Dos and Donts: Presenting Your CV, Legally Blonde Style

Snuggling down on Saturday night with blankets, hot chocolatess and my housemates soon led to a nostalgic watch of Mamma Mia. And then an extra hour watching songs from the musical, and then an all-nighter as we got onto the musical songs from Legally Blonde. Of course, that led to watching the film, and it wasn’t until after we finished that I realised Miss Woods comma Elle had given me inspiration for some great tips on how to present your resume (or CV to us Notts gals!). Case in point:

Now, every CV needs that ‘little something extra’, but in the current world of business the scent of Chanel No5 on your paper would send most employers running. Here’s a list of a few handy dos and don’ts when it comes to the presentation of your CV.

DO:

• Present it on clean, crisp white paper. Pink may make it stand out but you want employers to take it seriously then it’s best to merge with the crowd. Clean white paper shows that you take pride in your work and demonstrates some of that attention to detail that you’ve claimed to be great at (just me?).

• Use a sensible font. As lovely as it looks to have a beautifully curly font for the headings, most employers want your CV to be legible so that they can read all of the fantastic things you have put about yourself. They don’t have a lot of time per application, so you want to ensure that you have the best chance for them to be able to easily locate your skills and achievements.

DON’T:

• Leave large blank spaces. Either bulk out your CV so that it fills two pages, or squash it down into one. If you’re struggling to cut things out, leave out the details of your references and state that they are ‘available upon request’. At the same time, don’t make your CV too dense with writing (essay style), as employers will not be able to get through all of the information. Group together temporary jobs and casual work, stating the collective skills you have gained. If they want to know more, they can get in touch and ask you individually.

• Use lots of bright colours. If the employer needs to photocopy your CV, colours often don’t show up properly which makes it difficult for the employer to read all about you.

So there we go. A few foolproof tips on presenting your CV that you can do while you’re watching the film.

Photo Sources

http://perezhilton.com/2013-04-22-reese-witherspoon-arrested-how-elle-wo…

http://www.starpulse.com/Movies/Legally_Blonde_2/gallery/LEGALLYBLONDEII003/

Edited by Caroline Chan

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