CV Builder

Video Transcript: Work Experience

Narrator: In this video employers give advice on how to write about your previous work experiences.

Chris O’Connell, Co-founder, Timothy James Consulting: My advice to anyone writing about their previous experiences is [that it is] actually very important to be descriptive. Some candidates fall into the trap of almost copying and pasting a job description and lumping it on to the CV. More often than not a job description is the bare bones or the skeleton of what you do, but when you actually break it down and interrogate the individual on what they do on a day-to-day basis it far differs from the job description so I would use that [the job description] as a point of reference, but actually describe and quantify what you’ve done in terms of tangible results or tangible day-to-day activities rather than “I delivered a piece of work”, it’s actually the impact of that, what was involved, what responsibilities you had in that area, that kind of thing. So pad that detail rather than just literally listing it off and be descriptive.

Louise Robertson, Chief Marketing Officer, Palm Tree: When you’re looking at work experience (I’ll give an example of real candidate we’ve just taken on): this young lady danced, for charity, bollywood style, for BBC Children in Need. So we’re looking for people that not only work, but have initiative that can go that further step. So yes you may have worked in Waitrose, but what did you do outside of that? How did you volunteer? What have you done for charity? Have you been on a ball committee? Are you in the fresher year group? Give something about your personality in your achievements not just where your Saturday job was in the last six months.

Natasa Patterson, client Services Manager, Call Britannia: The best tips for writing CVs: stick to the point, keep it short, keep it relevant, obviously factual, list your achievements, don’t shy away even if there are many because you will get the chance to explain the reasons why and as much evidence as possible. Try not to be too generic because that is a unique experience you had that is uniquely yours and not just everybody else’s. Just think how many CVs the employer has seen and what would make yours stick out from the crowd.

Clare McIntosh, Head of lateral Recruitment, Morgan Stanley: I think, initially, when you look at it it’s got to be very clear around dates, job title, where you’ve worked. If you then go down to the bullet points really focus on what your achievements have been rather than what your job spec tells you that you should be doing. I always think that when you’re reading a CV and you’re going on to interview someone you’ve got to be able to talk off those bullet points and add a bit more flavour. Those achievements should spark a conversation and that conversation should be relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Narrator: So your work experience should have the relevant details of what you’ve done including date, company name and job title, but you should also make sure you include your achievements in the description of your most relevant jobs rather than just including a job spec and also make sure you use your work experience section as an opportunity to introduce some personality so talk about things you’ve done out side of work if your work experience is limited.

Audio Transcript: Details

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