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Science CV guide
What does your CV say about you?
Your CV is your passport to your next Job opportunity. Get it right and it WILL open up new doors!
So let's start at the end.....
Who is going to be reading your CV? Have the Technical/Lab Manager/HR Manager (AKA the end reader) in mind!
- Ensure your CV is always orientated to the job description.
- For every role have different CVs which highlight your skills and experience.
- Look at the core values of the company. Do you have examples that match these? If so write them in.
- Does your CV look aesthetically pleasing (I don't mean pictures)? I mean formatted correctly; text justified; all the same font.
- It needs to be 2 pages maximum and in Word format.
Follow the principles below as a guide to getting a great CV!
Contact details and Quick Summary
Contact details
How can the prospective employer get in touch with you?
- Get the basics right: phone number, email address (which is semi-professional), LinkedIn link, address.
- Remember if you don’t have this information how can prospective employers get in touch with you?
Quick summary
Include 2-3 lines which give details about your skills and experience so the reader can understand who you are in about 10 seconds.
Examples:
- Synthetic Chemist with over 30 years’ experience in API development from Bench through to full scale manufacture with knowledge of cGMP and FDA requirements.
- Recent Molecular Biology graduate attaining first class degree with experience of techniques such as PCR, ELISA and SDS-Page along with working in aseptic conditions.
- Remember to include keywords. In the Science industry these are techniques or standards that recruiters are searching for on job boards/LinkedIn. And what HR and Line Managers are looking for in your CV. So make it easier for them, especially when they could be looking at 100s of CVs in a day.
Work Experience
Dates of employment in reverse chronological order (this should be the largest section on your CV!).
What have you done so far in your career? How have you progressed? What has your journey been so far and how have you developed yourself? Consider these things as you write this section.
- Put down your jobs including your job title, what month/year you started and finished, along with the company name.
- Bullet point your experience as this helps the reader pick our details quickly. The average time it takes to skim read your CV is 30 seconds! If your CV is War and Peace it is not going to grab the hiring Manager’s attention and hence you’ve lost your opportunity.
- Once again include key words, but ensure that you explain in what context you have used a technique. For example you could put:
'Use of HPLC systems.' However a better way to write this would be: 'Daily use of HPLC on the analysis of APIs in accordance with GLP standards.'
- Who did you work with, influence or manage in your role? Did you interact with customers, did you have to travel to client sites?
- Did you have projects, did you have to present data? These may seem trivial, but it is all important information.
Recent school leaver/ graduate, looking to get into the Science industry? I have often had questions presented to me at Science career events/talks about getting into the industry with no industrial experience and I give the following advice:
- Ensure you add more details on your CV in respect to your education, such as techniques used in the lab; specific courses and training you have attended/received.
- Any work experience, even if it's not related to the Science industry (retail, hospitality, services). Show you have "real-world" knowledge of responsibility; working with people and the ability to interact. (I personally as a Manager would not employ someone if they didn't have any work experience at all).
Education and Biggest achievement
Education
What and where did you study? Do you have other practical skills which could be valuable to prospective employers?
Make sure you are adding some details such as:
- Which institution did you attend and when?
- What was your qualification and grade?
- Did you have a final year project, thesis title, what did this involve? Remember to add any techniques or specific Science you were involved in. If you are more practical, than theoretical and attained a better grade for your project, then state that grade.
- Ensure there is more weight in terms of lines for your highest qualification, as this is more important than your school qualifications.
- If you have other specific qualifications or membership such as Prince2, TOPRA, RSC etc, please include these as they act as keywords in your CV.
Biggest achievements
What sets you aside from all the other people in your current role and from other applicants? Your achievements where you went above and beyond what was required; reflect on what you have done well and put it into your CV!
You should include the following:
- What the achievement was.
- Facts and figures that support this achievement.
- What the impact was to you, your colleagues or the business in general.
For example: “Due to changes in REACH regulations a product we manufactured was unable to be made in its current form, so I reformulated the product to comply with new legislation, which ultimately lead to a reduce in manufacturing costs of £1m and kept the client happy”
Core Skills and Hobbies
Core skills
Once again, take time to reflect on what you feel are your core competencies, this maybe asked at interview, so it is always good to think about it beforehand.
- What are your top 3 core skills?
- How could you demonstrate these? Do you have specific and real life examples to back these up? If so write them on your CV.
Hobbies and interests
Some people say yes, some no. I am firmly in the Yes category! You are a person not a machine. You have interests that make you who you are so include this on your CV.
What to include:
- Sporting activities such as gym, swimming, cycling etc.
- Other hobbies such as photography, car maintenance, building computers, programming.
- Community and charity work
These hobbies and interests make excellent talking points at interviews, especially when you hit common ground (see interview guide).
If you are looking for further advice on your CV or want a template for your specific Science field drop SRUK a line at: Candidate@sciencerecruitment.uk for further advice!
Good luck with your Science CV!