Our Tips On Writing A CV For A Part Time Job
If you’re looking for help with CV writing for a part time job, then you are in the right place!
This article will give you free part time job CV advice which you can use to produce an outstanding CV that you can put in front of the eyes of potential recruiters.
Don’t just check out the tips on writing a CV below – put them into practice! Give yourself the best chance of securing a part time job soon by taking the time to make your own CV stand out from the crowd.
First Things First…Do You Need A CV For A Part Time Job?
Some job seekers ask us, ‘Do you need a CV for a part time job?’ – and our answer in almost all situations would be a big, bad, resounding ‘Yes!’
Competition for jobs is very high these days, and that goes just as much for part time positions as it does for full time jobs. So don’t skimp in this area of the part time job application process.
One of the only times you might get away with finding part time work without a CV is when it is all done through word of mouth – where friends or family members might put in ‘a good word’ on your behalf and cut out a few of the initial application stages. The other possible situation where you might not need a CV to secure a part time job is when the employer is absolutely desperate for staff due to an unexpected surge in demand for their product or service.
However, in the vast majority of cases, you will need a complete, professional and up-to-date CV to have a chance of finding, and landing, part time jobs in the UK.
And, furthermore, you shouldn’t treat a CV for a part time job any less seriously than a CV for a full time or permanent job. Your CV and covering letter are usually your first point of contact with potential employers, so make sure that you impress them and show that you are taking their part time job vacancies with the respect they deserve.
But, there is really no need to hire a professional CV writer – you can do it all of this yourself. Using the advice and info below – and especially if you combine it with the guiding hand of the brilliant candidate features and facilities on UK Part Time Jobs – in no time at all, you will have a professional CV which you can print off in PDF format or forward directly online to employers.
But what sort of things do we need to put into a great CV for a part time job exactly? What should be on a CV? What makes a good CV which could get you to the interview stage? Is there a perfect CV layout for part time job?
All very good questions! And ones that we’ll try to answer for you now…
Building A Part Time Job CV
There are good CVs – and there are bad CVs (and, of course, there are terrible CVs). Let’s make sure that your part time job CV falls into the very first category by getting the basics right…
Essential Details To Include On Your CV
You would think the following details would be included on EVERY curriculum vitae that hits the desk of part time job recruiters. But, you might be surprised how many job seekers forget to include absolute essentials like contact details and academic qualifications.
So, make 100% sure that you don’t overlook at least these basic backbones of a good CV:
- Your name
- Your address
- Your telephone number (landline & possibly mobile)
- Your Email address (make sure it’s one you check regularly)
- Your previous employment history (most recent first)
- Any other work experience (voluntary – or at school, for example)
- Your education/academic results (again, most recent first)
- Other qualifications, skills & qualities which make you employable
- Other achievements or examples of responsibility
- Interests & hobbies outside of working life
- Referees (include at least two – or say ‘Available on request’)
Make sure that any dates you use for your employment and academic history are 100% correct. If your fantastically-crafted and beautifully-laid out CV manages to secure you an interview, then there’s nothing much worse than the interviewer picking holes in what should be basic historic and easily-verifiable facts.
Some people also like to include instant messaging or social media contact details on their CV, but that’s a bit more borderline in our opinion. It’s up to the individual, and by no means essential, so add such details at your own discretion. But, if you do add links to your social media accounts like Facebook or Twitter, make sure you appear to be squeaky clean on anything that is publicly-viewable.
As a matter of fact, many potential employers will try to look you up on social media even if you don’t list those details on your CV, anyway. So it’s always best when job hunting to keep a pretty clean and professional-looking public profile on social media. No potential recruiter – part time or otherwise – is going to take too kindly to a Facebook profile which shows nothing much other than photographs of you being out boozing with your friends.
Check Your Speling & Grandma
Yep, again, you’d think this was an obvious point – but it’s amazing how many part time job CVs we see which have spelling and grammar mistakes. It’s a very quick way to ensure that your (otherwise exemplary) CV efforts will be screwed up and tossed into the nearest bin.
Check your spelling. Double check your spelling. Run it all through a spelling and grammar check online. Get a friend to check your spelling and grammar. And then get a different friend or family member to check it.
Honestly, it takes next to no time, but can make a huge difference in making sure that your application isn’t rejected at a very early stage.
No Two Jobs Are The Same, So No Two CVs Should Be The Same
Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration…but, hopefully, you get our point. You should, as much as possible, tailor your CV differently for different sorts of part time jobs and different types of part time job recruiters.
The skills and qualifications required (or desired) for a part time job in an office and a part time job on a construction site are completely different, so make sure you have a good think about what this one particular employer – for this one particular job vacancy – might be looking for in new applicants.
Then tweak the skills and qualities on your CV to better reflect why you are EXACTLY the sort of applicant that should be at the front of the queue.
For example, how about if you’ve worked in a bar at some point in the past, and now you are faced with applying to the following three new, and very different, positions?
- Part Time Sales Assistant For A Mobile Phone Company
- Part Time Labourer On A Building Site
- Part Time Credit Controller In An Office
Maybe some snippets of the ‘previous work experience’ sections of your CV could be tailored to read in these three different ways:
- “I worked in my village’s local bar for three years, and the managers said that my conversational skills with the customers always made them want to stay for another drink. I’m very confident in any sales environment and can always make potential buyers feel relaxed and ready to buy…”
- “Working in my local village pub for three years gave me some fantastic experience and taught me the value of hard work. I get on well with people from all walks of life and consider myself to be a strong team-player, adaptable to any role…”
- “I worked for three years in the local Wetherspoon pub, and the manager was quick to realise that I had a good head for figures. I was put in charge of tilling up at the end of shifts. If I hadn’t gone on to university after college, the manager would have been keen for me to take on more responsibility on the financial side of the business…”
Don’t Tell Lies (But Don’t Be Afraid To Big Yourself Up)
All three of the different wordings of the pub work experience in the section above would be completely legitimate – and should attract the attention of potential part time job recruiters in a positive way – but only providing that you can substantiate the claims you make.
By all means, pick out your best qualities, skills & experience levels, and frame them in a way that will appeal to the next particular employer. Indeed, focus on doing EXACTLY that, and doing it well – but, never, ever tell blatant lies on your CV.
Trust us – it’s just not worth it in the long run. You’ll almost always get caught out at some point – and that could make your next part time job all the more difficult to pin down…
The Perfect Layout For A Part Time Jobs CV?
There really isn’t such a thing as ‘the perfect layout’ for a part time jobs CV. There have been times where trends have determined, quite strictly sometimes, where certain parts of your CV information should go, and it was frowned upon if anything was out of place in some way. Some things had to be on the left side of the page – and there could be a rigid order in which you had to set out information.
But things are (thankfully) a little more fluid and dynamic these days, leaving a little bit more room for individuality and flair – so, as long as you include all of the essential information above – and present it in a professional looking way, then you should be good to go.
One stipulation which seems to have stood the test of time, though, is that, if you need to send off a print version of your CV, it should cover no more than two sheets of A4. For a few types of jobs (but very few) you might get away with one sheet of A4, but it’s better to play safe in most circumstances and make sure you slip over onto a second page, but never a third sheet.
And, if you do need to send of a print copy of your CV – as opposed to an online application – then make sure you use good quality paper to make a decent impression. It’s a false economy to use substandard quality paper for your part time jobs CV.
Some Good Examples Of Part Time Job CVs
With many students at college and university looking for part time jobs to boost both their spending power and their employability after they’ve graduated, many of the UK uni careers departments have produced some good examples of part time job CVs on their websites.
It doesn’t matter if you never went to university yourself – or if you never even had any intention of going to uni – this is still all very useful, relevant advice and info that absolutely any part time job hunter can use.
There are few different styles and layouts that you can use, so pick whichever one feels most suited to you – and then go with it.
Here are some links to a few templates that you could use as a great launching point for your own perfect CV for part time job applications:
Glamorgan Uni Part Time Jobs CV – Great annotated CV to get you started
Bradford Uni Part Time Jobs CV – Good if you don’t have much previous experience
Leicester Uni Part Time Jobs CV – Nice & concise
And, if you want to make sure you haven’t missed anything out on your CV, use this comprehensive CV checklist from the University of Kent.
The following two CV examples from Sheffield and York also give you some good examples of covering letters too:
Sheffield Uni Part Time Jobs CV
If you take a look at all those great resources for a starting point, and then build a similar part time jobs CV for yourself, then you won’t be doing too much wrong at all!
Now You’ve Got The Notion, Put The Wheels In Motion…
Now that you know what you should be doing with your part time job CV, why don’t you put it to the test and start making some applications? There’s no better place to find part time jobs in the UK than right here on this website. So, get yourself signed up now, use our candidate tools to make the perfect CV, and get some applications off today…
