Your Job History

This is your chance to demonstrate examples of what you have achieved and learnt in your previous jobs. You can add up to 10 previous jobs and you have 500 words per job to describe your duties and responsibilities. That’s potentially a lot of words to sell yourself with – but remember the goal of your application is to get yourself an interview, so keep it relevant.

Make sure your recent employment history is comprehensive and has no unexplained gaps. The last 10 years is probably the most important to focus on. However, if you have a long work history, it can be useful to include earlier jobs, particularly where they are relevant to the role you are applying for.

In any job you will have learnt some transferable skills, made new connections, and experienced personal growth. So don’t miss out relevant experience. Don’t include a job only if you are certain that it adds nothing or may confuse matters. But do keep the oldest material relevant.

Think about your career to date with a sense of progression. Explain why you left each job and how one job logically links to another - are you telling a coherent “story”?

This section is headed as “Brief detail of your job duties and responsibilities” but don’t just write a dry list or copy text from your job description. What recruiters are looking for here is your ability to link your experience and achievement in each job you’ve had to how that improves your suitability to the role you are applying for.

Look again carefully at the advert, shortlisting criteria, and job description/person specification for the role you are applying for:

• What are they looking for?
• What is their focus?
• What can you offer?
• What have you done or learnt previously that is relevant?
• How can you demonstrate this with great examples?

So, for example, your current job description might simply say:

• “Prepare monthly report to Head of Department.”

But the job you are applying for, the advert says, “Excellent written communication skills required”.

So instead of just cutting and pasting that bullet point above, you might write something like:

“Each month I write a comprehensive report to my Head of Department, which includes a summary of key themes and action points, backed up with analytical data and graphs. I also share this report with my team, so they are aware of what I’m working on and that helps team communications and prioritisation of resources.”

• You should normally focus the most attention on your more recent or relevant job roles.
• However, remember the more you write, the more the recruiter will need to read, and their time is precious
• Really long sections of irrelevant history may put a recruiter off.

You have 500 words per job to really tailor your application and sell yourself. Don’t miss this opportunity!