Recruitment Portugal

CV TIPS FOR PORTUGAL

Imagine you are a busy employer with over a hundred CVs to look at and only thirty minutes to spare. You will probably sort them into two piles - "possibles" and waste bin! So it is very important that yours is well presented, short (2-3 pages of A4) and relevant to the job you are applying for.

Before you start to compile your CV you must think about the job you are applying for and consider how your skills, education and experience match with those required by the vacancy. Often employers do not give enough information about an opening so spend some time researching details about the job and employer which include their structure, products and business from publicity articles, reports and publications and the internet.

The first thing you should put in your CV are personal details including your name, home address, telephone number, mobile number, email address and date of birth.

Next is education listing the most recent first with institutions you have attended, subjects studied and dates.

Work experience if very important so put your most recent job first with the name of your employer, job title, and a brief outline of duties undertaken and main achievements. Keep this as relevant to the job you are applying for as possible.

Next come your interests, which may not seem an important category, but prospective employers like to see if you have been involved in activities where you have leadership responsibilities or have worked as part of a team. Sole hobbies such as stamp collecting will of less interest to them. Also if you have been involved in any volunteer work be sure to mention it. But keep all this information brief as employers can obtain more details during interview if they are interested.

The section on skills should detail any languages, computer experience and whether or not you hold a current driving licence.

References should include two names of previous employers giving information on their position, relationship to you (ie: line manager) and contact details of their address and telephone number.

When submitting your CV always send a covering letter. Some companies ask for this to be hand written. Take time putting this together and make sure that the spelling and punctuation are correct. It is worth putting in a sentence saying why you feel you would be the right person for the job such as "I believe my previous experience working with (company name) and skills give me the right qualifications to carry out this job".