The CV
If you find that you’d rather match socks or run a marathon than do your own CV, don’t worry. Most of us feel exactly the same way. Our jobsforsecurity guide should take the edge of the pain and help you keep your CV in tiptop condition.
Having a CV is important
While most companies will ask you to fill out an application form and write a personal statement, it's useful to keep your CV up-to-date and on hand. You may be asked to submit one in the initial stages of an application, or you might just find that you want to contact a company you really want to work for.
Doing your own CV from scratch is, for some of us, the most awful chore in the world. Selling yourself is hard. Make it easier on yourself and update it regularly.
Keep it bespoke, not general
Whilst it's essential, especially in the security industry, to be scrupulously honest in your CV, it should reflect and talk up the skills you have to offer a company. The CV you show for a venue manager, say, might not be quite the same as the CV you show for a sales job, for example. If you're applying to the public sector, highlight your experience in the private sector - and vice versa. Tailor it to suit its purpose and read it through with this in mind every time you send it to someone.
Be concise, to the point and accurate
Assume your CV will be skim-read along with a pile of others competing for the same job. Your achievements, skills and experience must stand out and every scrap of information must be relevant to the post you're interested in. (Also assume that the person reading it has an eagle eye for spelling and grammar. Your CV must be immaculate.)
Getting started
If you're not sure what companies are looking for, do some research. Check the jobs pages, check their websites - and the websites of their competitors. If you've been out of the job-searching loop for a while, you might have found the jargon's changed a bit. Understand it, but don't feel obliged to use it - if you're not comfortable with it, it'll show through. Anyway, people who rely on jargon are usually trying to hide their own insecurities.
Gathering the essential information and putting it in order
Here's a good structure for your CV to take. CVs should be as standard as possible. Don't be tempted with fancy fonts, photos or other twiddly bits that distract from the job in hand, which is to give out as much professional information about you in as little space as possible.
1) At the top: who you are and how to get hold of you
Name
Address
Telephone
Mobile
Website if it's relevant
Centre these. You could put your date of birth if you want to, but is it relevant? Probably not. They'll get an idea of your maturity and experience from a glance at your CV.
2) A paragraph that sums up You
This is the most important part of your CV. In no more than three or four lines, say what you're looking for in your new post, challenges you're ready for, your core skills, your software knowledge and how good your contacts are in the industry. Any professional licences and letters after your name belong here.
This paragraph should be snappy and every word must count.
3) Your education
Your most recent qualifications should come first, including professional ones and any short, even one-day courses you've done that are relevant.
Don't feel obliged to include every academic qualification you ever earned. Only include the most recent, the highest and the relevant. If you're young - under 25 and have a degree, then include your A level results, but if you're older, anything under your degree grade is unlikely to be relevant. If you left with GCSEs or O levels, list how many you have. If the grades aren't great just say GCSEs including a, b c, d and e with a B grade in e, for example.
You don't need to include your school(s) - unless you're very young. You should, though, list the location of any FE and HE colleges you've attended.
4) Your employment history
Because you work in security, your history need to be totally vettable. So explain any gaps, briefly - you can explain in more detail (and provide any evidence needed) with an application form.
Employment details should include:
- Date range of employment, name of most recent employer, location
A brief synopsis of your job. If you can, a bulleted list of your achievements in this job is very useful. Don't underestimate what an achievement is - from getting the rest of your team using a computer, to successfully installing a new system (or being part of a team that was involved with it), every little thing should be talked up. Do not take these things for granted. This is, possibly, the hardest part of the CV.
Anything that happened on your watch that can be backed up with statistics, such as reduced crime rates or improved response rates - is CV gold. Include them at all costs. If you learned and became competent or expert in specific software or technical packages in a post, say so.
- Match their skill and experience requirements
Your application form will require a statement from you where you match your skills and experience to those required on the job spec. but you should make sure that, if you have what they require, it's seen on your CV.
If your technical or software knowledge is extensive, it's worth giving that a section on your CV all of its own.
6) Non-relevant work history
Because you're in the security industry you need to be vettable, so make sure that all periods of your adult working life are covered. If you've worked in different industries, say so, but keep the information brief. They don't need to know what you learned as your ten years teaching geography or breeding dogs, unless it brings a quality or skill that's relevant to the job you're interested in. If you've been in the army, or police service, or a job that does bring certain experience, then talk it up.
7) Other information
By law, you have to have proven permission to work in this country, and every employer is obliged to check that. At the end of your CV, say that you are either a UK passport holder, or a holder of a visa or whatever it is that makes you legal.
This is the place to include that you hold a driving licence, too.
Don't include personal information such as domestic arrangements or hobbies - you can do that in your covering letter or personal statement in your application form.
You don't need to include details of referees, either. Who you choose to be your referees might depend on the job your applying for. You can say that references are available on request.
Topping and tailing - the details that make it right
Your CV should be either one page, if you're young, two pages if you're in work many years, three pages at an absolute push. Two is best. If you've really been around so many places that you need more than three, you need to edit past information and concentrate on the most recent. It's what the employer will be interested in anyway. And you're only including what's relevant too.
Avoid half pages - they're just as untidy as CVs with too much information. Use the font size and the spacing to get it looking right. Keep to a basic font like Arial, Helvetica or Times New Roman, using either a 10, 11 or 12 point size, depending on how your pages look. Check grammar and spelling, and get several other people to check it for you.
We're adding some sample CVs very soon. If you're proud of yours and you'd like it to appear on these pages, send it in. We'll take a look and if we agree it's a good 'un, we'll put it online.
