1st February 2024 by David Forrest
CV’s and Cover Letters
PLACEMENT APPLICATION SUPPORT GUIDANCE (1).docx
Probably the single most important thing about your CV and your cover letter is that you tailor them to the opportunity to which you are applying. An application for a research position should not include huge amounts of detail about your retail experience (although you might be able to evidence some skills through this experience) and, conversely, an application for a retail position should not include huge amounts of detail about your research experience and your module grades. So, while it is always good to have a sample CV ready to use, be ready to alter it. Please ensure that you take note of anything specific that the company states in their job specification and make sure you follow the specific guidance and evidence the criteria they have included.
You can use the example given below as a base for creating your own CV which you can then target to the specific role you are applying for.
Download example FBS CV for laboratory/research roles
Cover Letter Guidance:
Cogent Skills ‘How to write a captivating cover letter’: Download PDF
What are employers looking for in a CV?
These guidelines have been compiled based on discussions with employers on our Industrial Advisory Board and a sample of universities surveyed relating to PhD applications.
| Applying for science based roles | Applying for non-science roles | |
| Degree information | Include degree classification. Most employers won’t be interested in individual module grades. They are more interested in relevant skills/knowledge that you gained from your studies, particularly from research projects. | Definitely just degree classification. Any information about relevant skills gained should be included – this might include, for example, verbal and written communication skills, IT, teamwork. |
| Chronological v skills based CV | Chronological CV is preferred. There could be a few science employers who prefer skills based CVs. Check with the employer, where possible. If using a skills-based CV, make sure the skills listed are relevant to the role. | Depends on the company. Try to find out which they prefer, chronological or skills-based, if possible. |
| Final year research project | You should include detailed information about your final year research project. Include topic studied, skills gained and relevant techniques used. | No need for scientific detail, but you should highlight relevant skills gained, e.g. time management, initiative, communication skills, independent work etc. |
| Extra-curricular activities | Can be very important, especially if it demonstrates relevant skills. Include positions of responsibility, relevant competencies and achievements | Can be very important, especially if it demonstrates relevant skills and if you have done activities that are more closely related to the role than your degree. Include positions of responsibility, relevant competencies and achievements. |
| Skills recruiters will be looking for | Whatever is relevant to the role. If the job has a list of skills in ‘essential/desirable criteria for the role’ then you should include evidence of these skills in your CV. You should not simply list the skills, but give evidence of how the skill has been developed. Give details of all work experience and evidence of skills developed from that experience. | Whatever is relevant to the role. If the job has a list of skills in ‘essential/desirable criteria for the role’ then you should include evidence of these skills in your CV. You should not simply list the skills, but give evidence of how the skill has been developed. Give details of all work experience and evidence of skills developed from that experience. |
| References | If you have space, include academic and employer references on the CV. Write ‘available on request’ only if you have filled two pages with relevant info and can’t fit in the full references. | If you have space, include references on the CV. Write ‘available on request’ only if you have filled 2 pages with relevant information and can’t fit in the full references. |
| Personal profile | A strong personal profile can be useful, but isn’t essential. If you do include one, it should add something to your CV and must include evidence, not just general statements that anybody could write. This type of information is generally included in your cover letter. | A strong personal profile can be useful, but isn’t essential. If you do include one, it should add something to your CV and must include evidence, not just general statements that anybody could write. This type of information is generally included in your cover letter. |
Things to consider when writing your CV/Cover letter are:
Underselling – avoid using negatives and qualifiers, for example “I’m not good at” or “I’m quite good at”
Format – Is your document easy to read and does it follow the conventions of that industry/country?
Relevance – if the job description has essential and desirable criteria, evidence them. If it has no criteria, think about what they might be and evidence them!
Spelling and grammar – many employers will discard applications with any spelling and grammar errors
Knowledge of industry – you must show that you understand the industry/company to which you are applying. Research before you apply!
Register (formal or informal?) – CVs, cover letters and applications via email should ALWAYS use formal language. No ‘Hi, Mary’. No contractions e.g. I’ve, I’m.
Repetition of words/phrases – find a different way to say it!
Length – normally 1 page for a cover letter, 2 pages for a CV. CVs for research posts/academia will be longer.
Enthusiasm – You should show your enthusiasm for the industry/company/position, particularly in the cover letter.
Attention to detail – check through your documents and ask at least two other people (ideally Careers Centre, Personal Tutor etc) for their comments
Avoid ‘Red Flag’ words/phrases e.g. stressful/party animal.
Advice and guidance on Interviews and Assessment Days
Here are a number of links to advice and information for interviews and assessment centres.
Assessment Centres
Here is a link to the a short video produced by the University’s Career Service about what to expect when you attend an assessment centre View video
This is some guidance about assessment centres taken from the Prospects website Access website here
This is a link to some further advice on assessment centres from the university. It has some especially helpful advice about the types of activities that you may undertake when you go to an assessment centre Access website here
There are lots of information about interviews and assessment centre available, both online and in the university libraries.
Here is some general information about the application support available to students
MacDonalds Assessment Day
Here is an account of a 2nd Year Ecology and Conservation Biology student who attended an Assessment Day with MacDonalds.
“Overall, the day was fine, i was confident and not as nervous as i thought I’d be. There was 17 other candidates and 2 representatives from each supplier and 5 representatives from McDonalds so 25 people assessing us. Everyone rotated between their interview, presentation and group activity and there was about 5 people assessing me at each stage so I got seen by at least one representative from every supplier and all the people from McDonalds.
Before everything started there was a networking icebreaker were each candidate rotated around talking to each supplier for 2 minutes and introduced each other and the supplier told us a bit about what they do which was really helpful. I did forget who everyone supplied for immediately, but this didn’t matter because everyone had nametags on.
I had my presentation first which went well, they really liked that I’d bought copies of my slides so thank you for that advice.
Then i had my interview and I struggled a bit because they asked multiple questions in one. An example is ‘what do you think are the 3 main pillars in sustainability, how have you shown sustainability, what was the result of this and how can you improve sustainability in your life’ all in one go. I found it a bit hard to say a clear answer because i couldn’t remember everything he asked, but in hindsight i could have asked him to repeat the question but didn’t. The other questions were mainly normal like ‘tell us a bit about yourself’ ‘tell us a time you’ve faced conflict”tell us a time you’ve shown resilience’ so they were easier to answer. They also went off script and asked me some questions specifically about my experiences I mentioned when answering other questions. I asked them at the end a few questions including ‘what do you find most satisfying about your job’ and they were all happy to answer that, they said it was a great question and i think they were ready to talk about themselves after hearing so much from the candidates, so thank you for that recommendation too.
The group activity was fine as well, it was a group of 4 and we had to design a farm open day, one person in my group was a bit loud and talking over people a little bit, another was really quiet and only spoke a few times and me and another girl were sort of inbetween those extremes.
In between, all the activities the candidates not in something had ‘free time’ so we were in the same conference room with some of the suppliers and other candidates so i tried to talk to everyone and actually had a couple of good conversations with the suppliers about their industries, so hopefully they remember me. A lot of the other candidates knew each other because they were on the same agricultural course at harper adams or Ireland, i didn’t know anyone but i think this was an advantage but i talked to everyone.
Aside from this, the most important part of the day was the free lunch which was amazing There was a McDonalds restaurant inside the HQ, the exact same as a normal McDonalds but with no kids, everyone dressed nice and was pristine clean. We ordered at the screens and everything was free, but i was being professional so just ordered some McNuggets and chips because this was least messy. The candidates ate together but the suppliers were sat around us also eating, which was nice but a little bit awkward.
One other thing, it wasn’t as corporate as I expected. I was in full business attire and so were a few others, but the suppliers and other candidates had sweaters on, trainers on and one person had jeans on. Still glad i wore what I did but one of the suppliers asked me if the day was what i expected and i mentioned it wasn’t as ‘corporate sterile’ as I expected and she said the past year there’s been a bit change, most people wear jeans to the office and everything is generally becoming more casual. Still glad i dressed nicely though because I’d rather be over than underdressed.
Overall, the day was actually quite enjoyable, they said they will let me know by the 19th December so if they tell me I’ve got it, I’ll email you. Sorry if I’ve packed a lot of stuff into this email, I thought if i give a lot of detail then you can tell other students if they have similar things coming up or if anyone applies to this placement next year. Thank you for our meeting again, it was really helpful and made me feel prepared.”
The student was successful in obtaining the placement.
Remember that this is the experience of one student at one employer. Not all assessment centres will be like this. Although, many of the processes and activities described are typical of how many assessment centres will work.