How do I write a CV?
CV Writing
The abbreviation ‘C.V.’ Is Latin for Curriculum Vitae. The phrase means ‘course of life’, and it is a summary of your academic and work history. Employers look at this to decide if you are a suitable candidate for the position they are looking to fill.
Careers Vocabulary
Employment
A relationship between two parties (an employer and an employee). In in the employee agrees to give up their time to do something that the employer wants done, in exchange for money. Where someone wants to work but cannot find an employer they become unemployed. However, if you are able to earn money without an employer, for example by selling services direct to customers, then you are self-employed.
Labour Market
The world of work can be thought of as a marketplace in which some people (employers) are buying and others (employees) are selling their time and effort (labour.)
Occupation
An occupation describes a type of job or a series of closely related jobs. It describes what someone does but doesn’t describe where someone works. So computer programmer is an occupation but the Information Technology industry is a sector.
Recruitment
The process of finding employees to fill vacant job opportunities.
Salary
A regular payment made to someone for the work they do. It is usually described in job adverts as an annual (yearly) sum. However, this annual figure will normally be described as a gross figure (the whole amount paid by the employer) rather than as a net figure (the amount that the employee actually takes home after they have paid taxes, pensions and other deductions).
Sector
The type of organisation that you work for. It doesn’t describe the jobs that individual workers do. So, a school is in the education sector, but it will employ accountants, cleaners, and administrators as well as educators.
STEM
The term STEM describes qualifications and jobs that relate to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. This is a very broad category, but it is important because lots of commentators argue that we don’t have enough workers with STEM qualifications.
Trends
Economists look at what has happened in the past to make a guess about what might happen in the future. For example, they might look at how many agricultural workers are about to retire and how many are being trained to suggest whether there is going to be a need for more agricultural workers in the future. Such information is based on careful analysis, but is best seen as an informed guess rather than a fact.
Workplace Skills
What are Soft Skills?
Soft skills are non-technical skills that relate to how you work. They include how you interact with colleagues, how you solve problems, and how you manage your work.
Below are some ways in which you can improve your knowledge of soft skills, and tips for learning to develop them.
- How to develop your soft skills | National Careers Service
- Programs to develop your children’s soft skills – Soft Kids
Developing soft skills through volunteering:
Understanding Yourself
Who am I, and what career suits me?
Take some time to explore these links to find out about your personality type, your skills and your interests and how these can relate to careers in the future
- Buzz quiz – icould
- Career Personality Test: What Career Suits Me? (careerexperts.co.uk)
- Job Match | Prospects.ac.uk
- Skills assessment | National Careers Service
- Take The ‘Buzz Quiz’ Careers Test. What Job Could You Do? (ucas.com)
- 16 Personalities
- 123 Test
- Business Readiness Assessment
- The Princeton Review – Careers Quiz
- The UCAS Widget – see below
Wellbeing
Advice for dealing with unexpected grades
Covid-19 has had a big impact on teaching, learning and assessments for lots of students this year. After getting your results, it’s important to remember that you have many options to choose from, and there are lots of different ways to reach your goal.
Emotional and mental health support for students
You can find support and advice with assessment results on Childline.
Visit YoungMinds to read about dealing with exam stress.
If you want to speak to someone for mental health support, visit Mind to contact their mental health support helpline.
