| Creating an Effective CV |
The idea of a CV is to get you an interview and your foot in the door, not to get you the job.
Your CV should reflect your occupational and educational life and be relevant to the position you are applying for. Think of it as a
personal marketing platform to sell/promote yourself to a prospective employer. When constructing your CV
bear in mind that potential employers will only spend a mere 30 - 60 seconds reading your life history.
We recommend you review the Self Assessment section before writing your CV.
Once you have evaluated your skills, achievements and personality it’s time to think about your CV’s structure, format and presentation:
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| Structure
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Keeping your CV concise and to the point is a difficult task. Selecting a comprehensive structure and format will help you to achieve this. There are many layouts to choose from, and they vary from country to country; the structure below is typical for the European Market
(example of good CV):
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| Name/Contact Details |
display a permanent address, home phone, email and mobile.
(Note: if a graduate remember to give a permanent
address of a family member and your term time address) |
| Personal Details |
include your Nationality, Date of Birth (optional), and Marital status. (Can be placed at the beginning or end of the document.) |
| Personal Profile |
highly recommended to grab the reader’s attention, it is a key selling point. Ideally this should be punchy, precise and no more than three, 15-word sentences.
We recommend you review our example profiles. |
| Academic Qualifications |
List in reverse chronological order. Include details on your final year project, i.e. dissertation, thesis. List any other major projects, field studies, training courses etc.
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| Work Experience |
Include dates, job title/position and company name. As well as writing a brief overview of your job, try and incorporate your responsibilities and achievements.
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| Computing Skills |
List all geoscience and general software applications used, hardware, operating systems, databases, etc. For each one you might want to list your level of proficiency.
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| Additional Skills |
Industry Knowledge, Technical, Commercial, Managerial, Analytical, Languages. |
| Publications |
Be careful not to list too many, you may appear to be too academic. You may want to combine topics and list the topic and number of papers written/presented. |
| Personal Interests |
Keep this limited but consider what it says about you… eg.
are you a team player or an individual? |
| Society Memberships |
List the most relevant. |
| Referees |
Optional but recommended, use 3 maximum. Ensure at least one is an existing or previous manager – provide details on company
name, job title and telephone/email/contact details. Graduates should list at least one academic referee. |
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| Format
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There are several different formats, the most common are listed below. Choose one that is suitable for your own career history or the job that you are applying for.
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Chronological
(Recommended for Graduates) |
Details your work history in reverse chronological order. It shows no gaps or changes in your career and is useful to display a continuous work history that is related to your next job opportunity. |
| Functional |
Highlights certain skills, achievements and responsibilities rather than listing your work history. It is ideal for career changing, periods of unemployment, redundancy or illness. Also useful if you have repetitious job titles. |
| Targeted |
A one off CV targeted for a specific job or vacancy. It concentrates on your potential and what you are capable of. Unlike chronological and functional formats which focus on past work history, this type can be used for specialised positions. |
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| Presentation
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The quality and presentation of your CV is vital when selling yourself. The appearance of your CV is an indication to a prospective employer of the type of person that may be working in their environment. The following guideline is a sure fire way to avoid yours being rejected. |
The Good CV…
- Is no more than 2 pages max - long CV’s are regarded as time wasting. (If you have an extensive work history, use no more than a maximum of 4 pages.)
- Clearly states who you are, where you have been and what you have got to offer. Put your name in bold at the top of your CV and in a minimum of 12-14pt.
- Looks attractive - is well laid out, structured and easy to read.
- Include a catchy Personal Profile to grab the reader’s attention.
- Try to print on good quality paper - it may be circulated around several departments. Also remember to print on one side of the paper only.
- Use bulleted lists - short and concise points are clean and informative.
The Bad CV
- Avoid excessive references to “I, he or she” - Alternatively write “Employed as a Seismic Interpreter with 6 months practical experience in …..”
- Check for common spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. Have someone read your CV, family and peers know your strengths and weakness and are often
more than willing to criticise.
- Don’t draw attention to any negative descriptions - the idea of a CV is to sell yourself.
- Try not to highlight gaps in your academic history – this might cause the reader to have doubts/questions about you. However, if you had a gap year and did something interesting or relevant to the job, ensure you include this information.
- Avoid listing too many interests and personal information - think about what it is relaying to the reader.
And The Ugly CV!
- Avoid excessive use of CAPITALS, underlining,
bold and italics, large fonts -
NOT VERY USER FRIENDLY
- Don’t write long sentences, paragraphs or ramble - aim for concise information, less text is easier to read
- Make sure it is not disorganised and unstructured - don’t make the reader switch back and forth between pages
- Avoid too many graphics, colours, rigid formatting
- Embedding photos - different software might distort your appearance – so be careful
The cyclical nature of the Oil and Gas Industry means that it is unlikely you will have a job for life. Therefore, your CV should be a dynamic report continually modified to reflect your latest skills and achievements. It needs to be immediately at hand for any new opportunities, enabling you to secure your ‘perfect job’!
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