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Succeed in the workplace
Succeed in the workplace

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6.6 Bringing your CV to your network

Image of the words 'This is me!'.
Figure 11 Promoting yourself

With the uptake of social media, such as LinkedIn, by large companies and recruitment agencies to search for potential employees, it is useful to have both a traditional and online CV.

Your final activity for this week is to use a template to help you to create both.

It is a slightly longer activity than others, but you do not need to do it all in one go. Just remember to keep saving the work you do as you go along.

Activity 6 Creating your CV

Timing: Allow approximately 45 minutes

In the Resource pack [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]   pack you'll find a template for a chronological CV. Complete it with the help of the information that you have gathered in your notebook so far. You may also find it useful to look back at Derek’s CV from earlier in the week.

Once you have completed your CV, you can also use it to create a profile in LinkedIn that can be viewed by potential employers. Here are some tips to help you create a strong profile:

  • Add a photograph. With one, you are apparently seven times more likely to be found on LinkedIn. Remember to choose one which sends an appropriate message.
  • Keep your summary to about three or four paragraphs. It works best if it is written in the first person, (i.e. I am).
  • You may want to show off a portfolio of work by including videos, documents, and links. If you do this, be careful to copyright the ideas you share.
  • Ask people who know your work to recommend you on LinkedIn.
  • Lastly, ask your network contacts to check your profile, they may be able to see gaps that you can’t. Helpfully, LinkedIn automatically suggests how you can improve your profile.

If this feels daunting, remember that you do not need a perfect profile from the start. It is very easy to change or update your LinkedIn profile at any stage. So, start with a basic one and build it up as you become clearer what you want to share and more confident about how to do it.

Once you have a version of your profile you are happy to go public with, you can convert it to a CV.

Comment

Well done for completing this last activity of the week. You should feel proud that you now have a CV to work with. What an achievement.

That was your final activity of this week packed with information to help you understand job adverts, and write relevant and solid job applications and CVs. You can check your understanding in this week’s quiz. There was a lot of information to take on board this week, so remember that you can use your notes or go back to the study material, if you want to check an answer.