CV guidelines for part-time roles

You will need to adapt your CV to every application.

Employers expect your CV to be targeted toward the job you are applying for.

Make sure you include evidence proving that you meet the employer’s requirements. Recruiters spend on average 5-7 seconds looking at a CV, so first impressions count!

A CV for a part-time job may look slightly different from a CV for a professional-level role, such as a placement, internship or graduate job.

Recruiters for part-time roles are more likely to accept a one-page CV. The focus should be placed on your skills, so you could include your Employment and Skills profile above your Education section.

The CV should be tailored toward the job you are applying for.

Design:

• Clear headings for each section
• Professional font (no smaller than size 10, sans serif font)
• Use consistent formatting e.g. spacing, borders, fonts, headings, bold, italics
• Distribute text evenly using the full page – don’t leave large blank spaces
• Use bullet points or short paragraphs to break up block text
• Appropriate length – do not go over two pages. Some recruiters for part-time jobs will be happy to accept just a one-page CV
• Do not put ‘Curriculum Vitae’ at the top - your name should be the title

Structure:

• Order the sections by prioritising the information in which the employer will have most interest
• Typically for a part-time job this could be: Personal details, Personal Profile, Relevant Work Experience, Skills, Education, Interests and Achievements, References

Language:

• Spelling and grammar must be correct – proofread your CV carefully and read it out loud
• Avoid starting too many sentences with ‘I'
• You can use the third person, but don’t use your name, (‘A business student with retail experience’)
• Use action words at the start of bullet points (e.g. ‘managed/coordinated/liaised’)
• Write in short and snappy sentences
• Be consistent with your use of tense – it is generally much easier to write in the past tense

Personal Details:

• Name, address, telephone number, email
• Ensure that you have a professional-sounding email address
• Do not include: date of birth, nationality, marital status, national insurance number, passport number or any other personal information
• Do not include a photograph (unless requested)

Personal Profile (optional):

• A 3-5 line overview of your key selling points for the position you are applying for. You could include details of your availability, for example: A first year psychology student with excellent customer service and communication skills demonstrated through extracurricular activities and group presentations. Currently seeking a part- time role in a fast-paced retail environment. Able to work for up to 20 hours a week including weekends
• You could choose the top three achievements from your CV to help you

Work Experience/Employment History:

• List your job title, place of work, location, type of work (e.g. Work Experience/Volunteering) and the dates you worked there (MM/YY) in reverse chronological order
• Bullet point the responsibilities of the job, your personal achievements/contribution within the role and relevant industry specific or transferable skills you demonstrated
• Do not just list every duty of the job – make it relevant

Skills Profile (optional):

• Choose 4-5 skills that match the job description and order by importance to the job
• Give examples of where you have demonstrated these skills, including some context and emphasising your achievements
• Examples can be gained from work, volunteering, extra-curricular activities and education
• If you include this, you do not need to include as much detail about skills in the rest of the CV

Education:

• List qualifications in reverse chronological order (most recent first)
• List the full course title, provider/institution, dates to and from, and grades so far
• List any relevant professional memberships, (e.g. RICS or CIM Student Member)

Interests and Achievements:

• List your most relevant, recent, interesting or impressive interests and achievements
• Provide some information about what you have achieved for each one, (e.g. Running: recently completed the Nottingham Half Marathon raising over £200 for Cancer Research)
• Do not just put ‘socialising’, ‘going to the cinema’., ‘reading’ etc

References:

Provide contact details for two referees or write ‘references available on request’
Can be previous employers or university tutors – but ask permission first

The purpose of your CV is to show that you match their requirements – make sure you include evidence that proves you meet as many of their requirements as possible

• Use the job description to identify the skills, knowledge, experience and personal qualities the employer is looking for
• Use key words from the job description throughout your application (some companies will use computer software to scan for key words first!)
• Prioritise your information according to the job description– the most relevant information should always go first

If there isn’t a detailed job description then do your research, have a look at the company website, or similar job roles for ideas.

• Your name
• Your address
• Mobile number
• Email address

Personal profile

A first year Graphic Design student with excellent customer service and communication skills demonstrated through previous work experience, extracurricular activities and group presentations. Currently seeking a part-time role in a fast-paced fashion retail environment in Nottingham city centre. Able to work for up to 20 hours a week including weekends.

Key skills

These must be relevant to the job you are applying to and demonstrate your strengths. Make sure that you give brief examples of where you have put them into practice. It could be something along the lines of:

• Customer service: Serving customers and handling complaints professionally when working as a Shop Assistant
• Time management: Meeting deadlines, achieving targets and prioritising workload to ensure all academic coursework has been handed in on time
• Processing payments: Handling cash, operating tills, taking card payments at Sainsbury’s
• Communication: Presenting to peer groups during a branding module project

Employment

Outline key responsibilities in a bullet-pointed list of 3-5 different points

Shop Assistant - Sainsbury’s Local, Crosby2016 – 2018

• Processed customer payments and managed refunds
• Communicated effectively with customers by answering queries and dealing with complaints
• Worked as team to regularly manage stock, promotional campaigns and maintain excellent store condition

Education

BA (Hons) Graphic Design

Nottingham Trent UniversitySept 2019 – Present

• Use this space to write a line or two describing skills you are gaining that are relevant to the role/employer

A Levels: Graphic Design (A), English(C), Textiles (C)

Newtown Sixth Form CollegeSept 2017 – July 2019
NB: If you have space it is worth stating that you have GCSEs, particularly Maths and English

Interests and Achievements

Champion your own achievements, for example sporting tournaments or community/charity events

References available upon request