We recently held our Autumn term seminar, ‘Stand Out from the Crowd: A CV Writing Seminar from Team Up’ featuring a panel of four experts from a range of industries, who shared their invaluable tips and advice for CV writing with our inspirational volunteer tutors.

The purpose of the event was to help our tutors to create a CV that would make them stand out from the crowd and increase their chances in job applications and subsequent interviews. By the end of the session, each tutor had created a completed CV template, which they can now use for future job applications.

Our panel of industry experts included: Stewart Niblock, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Team Up; Natasha Parkin, a human resources professional with more than 15 years of experience in a number of corporate and not-for-profit organisations; Robert Crittenden, a Project Audit Manager with previous experience in Technology and Digital Risk and as a Royal Engineer Officer in the British Army; and John Mullins, an Investment Director at one of the world’s leading independent asset managers.

The seminar started with the panellists giving their ‘Top Tip’ for writing an outstanding CV, this was followed by a Q&A session, where tutors were able to ask their burning CV-related questions.

Here are just some of the Top Tips and key insights that were discussed during the event:

• Customise your CV for each job that you apply for. You are far more likely to get asked to interview if the skills and experience listed on your CV match the job description of the role that you are applying for.
• Proofread your CV for spelling and grammar mistakes. It can be difficult to reread your own work multiple times, so you could ask a friend or family member to proofread your CV to check for any mistakes.
• Be specific about your achievements in previous academic and professional experiences and provide evidence and examples of these achievements.
• Make sure that your CV reflects who you are as a person and shows what makes you unique. It is important that your opening statement explains who you are as a person and what makes you unique as a potential candidate for the job. Be honest, be accurate and be bold!
• Don’t be afraid to go the extra mile and contact your future employer for the role that you are interested in before applying. Job descriptions can sometimes be copied and pasted and, therefore, might not truly reflect the skills and experience that you will need to thrive in the role. By contacting the hiring manager, you are not only showing bravery and initiative, but this could give you a more accurate picture of what the job role will look like day-to-day, and what the employer is looking for in a potential candidate.
• Keep your CV format clean and simple with clear points detailing your skills and experience. Your CV should be no more than 2 pages, so make sure that you keep it succinct and to the point.

Team Up would like to thank our panel of speakers for their invaluable wisdom and knowledge during the seminar. Each of our speakers brought a wealth of wisdom and advice from their extensive experience in a range of industries.  Many of our fantastic volunteer tutors are currently Sixth Form or University students and their role as a volunteer tutor at Team Up has provided them with a wide range of transferable skills to include in their CVs and job applications which they were able to add to their own CV during the template workshop following the panel.

We hope that this seminar provided our tutors with a range of useful tips and advice for standing out from the crowd when it comes to CV writing and job applications. We wish our tutors the best of luck in their future job searches!

We are pleased to announce our returning UCAS Seminar with Quintessentially Education on 12th March 2024 from 5.30pm. This rare opportunity aims to support Year 12 Sixth Form students through the new UCAS application process and the changes to the personal statement section. Register your interest here to attend.

If you are interested in joining us to tutor on our upcoming programmes (and gain access to more seminars like this!) please contact us on: tutor.applications@teamup.org.uk or apply now to start your Team Up Journey.