Preparing a successful, role-specific curriculum vitae

Author

Bob Price, Healthcare education and practice development consultant, Surrey, England.

Short description

All nurses will apply for new positions at some stage during their professional career. This module advises readers how to prepare a successful CV when applying for a specific post.

Detailed description

An internet search reveals just how many articles there are on preparing a curriculum vitae (CV). The preparation of a CV should not be regarded as a'one-off' event, to be updated periodically. A successful CV requires thoughtful preparation to ensure it is directed towards a specific post and should consider two important perspectives. First, an understanding of what is required of the practitioner in the nursing post (demand), and second, what the nurse can offer in terms of his or her skills, experience, qualities and qualifications (supply). The demands of the post will also include meeting professional standards, such as those that have emerged following consideration of the Francis report (2013). This module explores how to prepare a successful CV for a specific role, using a demand and supply perspective - where a nurse seeks to match the specific requirements of the post by summarising what he or she has to offer.

Module overview

An internet search reveals just how many articles there are on preparing a curriculum vitae (CV). The preparation of a CV should not be regarded as a ‘one-off’ event, to be updated periodically. A successful CV requires thoughtful preparation to ensure it is directed towards a specific post and should consider two important perspectives. First, an understanding of what is required of the practitioner in the nursing post (demand), and second, what the nurse can offer in terms of his or her skills, experience, qualities and qualifications (supply). The demands of the post will also include meeting professional standards, such as those that have emerged following consideration of the Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry (Francis 2013). This module explores how to prepare a successful CV for a specific role, using a demand and supply perspective – where a nurse seeks to match the specific requirements of the post by summarising what he or she has to offer.

Keywords

career development, curriculum vitae, CV, jobs, workforce

Aim

This module aims to help the reader to prepare a successful curriculum vitae (CV) that demonstrates what they have to offer in response to an advertised nursing post.

Intended learning outcomes

After reading this module and completing the time out activities you should be able to:

• Describe the main components of a CV.
• Understand why it is important to review the job description of the post concerned and your personal and professional skills.
• Summarise important considerations in the preparation of your personal statement.
• Outline important aspects in the presentation of a CV.

Introduction

Before qualifying as a registered nurse, students may be encouraged to prepare a CV that they can present to potential employers. Their CV is then sent to these prospective employers, either with or without a completed job application form – as the employer requirement dictates. A short covering letter– setting out the post the applicant is interested in and briefly stating why the applicant is interested in it – is a common requirement. If an employer states no CV should be sent, then this requirement should be respected.

Generic CV versus customised CV

The process of preparing a CV for a new role is likely to be repeated at various points during a nurse’s career.

• Writing a generic CV, where the nurse produces a general CV and updates it periodically, may seem cost and time-effective, but it is less likely to achieve success than a CV specifically written for an identified post. It is recommended that a CV be written with a clear purpose and a known post in mind (Pearce 2007, Peate 2013, Paton 2014).
• In a generic CV, too little attention is given to what the employer is looking for (demand), with the emphasis on what the nurse can offer (supply). Employers are increasingly fine-tuning their employee requirements (Hoque et al 2008), so it is less likely that a generic CV will suffice.
• A generic CV might not address the latest professional standard requirements, such as those that have emerged as a result of the Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry (Francis 2013) including the 6Cs – care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment (Department of Health (DH) 2012). The UK government’s National Careers Service (2014a) identifies a range of different types of CV, further emphasising the fact one type of CV cannot fulfil all requirements.

This module focuses on the pursuit of a specific identified post using a customised CV as an effective tool. It is accepted that some components of your CV – your personal details and educational qualifications, for example – can be prepared in advance as part of your CV template, but other components will need to be customised for each application under consideration.

Definition

For the purposes of this module, a CV is defined as a short document that profiles all the relevant skills, experience, education and qualities that the nurse identifies in response to an identified nursing post. It is typically no more than two (or exceptionally three) pages long. In essence, a CV is a precise and succinct summary of what the nurse has to offer a specific role.

Learning Points

1. Students may be encouraged to prepare a CV to be presented to the potential employers before qualifying as a registered nurse. The CV can then be sent to the prospective employers with a completed job application form and a short covering letter, if a CV is required.
2. Although writing a generic CV may seem cost and time-effective, it is less likely to achieve success than a CV specifically written for an identified post.
3. A CV is defined as a short document that profiles all the relevant skills, experience, education and qualities that the nurse identifies in response to an identified nursing post. It is typically no more than two (or exceptionally three) pages long.
4. It is accepted that some components of the CV such as personal details and educational qualifications, can be prepared in advance as part of the CV template but other components will need to be customised for each application.

Main components

CVs may vary in format and some CVs are longer than others, for example in higher education where publications and research grants may be listed. However, many components are common to most CVs (Table 1).

Table 1 presents the main components of a CV in a familiar order, but it is possible to reorder these to emphasise a particular facet or facets of your credentials. After presenting your personal details, for example, your focus might shift to your employment record, emphasising considerable experience and perhaps a variety of roles covered in past work. Alternatively, the emphasis of your CV might move to education and training after your personal details, especially if you possess not only the required educational qualifications but also additional desirable qualifications. Reordering the components of your CV can change its effect on the reader, emphasise certain aspects over others and help to project the image that you wish to convey. CVs should be precise and written using professional language.

Table 1. Main components of a curriculum vitae (CV)

CV component	What to include
Personal details	Your name, postal address, email address, and contact telephone numbers.
Personal profile	A succinct summary (typically one short paragraph) of who you are and what you offer as a healthcare professional, focusing on the requirements of the identified post. Your personal profile should convey important attitudes and values that may be integral to the success of the post concerned. It is important to ensure your profile demonstrates care and compassion, for example (Department of Health 2012). Your personal profile may be written in the first person (‘I’), or the third person (‘This nurse…’). Refer to the section in this module on writing a personal statement for more information.
Employment history and work experience	Conventionally your employment history is presented with your most recent position first, working backwards through time to your earliest relevant work experience. You need to detail your post, employer and dates of employment (start and finish) for each position. You should also include sabbaticals and breaks in work, indicating what was done during these periods.
Education and training	Detail all qualifications relevant to the post, indicating the date when each was obtained and the educational institution. Any specific achievements – such as securing a distinction in subject areas – should be made clear.
Professional interests and achievements	This component typically includes professional activities that extend beyond the requirements of your most recent role, indicating the breadth of your experience and skills. It is often used to demonstrate the nurse’s commitment to professional update and an ongoing commitment to healthcare improvement.
Additional information	This component is used to capture other activities, skills and experience that have a special relevance to the identified post. For example, interpersonal skills and teamwork used as part of practice development work. If you have written about professional projects completed in the previous component, then you might detail here specific skills used in completing the projects that relate to the job description.
References	Conventions vary about whether referees are named in a CV or are indicated as available on request. It is important to check employer expectations when a CV has been requested. Where a referee is named, it is vital he or she consent in advance to providing a reference. Typically, one of the referees should be the last manager for whom you worked. If no referees are required by the employer at this stage, you can state that ‘referee details will be supplied on request’.

Visit the following link on UK government National Careers Service website, to read about CV formats: nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/getajob/cvs/Pages/formats.aspx

How does the ordering of the CV components and the different emphases in the different formats seem to affect the CV as you see it?

Do you think that one approach is more appealing and if so list the reasons for this?

Personal details

Personal details in your CV can be kept short. There is no requirement to add details about your marital status or your age. There is no requirement either to add a photograph. You do, however, need to supply your postal address, email address and telephone numbers. You may choose to add your professional social media links there – such as LinkedIn – but be sure you would wish to share any information stored in these with a prospective employer.

Employment history and work experience

It is important to ensure your relevant periods of employment are accurately recorded in the employment and work experience component of your CV, and that these are consistent with information stated in your job application form. It is worth ensuring you have these details correct because referees might later state different dates for your employment, casting doubt on details supplied.

If you have had time out from employment, then indicate what you used that for, especially if you were studying, or completing a travel sabbatical. A range of courses and external activities suggests to the employer that you have a breadth of experience and active interest in improving your practice. If there have only been one or two recent posts, it is a good idea to present bullet points on the achievements and insights you gained in each. Employment from more than five years ago can be summarised briefly.

Education and training

Educational qualifications recorded in your CV should be relevant to the intended post. The most recent and senior qualifications are usually emphasised (Thornbory 2006). A nurse preparing a CV in his or her thirties, for example, is not usually required to provide details of school qualifications. However, he or she should record both academic and professional qualifications that have a bearing on the post. It is appropriate to add one or two brief notes associated with a qualification, provided these relate to the job description, for example, ‘this degree included modules on ethics and counselling and I achieved a distinction’. You should highlight your accomplishments in both your work experience and the education courses you have completed (Shellenbarger and Chunta 2007). Eggert (2007), writing about creating more impressive CVs, highlighted that it is a good idea when making statements about your achievements, to feature (F) clearly what you have achieved, explain how that was done (analysis – A) and then show what effect it had in benefitting (B) others (FAB).

Complete time out activity 

Consider how you might distinguish between the ‘professional interests and achievements’ and the ‘additional information’ components of your CV for a potential role. Will the first be about additional work done and what that has taught you and the second about skills that you wish to emphasise?

Write notes on why you think it is important not to repeat the same points in both components.

Reviewing the job description

The personal details and the educational qualifications components of your CV can be completed first, and a chronology of past employment – simple statements of fact – added. Other entries on your CV need to be informed by two additional activities however. The first is close scrutiny of the job description. Job descriptions vary in quality; at worst they conflate the duties for which the nurse will be responsible with the skills and the aptitudes they must show. They may be presented as a lengthy series of duties and then finish with a caveat, ‘and the nurse shall be responsible for such other duties as the post will demand as service requirements change’.

Poor quality job descriptions leave the applicant to infer what qualities or skills are required, from the list of duties the nurse is asked to undertake. Better job descriptions make clear distinctions between professional qualities, skills, educational qualifications and experience required. Some well written job descriptions make explicit use of The NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (DH 2004).

Prepare a guide on what your current post requires of you, to help sensitise yourself to the process of spotting skills requirements in a job description. Refer to your own job description and to what you have discovered in practice. Highlight the skills you use daily and those that help to determine your expertise. When you look at this guide, which of the skills from Table 2 seem important?

It is easy to become confused by detail when reading a job description that may be four or five pages long. There is often so much included about relevant patient groups, the team in which the nurse will work and the changes under way in employer organisation, that doubts may arise about whether the post is yet clear and coherent. It is worth making a note of anything that still seems ambiguous when analysing the job description, because this might be an area about which you can ask the interview panel, should you be shortlisted for the role.

It is important to identify the recurring skill requirements that are of greatest interest to those who have composed the job description (Table 2). Identifying these requirements will help you to decide what you should emphasise in the CV that you prepare for this post. Your CV should be designed to highlight the matches between your skills and those required by the job description. It is the means by which you can sell your persona to future employers, assuring them you can relate well to the challenges the post presents and manage them effectively.

Table 2. Common skills that recur in job descriptions

Skill	Explanatory notes
Creativity and innovation	These skills are important in research and practice development posts and in posts that involve policy or protocol development. They are also valuable in healthcare organisations that are undergoing rapid change.
Teamwork	Working respectfully, flexibly and constructively with others is a common job description requirement, but especially so in specialist practice teams. Healthcare organisations rely on teamwork to develop a service and to sustain morale when work pressures are heavy. Remember that Compassion in Practice (Department of Health (DH) 2012) emphasises the importance of communication and commitment, which are part of teamwork as well.
Persuading others and negotiating change	Traditionally, these are described as leadership skills, but in practice persuasion and negotiation are important to a much wider range of practitioners. Healthcare change needs to be consultative and consensual and involves asserting your expertise, so you will need to be courageous (DH 2012). Without these skills, practitioners might concede change that disadvantages vulnerable patients, so look out for this requirement.
Managing work pressures (resilience)	Senior and specialist posts often require resilience, a conviction about your abilities and a willingness to persist with a project when conditions are tough. Personal conviction might be important especially when partnered with teamwork.
Planning and structuring work	Quality nursing care is often about being methodical, attending to detail and working in a rational way. These skills appear in a wide range of job descriptions. They are important in roles where you have a fair degree of independence in decisions made.
Analysing and solving problems	It is arguable that this is the central skill in much nursing care. It is widely valued in a high pressure care environment, so you are likely to find it in many job descriptions.
Demonstrating insight and empathy for others, patients and colleagues alike	Compassion is essential in all patient care (DH 2012), so you are likely to find this as a common feature in job descriptions.
Based on skill profile categories sourced from National Careers Service (2014b)

Table 2 highlights some of the skills that have widespread application in nursing job descriptions. It is important to remember there may also be discrete skill requirements, for example, those associated with a particular treatment regimen. Information technology skills may also be important, because health care requires clear records and working within hospital systems.

Learning Points

1. Pay close attention to the job description. Job descriptions may vary in quality. Poor quality job descriptions leave the applicant to infer what qualities or skills are required, from the list of duties the nurse is asked to undertake.
2. Note anything that seems ambiguous when analysing the job description so you can discuss it with the interview panel if shortlisted for the role.
3. It is important to identify the recurring skill requirements that are of greatest interest to those who have composed the job description. Identifying these requirements will help the nurse to decide what should be emphasised in the CV.
4. The common skills that recur in job descriptions are creativity and innovation, teamwork, persuading others and negotiating change, managing work pressures, planning and structuring work, analysing and solving problems and demonstrating insight and empathy for others, patients and colleagues alike.

Personal skills and achievements

After the important skill requirements of the post have been identified (demand), attention shifts to what skills you have to offer (supply). The match between the two is rarely exact and you may wonder whether you have a reasonable balance of skills, or an adequate complement of skills, to offer. You may be unsure exactly what your skill profile consists of. Much of what is done in practice has become tacit, such that the nurse has proceeded without a great deal of conscious introspection associated with his or her actions (Van Der Zande et al 2014). It is only when you aspire to a new post that you are suddenly confronted with the need to make explicit what you are able to do.

Where your skill profile is not easily discerned from your current role, it is a good idea to run a skill inventory check that helps you to ascertain what your strengths and limitations are. Reviewing your skills in this way will help you to decide whether you should apply for the advertised post, and can also help you to detail precisely where your skills are strongest and best match those required in the job description. It is worth remembering that few applicants will be a perfect match for the post. There are always compromises to be addressed, so you should not be despondent if your CV covers most but not all of the requirements.

Complete time out activity 

On the National Careers Service website at the following link: nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/tools/skillshealthcheck/Pages/default.aspx, complete an online diagnostic questionnaire, acknowledging your personal skills. The questions of the ‘skills health check’ are private and lead to a report you can use to review your own skill profile. Complete the skills health check and print the resultant report. Are you surprised by your report?

The skills health check report you obtained from time out activity 4 is divided into skills areas similar to those presented in Table 2. The questions are arranged such that you are challenged repeatedly to make choices about which statements best reflect your abilities. The survey helps highlight skills you think you have and those about which you have doubts. The report feeds back your perceptions to you. It is possible to revisit those perceptions and test whether they are substantiated in what you do in your current role.

So once you have your report, it is a good idea to discuss it with a trusted clinical colleague, comparing the skills required for your current role, as identified in time out activity 3, with your skills as revealed in the report from time out activity 4. Time spent reaching a balanced appraisal of your skills is time well spent, because this is one of the aspects that will be revisited in interview, should you be shortlisted. For example, the interviewer might say ‘now tell us about your key strengths and why these are important to the job that we wish to fill?’.

Noting your skill strengths and limitations on paper will help you to decide what you will accentuate in your CV in the ‘additional information’ component. The skills you note here will be those that are recurring requirements in the job description you have scrutinised. You are helping the employer to identify the most prominent matches between their skill demand and your skill supply. In making a note of your skills it is important to substantiate what you are claiming.

Example

Instead of stating:

‘I am an empathetic person who quickly understands the needs of others’

it is better to say:

‘My recent work dealing with patient complaints at the NHS trust exemplify how I am able to develop a rapport with service users. I have been commended on three occasions for helping patients understand what the departmental staff were trying to do.’

It is important to illustrate and substantiate the skills you claim. Box 1 shows examples of statements that illustrate skills in use.

Box 1. Examples of statements that illustrate skills in use

• ‘I led a project at work to involve patients directly in planning self-care teaching of people with diabetes (F – feature). We used group forums to pilot the teaching approach used (A – analyse). As a result of this my leadership work was commended by patient members of the group forums to the chief executive (B – benefit).’
  (Skills: creativity and innovation, teamwork, persuading and negotiating.)
• ‘My work with cancer patients frequently involves the careful analysis of problems they experience, as they see them (F). I have recorded some of the best-case solutions we have found so that patients and families can learn from these experiences (A). As a result of this, a recent Care Quality Commission report has highlighted this resource as best practice (B).’
  (Skills: analysing and solving problems, demonstrating insight and empathy, planning and structuring work.)
• ‘During the past year our team was reconfigured and each of us had to revise our duties (F). It was stressful for us all as colleagues (A), however, the self-help group I formed helped my colleagues to work through the change. Three colleagues have complimented me on my support in their annual appraisal reports (B).’
  (Skills: teamwork, demonstrating insight and empathy, managing work pressures.)
• ‘Last year we introduced an electronic care record system, one that helps the organisation to audit trail care outcomes (F). It challenged me, because I was not so experienced in using information technology (A), but I learned what was required and then became the adviser on the system in our ward. My manager has commended my work, stating I am a good source of advice on the record system (B).’
  (Skills: technology, analysing and solving problems, showing resilience, teamwork).

Note

Selected statements may demonstrate more than one skill. If you wish to make a particular connection to the post’s skill requirements, a connecting statement can be added, for example: ‘My work running some of the partners-in-care group meetings with patients who have arthritis, and helping them to feel involved in our research programme, will assist me to develop rapport with a wider group of patients invited to take part in research trials in this new post’.

What you claim in your CV should be truthful (Paton 2014). If you fabricate information you could leave yourself open to censure later. It is important to highlight your strengths and to be robust about your achievements, but do not overstate your claims. In regard to your skill limitations, it is better to offer a measured and honest appraisal that some of your skills are still developing. This is not to suggest you should be over-critical, but to suggest that measured candour might work to your advantage. The ability to be self-critical is an important skill – one that especially commends a nurse who is applying for a leadership post where an understanding of personal strengths and limitations is vital.

Remember, if you overstate your skills and secure the post, you may experience considerable anxiety trying to live up to the claims in your CV and/or your actual ability may be exposed quickly. If you have to complete a probationary period before your post is confirmed, you might run into further difficulties as unrealistic claims are exposed.

Having completed the job description and personal skill review, you should now be in a position to complete the ‘professional interests and achievements’ component of your CV, selecting activities that closely match the skills that the recruiters are searching for, and the ‘additional information’ component, where you can demonstrate why your past experience and skills would be valuable in the new post. Two of the more taxing components of your CV to complete will then have been addressed using a little reflection. You are then ready to write a personal statement and to complete the final checks on your CV before it is sent to the prospective employer.

Learning Points

1. After identifying the important skill requirements of the post, nurses should pay attention to the skills they have to offer.
2. It is a good idea to run a skill inventory check that helps to ascertain the strengths and limitations of an individual when the skill profile is not easily discerned from the current role.
3. It is worth remembering that few applicants will be a perfect match for the post, so do not be despondent if your CV covers most, but not all, of the requirements.
4. Noting your skill strengths and limitations on paper will help you to decide what to accentuate in the CV in the ‘additional information’ component.
5. It is important to highlight strengths and to be robust about your achievements but not to overstate your claims.
6. After completing the job description and personal skill review, you should be ready to complete the ‘professional interests and achievements’ component. This involves selecting activities that closely match the skills that the recruiters are looking for and the ‘additional information’ component to demonstrate how past experience and skills would be valuable in the new post.

Writing a personal statement

Peate (2013) emphasises the importance of ‘self-concept’ in preparing a successful CV. In preparing your CV you need a keen sense of who you are, what you stand for, what you are good at and the expertise you can provide. While your CV is written for others, it must also represent accurately what you do and what you can commit to. Paton (2014) argues that the job applicant must be able to demonstrate how up to date he or she is in practice: both the energy and commitment to safe practice today and a willingness to learn in readiness for tomorrow are vital. Tychmanowicz and Kuśpit (2012) remind us of the importance of social competencies in health care. The ability to understand and relate to the needs of patients is vital.

It is a good idea to find out what the employer organisation’s values are, for example safety, kindness, quality assurance and teamwork and to highlight the values you have in common in your personal statement. There is a lot of information you might include in your personal statement but only a limited space within which to present it in your CV. Your personal statement must establish quickly what drives and inspires you, what you are deeply committed to and how that underpins the skills and expertise you hope to offer to a new employer.

Your personal statement is the essence of what you have to offer and it is for this reason that this should appear last in your CV. Just as the abstract of a module is often written last – when the author knows exactly what is contained in their writing – so the personal statement is often written last, when you know what you have presented in the rest of your CV.

Some nurses write their personal statement in the third person singular, as though they were another person. For example, ‘A committed professional who is up to date in evidence-based practice and a decisive and strategic leader in healthcare change.’ This works well at the executive level, as it sounds appropriately incisive. However, for many other posts, especially clinical ones where the 6Cs (DH 2012) are important, the first person singular might be better. For example, a statement might then include the following: ‘I am a professional committed to working closely with patients to design care that is patient-centred as well as realistic, given resource constraints.’ The first person singular approach has immediate appeal because employers need to know how you feel about delivering care and what excites and sustains you in it. They may be employing you for many years and during that time you will need to demonstrate compassionate, caring, exemplary practice.

As with other components of your CV, your personal statement should pay close attention to what the job description suggests the employer is looking for. What sort of person is suggested in the job description? Is this person confident, someone who takes the initiative but can work well with colleagues? Are they a change agent, someone willing to propose new ideas? How is the role portrayed in relation to the relationship with patients, relatives and others such as social services colleagues?

Your personal statement is where you describe what you truly believe in, as well as promoting yourself to the employer (Box 2). If you summarise yourself in ways that do not reflect your true values, you will misrepresent yourself, something that you might later regret as you wrestle with the expectations of your employer once in post.

Box 2. Example of a personal statement, for a lead nurse post in an orthopaedic rehabilitation service team

Statement

• ‘Working empathetically with a range of healthcare colleagues to meet exacting resource standards and in situations where patient satisfaction is also critical, I am used to planning and delivering compassionate care that is well evaluated by patients, relatives, colleagues and managers. I am inquisitive, collegiate, enthusiastic and demonstrate a track record in professional development and project management that equip me to make a practical, immediate and measurable contribution to care standards in orthopaedic nursing.’

Notes

• The post is for an orthopaedic rehabilitation team nurse leader who must alter the service to meet the needs of a wider clientele.
• Two themes have been picked out in this statement: collaborative working, and an ability to manage exacting work to the satisfaction of different partners in care. To an employer this conveys effectiveness and efficiency. It must, however, be substantiated in the rest of your CV.
• The second sentence focuses on the nurse’s energy, enthusiasm and flexibility, and it is highlighted because it reflects the nurse’s nature, he or she has an appetite for learning in practice, and because it addresses what the job description requires.

Complete time out activity 

Practise writing a two or three-sentence personal statement that captures who you are, what you commit to in your current role and what expertise you have. Prepare these in both first and third-person-singular forms.

Which seems more professional? Which represents better what you offer? If you use ‘I’ remember you must focus sharply on what you offer. One of the problems in using ‘I’ is the statement can become less focused, precise and succinct. Then share your statement with a colleague. Is it an accurate reflection of you, your skills and abilities?

Final checks and presentation

Once you have drafted and checked the personal statement for your CV and decided where it will be placed (see time out activity 1), it is time to conduct some final checks on your CV. It is important your CV does not contain spelling errors and your sentences are comprehensible. That usually means they should be relatively short, no more than two or three lines in length. Do not rely on the spell checker of your computer; ask one or more critical readers to review your CV for clarity.

Check for the small but important things. Have you used a clear font? Is the size of the font consistent in your text? It is easy for this to change when you introduce headings into your CV. It is tempting to use a very small font to squeeze more information into your two or three-page CV, but font sizes smaller than 11 point are difficult to read; 12 point font is preferable.

Simplicity and clarity are important: avoid any manuscript fonts designed to look hand written. Ensure your work is presented in a consistent fashion, for example that indentations (used when you list dates of employment, for example) are all set at the same distance from the margin. The visual impression of your text on the page should seem well ordered.

It is best to present your CV on white paper to help the text to stand out. Headings should be in bold and in either 14 or 16 point font throughout. Present your work on good quality paper that suggests you understand the importance of first impressions. Unless you have to submit your application in an employer-supplied smaller envelope, use an A4 size, so that you do not have to fold the paperwork.

This module does not address covering letters and job application forms, but you should ensure what you have presented in your CVtallies with anything stated elsewhere in your documentation. Your covering letter should always be kept brief and serve to signal your interest in the post and to introduce your CV and completed job application to the recruiters. You should avoid trying to replicate or augment the information from your CV in your covering letter.

Learning Points

1. It is important to conduct final checks on the CV to ensure that it does not contain spelling errors and the sentences are comprehensible. The sentences should be relatively short and have a clear and consistent font size.
2. It is best to present the CV on white paper to help the text to stand out. Use bold headings in 14 or 16 point throughout.
3. The covering letter should always be kept brief and serve to signal interest in the post and to introduce the person’s CV and completed job application to the recruiters.

Conclusions

• While CVs can be written that describe your skills and experience quite generally, this module recommends you customise your CVto each job for which you apply.
• The essence of a successful CV is a demonstration that your credentials (supply) match the experience, qualifications and skill requirements of the post (demand). Working on a supply and demand basis will enable you to write a CV that has greater appeal to those who will shortlist applicants for job interview. While this might seem a laborious process, it is one that repays the time spent.
• By reviewing the job requirements and your current skills, you will position yourself correctly to present the right information in different components of your CV. In particular, you will identify the best information to share in the additional information component of your CV. It is this component that can be used to demonstrate how accurately you have identified the requirements of the post and can meet them.
• Your CV is the start of a potential contract of employment. It is important it is truthful and that you are honest in your statements about your beliefs, skills and values.
• Your personal statement should reflect what motivates you and will sustain you in a productive and mutually beneficial working partnership with your employer, should you be successful in securing the role following interview.

• Acronyms

  6Cs: care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment
  CV: curriculum vitae
  FAB: feature analysis benefit
  RCN: Royal College of Nursing

• Glossary

  Curriculum vitae: a short document that profiles all the relevant skills, experience, education and qualities that the nurse identifies in response to an identified nursing post.
  Cover letter: a letter sent with, and explaining the contents of, another document or a parcel of goods.
  Evidence-based practice: the conscientious use of current best evidence in making decisions about patient care, including research and published guidelines.
  Resource constraints: limitations on staffing, equipment and other resources that are necessary to complete a project.

• Useful resources

  Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Career Service (2010) Tips for Completing Application Forms and CVs.www2.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/400430/002769.pdf (Last accessed: January 14 2016.)
  RCN Publishing: Nursing Standard (2014) CV Clinic. journals.rcni.com/page/ns/resources/cv-clinic (Last accessed: January 14 2016.) The clinic offers a review of submitted nurse CVs and a report on their strengths and limitations for a fee of £25.

• References

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