How To Write A CV After A Career Break
| Career : CV Have you had a prolonged period out of work and are worried about how this will reflect in your CV? then these top tips on brushing off the cobwebs and filling in the gaps may help you. Many people returning to work after extended career breaks struggle with what to write on their CVs about the time they’ve spent out of the workplace. Firstly it is important to recognise that skills are not only learned in the workplace. They are learned through outside interests, relationships and hobbies. So even if you have not been in work for a while you have still been learning and developing new skills. The key is to think out of the box and effectively “brain storm” what you have been doing, what skills you have acquired and how to make this sound relevant and attractive to a potential employer. Here are some top tips to help you identify some key skills and achievements which you can use to help market yourself successfully to a prospective employer. First of all, think about all the activities you’ve been involved in whilst you’ve been at home. For example, maybe you have been a member of your child’s PTA or helped out at a local nursery? Helped organise some major events? Worked as a volunteer? Helped manage a church group? Helped with brownies/scouts? Joined an amateur dramatic society? Gone on a course or two at your local college? Taken up studying on-line? The list is endless… Now all you need to think about is what skills or competencies you used in any of the activities you have been involved in. For example these could include: • Communicating • Problem-solving • Event Management • Negotiating • Time management • Working to deadlines • Multi-tasking • Working without close supervision • Fundraising • Listening • Team-working • Dealing with a crisis • Organising others • Writing letters/reports • Presenting You now have an attractive list of skills but what have you achieved? Prospective employers like to know about achievements as these tell them what competencies you used to make something happen. We have all achieved – the best way to analyse an achievement is to think about a problem or something you were asked to do, then work out what you did to make it happen and finally, what the end result was. For example maybe you project managed the fund-raising for a school event. The achievement could read like this: • Successfully project managed a major fund-raising event, resulting in acquiring over £3,000 for a local charity. By spending a bit of time brainstorming and listing the skills and achievements you’ve identified, you’ll soon find you have two or three (or more!) key skills and achievements to add to your CV that help fill the “maternity” gap. And together with the skills and achievements from your past career your CV will quickly look up to date and interesting.
 Questions about CV writing:
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