School of EEE Electrical Engineer 2

CVs and Covering Letters in Brief

THE CV
The reverse Chronological CV is suitable for most situations. It lists education and work experience in reverse date order
(most recent first). Evidence of skills and achievements are built into the CV against the relevant experience.

Format and Structure

Most UK CVs should be two A4 sized pages, unless otherwise stated by the employer.
Your best selling points should always come first within a section.
Allocate space according to importance to the job for which you are applying expand on areas of relevance.
You can draw the recruiters attention to relevant experience by grouping it together under an appropriate subheading eg Legal Work Experience, Financial Work Experience, Scientific Work Experience, Technical Work
Experience or Relevant Work Experience.
Use headings which best describe the content of the section. Adapt the headings to fit your needs eg Awards and
Achievements, Positions of Responsibility and Achievements.
Putting lines between sections and the use of boxes or tables with lined borders can clutter up your CV making it
difficult to read. Tables without borders can be useful for formatting neatly in columns.
Use a standard font that is easy to read and looks professional. Use the same font style throughout.
Style
Keep sentences short and precise.

Bullet points can look effective and help you to write short, dynamic sentences. If you want to use paragraphs
keep them short.
Content
Must be tailored to the requirements of the reader. What skills and experience are they looking for?
Spelling and grammar are very important; do not rely on spell checks.
Personal profiles are optional; they are best suited to speculative applications or in circumstances where you are
not using a cover letter.
All skills claims must be backed up by evidence.
Structuring your examples - the CAR Model

Context What was the situation keep it brief, but specific.
Action What did YOU do? What was your role? What actions did you take? Use action words.
Result What was the outcome? What did you achieve? What was improved? Qualify and quantify.
References
Unless otherwise stated, provide names of two referees. These will depend on the role, your circumstances and what has
been requested. More on references: www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/students/applicationsinterviews/af/references
THE COVERING LETTER

When sending a CV, you need to include a covering letter. The covering letter is your personal sales pitch, where you
introduce yourself as a candidate and discuss why you want the job. It should be professional and business like in style and
layout. In brief it should cover:
1.
2.
3.
Why you are applying to this company? - What makes them stand out from other similar companies?
Why you are applying for this role? - Your motivation for applying, show your understanding of the role.
The skills and experience you have that match the job description.
Covering letters should be tailored for each job. If you cut and paste the company name and use the letter for any other
employer, your letter will not convince the reader that you want to work for them. Even the least experienced recruiter
can spot a 'mailshot' at a glance!
School of Electrical and Electronic

Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Vacancy Title:
Electrical Engineer
Salary:
20,000 - 25,000
*Vacancy Description:
This position will initially be in support of more senior Engineers with
potential for career growth backed by education and experience.
The prime responsibilities include:
Product electrical configuration of the BOM using an ERP system and a document control system)
Review and (re)design of general arrangements and detail schematic drawings to meet project
requirements
Assessment of electrical components against European and international standards
Liaison with the Assembly area to ensure electrical aspects of the product are delivered to
specification
Participation in electrical control configuration and preparation for installation/commissioning
Liaison with suppliers on electrical design and product adoptions/adaptions into our systems.
Qualifications:
BEng in Electrical Engineering
Skills: The successful candidate should be flexible and be prepared to travel. Must have excellent
interpersonal skills and the ability to produce consistently accurate work and meet deadlines with a
minimum of supervision.
*Application Instructions: CV should be sent to the Engineering Manager: xxxxx
Sam Leverson
Crawford House, Booth Street East, Manchester, Manchester, M13 9QS
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 0161 123 4567;
Mobile: 0123 456 7891;
www.linkedin.com/xxxxx
Education
2009 - 2013
The University of Manchester

MEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering
First year result: 58%
Expected Result 2:1
Second year result: 65%
Modules included Power Systems, Advanced Digital and Analogue Control Systems,
Digital Communications, Advanced Power System Design & Operation
Leader of 3rd year team project to specify and design a remotely controlled control and
drive system for the drive unit of a Mars Landing Module vehicle:
o I approached a local major company to arrange for our team to meet with their
specialist Drive and Control Chief Design Engineer to discuss our project so as to
identify key design parameters for a control and drive unit and then to identify the
impact of the needs of a unit to travel to and operate safely on Mars after landing.
o As part of the team, conducted research and then compiled a design specification
using a technical brief template I had developed.
o Once specification was agreed, I developed a list of key tasks to be done, resources
needed and worked with the team members to agree responsibilities, outline timing
and predicted obstacles. From this I developed our main control schedule.
o I led the weekly review meetings and monitored progress. One of our team suggested
we create a computer simulation showing our proposed design in operation and how it
would withstand the phases of travel to Mars.
o Whilst a big challenge we all agreed and so I developed back up plans to ensure that
despite this extra work load we all were able to help each other as needed
o We presented our final written design report and presentation both to our design tutors
and the technical director of the local company. In particular the simulation received a
big round of applause.
2002 - 2009
Park Royal High School, Surrey

A levels: Chemistry (A), Mathematics (B), Physics (A), Applied Mathematics (B)
GCSEs: 9 (5A, 3B, 1C) including Maths and English
Relevant work experience

July - Sept Plessey Digital Communications PLC (Stevenage, Hertfordshire)
2012
Internship
Assigned to Technical Sales department
Joined a team of 10 that was developing a new bid for an expansion of UKs international
communications system for the MOD.
Took responsibility for developing Technical Specification from MODs initial user
requirements.
Met with MOD representatives and with MOD customers to review and agree final user
requirements.
Made technical presentations to Plessey Senior Management outlining user requirements
and consequential impact on technical specifications. In conjunction with other technical
departments identified key areas which were routine and those which were
developmental. Identified likely cost and timing implications
Part of presentation team to visit MOD to give interim status report on bid preparation.
My part was to focus on risks. Used simple PowerPoint charts to show and grade data for
review
Attended Technical Trade Fair in Beijing as part of British Mission exhibition
Other work experience

Childrens Camp Counsellor
BUNAC, New Jersey USA
July - Sept
2010
Took lead role as Camp Sports Manager organising 12 other Counsellors

Created new games and activities to entertain and develop up to 100 young people
aged 12 -15.
Organised day trip into New York for group of 50.
Sept 2010 July 2012

(term time)
Front of House Team Leader

Lorenzos, Tapas Bar, Chorlton, Manchester
Promoted to Team Leader after working for the company for ten months.
Managed a team of five. Motivated them to meet individual sales targets by devising
a graph which plotted the amount of bonuses they could earn through securing
additional sales.
Successfully trained two new members of staff to be able to perform well in all areas
of the business.
Positions of Responsibility
2011 - current
Committee Chairman
University Electronic Society
Elected to Committee and then to Chairman within one month.
Set up visits to local Engineering companies.
Increased membership by 35%
Led team to organise annual Christmas Ball for 350 students and partners. Biggest
attendance so far!
Additional Skills
IT
Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office, SPSS statistical package
Driving
Full clean driving licence
Interests and Activities
Student Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology

Member of University Golfing Society
Keeping fit ran The Newcastle Great North Run in 2009 and raised 350 for
Cancer Relief
References available on request

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CVs and Covering Letters in Brief

Format and Structure

Keep sentences short and precise.

Structuring your examples - the CAR Model

THE COVERING LETTER

School of Electrical and Electronic

BEng in Electrical Engineering

The University of Manchester

Expected Result 2:1

Second year result: 65%

Park Royal High School, Surrey

Relevant work experience

Other work experience

Took lead role as Camp Sports Manager organising 12 other Counsellors

Sept 2010 July 2012

Front of House Team Leader

Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office, SPSS statistical package

Full clean driving licence

Interests and Activities

Student Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology

References available on request

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