Within the catering and hospitality sector, your CV offers you the opportunity to highlight your educational qualifications and professional experience to potential employers. Generally, your CV is your first point of contact with a prospective employer so it’s imperative that it is error-free, up-to-date and no longer than two sides of A4.
You will also need a cover letter to accompany your CV: this enables you to further elaborate upon your experience, personal statement and areas of expertise. Thus, you can directly signpost the interviewer to your most relevant experience and clearly reinforce why you’d be a good fit within their company.
At Tonic Talent, it’s our mission to connect excellent candidates with their ideal employers within the catering and hospitality industry. To help streamline your application process and increase the likelihood of securing an interview, we have compiled our top tips for perfecting your CV.
Be selective
When applying to multiple positions, it is essential that you do not send identical CVs as this demonstrates a lack of passion and preparation. Not every catering or hospitality position has the same requirements, so research prospective employers to get an understanding of their individual requirements. Each CV or application should be tailored to the specific job requirements for your prospective position as well as the company’s overarching goals.
As aforementioned, you should try to keep your CV short and sweet. Whilst years of experience is beneficial, not every employment experience will be relevant to certain positions. Be selective with the details you include: for example, if you are applying for a sous chef position then any unrelated jobs like a paper round or babysitting are not necessary to discuss.
Know your audience
Equally, it’s important make your applications specific to individual positions and companies. If you are provided with a named point of contact, address them directly instead (i.e., Dear John Smith versus To Whom It May Concern). This is more professional and demonstrates a level of care and attention to detail.
Researching potential employers is also essential in order to understand what values and experience they particularly covet. This will give you an insight into how to best streamline the employment, education and skills section of your CV to make you stand out. If you are lacking in specific experience or accreditations, should acknowledge this in your CV and cover letter and instead, highlight other areas of your employment and skills development history which are comparable or as similar as possible
Always proofread
On average, an employer will have formed an opinion of your CV in less than 9 seconds. Consequently, it’s important to impress on first glance. Whilst you should focus on discussing your most relevant roles and responsibilities, you should also double check your presentation, spelling and grammar. Silly errors can imply carelessness but are easily avoidable.
Typically, your CV should begin with your personal contact information such as your address and phone number followed by a brief personal statement which summarises your personality and professional capacity. Then, you should list your education and job history beginning with the most recent and then continuing reverse-chronologically. Using a standardised font type and size is also important; the easier your CV is to read, the better your chance of it not being disregarded by an employer.
If you would like tailored advice on your CV, interview technique and future career path, get in touch with us here.