their main ‘do’ and ‘don’t’ when writing a CV. Discover Amanda’s, Jenny’s, and Andréa’s tips to ensure your CV stands out.
7. Extra questions
What is the ideal length of a CV? What font should you use on your CV? Does your CV need a photo or an address? Check out the Q&A part of the webinar where the panel answered extra questions submitted live on the day by the audience.
View the full webinar recording to watch the summary of the main points or browse the Unitemps career advice section for more CV advice and templates.
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The panel:
Gill Frigerio, Associate Professor in Career Studies and Coaching at the University of Warwick
Dr Gill Frigerio is a former career development practitioner and manager who now leads a team of experts who run postgraduate programmes for career coaches in the Centre for Lifelong Learning at the University of Warwick. She is the chair of NICEC, the learned society for career development scholarship, policy and practice.
Jenny Hammond, Careers and Employability Advisor at Liverpool John Moores University
Jenny has over 16 years’ experience supporting students and graduates, providing in-depth advice and guidance and also practical support, such as feedback on CVs and applications. She also works with an external international careers consultancy, providing advice and writing services for international clients applying for roles both in the UK and internationally.
Amanda Bramall, Head of HR at SE Controls
Amanda has been an HR professional for over 30 years. She leads a people strategy of pragmatic, solution-based HR, with it a strong focus on wellbeing and talent management. She has worked with key organisations such as the BBC, RAC Clubhouses and Merlin Entertainments. Amanda sees her role as being to develop people to be the best they can be.
Andrea Skelly, Business Develop Manager at Unitemps, University of Warwick
After working for 15 years at a couple of the largest recruitment companies in the world, Andrea joined Unitemps 10 years ago as the Business Development Manager with the remit of developing relationships with businesses that have vacancies that benefit the University of Warwick’s student population as well as graduates and people in the local community. She has seen many changes to the recruitment process during this time, especially around CVs and covering letters and is looking forward to sharing this knowledge with attendees.
Last updated on 16 February 2024
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