So, you’re looking for a job to take up on your summer holiday. Whether that be applying to summer camps, retail positions, festivals, or other event work, a well thought out and planned summer job CV is crucial. Without one, you may struggle to stand out from other candidates that are applying for the same role. That’s why we have developed a guide for you to follow to make a positive impression.
What is a summer job CV?
Overall, a standard CV is a short document that should be no more than 1-2 pages. A CV highlights your personal details, including contact details, education, qualifications, and training, as well as any skills and experience that are relevant to the role – and a summer job CV is no different.
How to format and structure a summer job CV
When it comes to the format, we would recommend using a neat and professional design, one font and size with subheadings for each section and making use of bullet points and paragraphs throughout your CV.
You can structure your summer CV with the following information:
1. Contact details
Writing a CV can be daunting, so a good place to start is writing out your contact details. This includes:
- Your name
- Email address
- Phone number
In this section, it’s unnecessary to include personal details such as your date of birth, gender, or a home address. Although, if you’re a working professional, you may want to include your current or most recent job title. If you’re a student or graduate, the degree you have or are working towards can also be incorporated.
2. Personal statement
Leading on from your contact details, an introduction to who you are is a great next step. We recommend keeping the introduction short and sweet with key details, such as the skills you have and your ambitions and goals.
Top tip: investigate the job description of the job you want to apply for and enhance your personal statement to fit the skills and responsibilities that the employer is looking for.
Doing research into how your skills match the job description can also help you to avoid being vague and generic with phrases like “I am a team player” and “I have a positive attitude”. Instead, clearly share the expertise you possess that relate to the vacancy.
3. Education and training
The subheading of this section pretty much sums up what you must do – list off in your education and training in reverse chronological order! Put simply, write down your most recent education to your least recent. For instance, put your degree first and follow with your A-Levels and GCSEs.
When writing out your education and training, here are some suggestions for you to include:
- The institution you studied or trained at
- The dates you started and completed the course
- What grade you achieved
- The qualification (e.g., whether it is a degree, A-Level or GCSE)
- The subject of study
- The modules you undertook
Here is an example of the above laid out:
Birmingham City University (September 2019 – July 2022)
2:1 in BA (Hons) Business Management
Modules included Operations Management and Business Analytics
4. Employment history
Writing out your employment history in a similar way to your education and training will help present this section in a clear and concise manner. However, sometimes it’s okay to break the chronological rule, especially if you already have experience with the company or in a similar role – this can go at the top to ensure you stand out.
Your employment history should detail:
- The company name
- The job title you held or currently hold
- The duration of your time there (put ‘present’ if you’re still there)
- A short list of your main duties and responsibilities
Besides your employment history, any work experience or volunteer work you have undertaken should be placed in this section too. Adding these can demonstrate transferable skills.
Top tip: If you have no experience within the sector you are thinking of applying for, don’t worry! List your work history and for each one pick out the most relevant duties and skills that the employer is looking for.
5. Hobbies and interests
If you’re struggling to get your CV to fill one page, then adding a section to discuss your hobbies and interests can help. Again, it’s important to link your hobbies to the job description. For instance, if you enjoy making videos, this can be linked to how you know how to operate a camera, have excellent writing skills for script development, can generate good ideas and are a creative thinker.
6. References
Adding the sentence “References can be provided upon request” will enable you to keep your CV 1-2 pages, as two references will most likely be required.
To discover who your referees should be, check out the ‘Include references’ paragraph in our article on how you can write a successful job application.
How to avoid summer job CV mistakes
Proofreading your CV is crucial! The last thing you want is to spend all your time crafting the perfect CV to serve as your first impression for it to be spoiled by grammar and spelling errors. If a recruiter spots any spelling mistakes, they most likely won’t hesitate to put your CV aside and move on to the next in line. It’s quite easy to make simple mistakes, so don’t forget to double check what you’ve written!
Now that you know how to write a fantastic looking CV, are you ready to begin looking for your summer job? Take a look at our latest vacancies and apply for your summer job.
Last updated on 12 December 2022
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