1. EL562 CV Assignment www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm Bruce Woodcock
University of Kent Careers and Employability Service
You can download a copy of this presentation at

2. CV Assignment
To produce a high quality CV appropriate for applying for electronics jobs.
The deadline for handing in CV Assignment to the EDA General Office is: Wednesday 26th November
You may lose marks if it is handed in later.
CV must be done on a Word Processor.

4. How not to do it …
I enclose a tea-bag so you can enjoy a cuppa while perusing my form
I do not have any major achievements that I would consider to be of interest to this application.
Hi, I want 2 get a job with U
I have good writen comunication skills
I want experience in a big sex practice
In my spare time I enjoy hiding my horse
At secondary school I was a prefix
I hope to hear from you shorty

5. Skills gained on a Kent Electronics degree
Gather and analyse relevant information from a wide variety of sources
Identify and propose solutions to problems
Work with others in the preparation and presentation of group work (group projects)
Project management
Technical skills
Work independently (individual projects)
Communicate with others in a clear and articulate manner
Present ideas and arguments verbally in presentations and seminars, and informal discussions

6. How to “sell” your degree
List relevant modules (plus marks if good!)
Projects – especially if relevant
IT skills
Soft skills – evidence of teamwork, project management, problem solving etc.
For non-IT jobs (e.g. banking) you would need a different CV focusing on your soft skills more than technical skills.

7. Work Experience
Summer 2000 Sainsbury's, Canterbury Checkout assistant This job developed my ability to deal with the public and work under pressure Don’t feel you have to include every job “In addition to the above, I have held a variety of temporary jobs during school and university vacations, including fruit-picking, factory work, bar work and waiting on tables”

8. Interests Reading, cinema, stamp-collecting, travel
Cinema: member of the University Film-Making Society
Travel: traveled through Europe by train this summer in a group of four people, visiting historic sites and improving my French and Italian
Reading: helped younger pupils with reading difficulties at school

9. Example CVs
Electronics CV Example CV Checklist

10. CV Marking Criteria
Pleasing appearance: and clear logical layout. The 10 second quality test: hold the CV at arms length and look at it for a few seconds. Does it look pleasing to the eye?
Clear structure with appropriate headings and logical development. Carefully organised. Identified sections (e.g. Education, Work Experience). At least a line gap between sections. Name in big letters at start. Normally Education before Work Experience for a student CV.
Don't separate education and qualifications: try to keep all the information about a particular topic together in one place on the CV, rather than fragmented throughout.
Absence of spelling, grammatical and syntax errors. Correct capitalisation
Modules, projects, technical skills gained and grades (if good!) for vocational courses. Neat alignment.
Reverse chronological order – most recent jobs first.
Lively writing style.  Use of positive, active language. Easy to easy to read and pick out important information. Appropriately selected examples to provide evidence that you have the skills, interests and personal attributes to do the job and fit into the organisation.
Describe key tasks, responsibilities and skills gained from work experience e.g. customer service skills.
Concise and to the point - no more that 2 sides of A4. Short, clear phrases. Use of bold and italic to draw eye to key points. Good use of bullets. Proper bullets rather than hyphens Just one or two sensible fonts e.g. Tahoma 10 points. Not too small font sizes. Larger fonts for subheadings.
No dense paragraphs - a good rule is no more than 7 or 8 lines in a paragraph. If more, separate into smaller paragraphs, use bullets or bold out key words.
Interests. A broad variety? Social and active rather than solitary and passive interests? Serious commitment to at least one activity? Evidence of getting on well with other people? e.g. team sports. Independent or challenging holidays/foreign travel? Organising or leadership experience/evidence of taking responsibility?

11. The Covering Letter Your CV is incomplete without it!
Accompanies and amplifies the CV
Be clear and concise - one side of A4 is sufficient
Use same font as CV

12. The Covering Letter First Paragraph State the job you’re applying for.
Where you found out about it.
When you're available to start work (& end if it's a placement)
Second Paragraph
Why your interested in that type of work
Why the company attracts you (if it's a small company say you prefer to work for a small friendly organisation!)
Third Paragraph
Summarise your strengths and how they might be an advantage to the organisation.
Relate your skills to the job.
Last Paragraph
Mention any dates that you won't be available for interview
Thank the employer and say you look forward to hearing from them soon.

13. Web Pages
Applications and Interviews
Practice Interviews: Questions asked at IT interviews plus skills needed for IT jobs.
Electronics/CSE Careers Page
Placements
Gradcracker great site for electronics jobs and placements

14. Streamed Videos
INTERVIEWS
ON-LINE APPLICATIONS
ASSESSMENT CENTRES
All last about 25 minutes and are excellent!

15. 2nd Year Career Plan
Start to decide which job or postgraduate course you want to aim for in your final year.
I will send you an every Monday on vacation work, careers presentations on campus, vacancies etc.
Get actively involved in university life so you have evidence of teamwork, organising, leadership etc. skills for your CV.
Apply early: closing dates are often in December.

16. Bruce Woodcock Deal with all Science and IT students
An adviser is on duty for short (15 minute) queries weekday MORNINGS (10.30 am pm) and AFTERNOONS (2 to 4 pm). You don’t need to book an appointment, just ask at the helpdesk in the Careers Service.

17. Location of the Careers Service

18. Careers Employability Award on Moodle
Assessed by a range of quizzes and assignments
Will greatly improve your career planning and jobhunting skills, giving you strategies to make career choices and will increase your chances of getting a graduate level job.
Takes about 12 hours to complete
On completion you will get a University of Kent Careers Employability Award to add to your CV
Get 60 Kent Employability points for successful completion of the module.
Search for DX_CEA in Moodle

19. CV Assignment
To produce a high quality CV appropriate for applying for electronics jobs.
The deadline for handing in CV Assignment to the EDA General Office is: Wednesday 26th November
You may lose marks if it is handed in later.
CV must be done on a Word Processor.

20. EL562 CV Assignment www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm Bruce Woodcock
University of Kent Careers and Employability Service
You can download a copy of this presentation at