CV Advice

The Radio Academy Knowledge Bank

Looking for advice about taking your first steps into the radio industry?

The Radio Academy is here to help!

Lay-out Tips

Type your CV in MS Word (or similar), no more than 2 sides of A4.

If you are posting your CV or delivering it in person, print on plain white copier paper. If you don't have access to a computer, get a friend to print it off for you

Use bold and italic typefaces for important information.

The upper middle section of the first page tends to get the most attention - put your most essential information there.

What is a CV?

curriculum vi·tae

n. pl. curricula vitae Abbr. CV

A summary of one's education, professional history, and job qualifications, as for a prospective employer.

When Should a CV be Used?

When a prospective employer requests it
When a prospective employer states "apply to.." without stating a format
When sending a speculative application (ie, when no job has been advertised)

What Makes a Good CV?

Carefully targeted to the specific role
Clear lay-out, easy to read, logically ordered
Informative and concise (bullet points may help)
Accurate content, spelling and grammar (remember SPAG?)

Sample CV

Click here to download our sample CV for our fictional radio hopeful, Rebecca Radioville, who is looking to gain entry-level experience.

What Should a CV Contain?

Personal Details: Name, Address, Date of Birth, Email Address, Phone Number (you may wish to include your gender if you have an ambiguous first name)
Employment History: In chronological order, your last 3 jobs, illustrating the roles and responsibilities involved with each
Work Experience: In chronological order, no more than 3 items, most relevant to the application only, illustrating skills and experience gained
Education & Qualifications: Highest qualification first (ie, a degree) followed by a brief account of any A-Levels or GCSEs you might have, grouped by institution. You may wish to include modules if you feel they apply
Skills: A brief list of useful work-place skills you have (ie, computing, audio editing, customer service) and the programmes and tools you are familiar with (ie, Audacity, MS Word)
Interests & Achievements: any hobbies, interests, clubs, societies, pass-times

Not Heard Back? Don't Get Disheartened...

Research by forum3 (recruitment and volunteering for the not-for-profit sector) suggested:

The average graduate will send out about 70 CVs when looking for their first graduate job. Of these, the average number of responses is seven: roughly half of this number are likely to be interview invitations. This means that Graduates sent out approximately 25 letters per interview gained.

What Can I do to Increase My Chances?

Send out more CVs: the more you send, the more interviews you will get.
Include a covering letter: applicants who included a covering letter with their CV are 10% more likely to get a reply.
Make sure you send it to the right person: 60% of CVs are mailed to the wrong person. Applicants who addressed their application to the correct named person were 15% more likely to get a letter of acknowledgement and 5% more likely to get an interview
Check your spelling! Applicants sending CVs and letters without spelling mistakes are 61% more likely to get a reply and 26% more likely to get an interview. And make sure you set your spell checker to UK English, and proof-read thoroughly.
Other turn-offs include:
- misspelling the name of the company or the addressee,
- not having a reply address on the CV
- trying to be amusing.

For what NOT to put in a cv, see Unicorn Jobs cv page.

This page owes alot to the University of Kent's career advice website.