I haven't submitted a resume (or CV) to anyone in the UK because I work for U.S. clients. But it
is
illegal to ask about someone's age, marital status, children (or lack thereof), etc., in the States, and I certainly wouldn't include that on a resume here--it's completely immaterial to your ability to competently do the job. In the States you could reasonably point out that it's illegal to ask such questions--here, if you don't feel comfortable providing that information, you might politely turn the tables and say, quizzically, "Hmm. I don't quite understand how that matters as far as this job goes--is that important?" or something to that effect.
Also, in the days when I worked in an office and screened resumes for editorial assistants, etc., I never looked at an "Objective" statement at the top of a resume: Obviously, the "objective," ultimately, is to get a job. So people typically write fluff BS such as "OBJECTIVE: To apply my innovative skills and initiative at (fill-in-the-blank-job) to enable a progressive company to achieve its full potential," (or some such nonsense). You get the picture. Blah, blah, blah. Who cares?
Also, what your hobbies are, although perhaps interesting to friends, family, spouse, etc., are also immaterial to your competence for a job. I mean: Who cares, for instance, if you enjoy collecting stamps, skiing, picking lint off people's clothes, whatever? In the hundreds of resumes I've both screened and rewritten for people (and that's not an offer--sorry), I've, respectively, ignored the hobbies bit or deleted it.
As someone else mentioned, unless you're straight out of a university or similar program, you shouldn't list your educational background first--that immediately says you have little or no experience. If you've been in the job market for a while, leave your educational background at the bottom of the resume, along with any lists of awards or other formal acknowledgments you've received for your work.
I've written mine in backward chronological experience, according to the type of experience. In my case, it's been most recent editing experience (listing clients), and then other editorial jobs, again, in reverse order. Because I've also had some marketing and other experience, that's a separate but smaller section, again in backward chronological order.
If you don't have consistent experience in a given field, you might do better to break your resume down to the transferable skills you have that could apply to any of a number of fields. That's a functional (vs. chronological) resume, and there are many examples in jobhunting books.
As far as length goes, the general rule of thumb is that you should have no more than one page per 10 years of
pertinent
experience (that is, don't bother including your paper route or summer job at McDonald's on your resume). I've read that most employers find lengthy resumes a turnoff, and even more rarely still, read through more than two pages. You want to be as concise as possible, but strongly emphasize your achievements.
Check out a British resume (I won't use CV as a term here, as it's used only when referring to people with doctorates and post-doctoral experience in the States--we mere mortals without Ph.D.'s still go by "resume.") Speaking of which--don't write CV or resume at the top of your CV/resume. It's obvious what it is. Use British date, address, and phone number formatting, as well as British spelling wherever possible, but your resume really doesn't need to be that drastically different from one you'd submit in the States.
Also, do NOT send out the same generic cover letters (other than changing the company's and addressee's name) with your resume. Tailor each letter to the job you're seeking (for example, if you're replying to a newspaper ad or something a recruiter has given you, use the company's own words in your cover letter, and point out your strengths with those requirements. Respond specifically to what they've said they want in the prospective employee. Your cover letter is at least as important, if not MORE important, than your actual resume. If your cover letter doesn't stand out, your resume will get tossed, guaranteed, and you'll get the generic "Thanks for applying--we've chosen another candidate--we'll keep your CV on file should there be any openings in the future" letter. Yeah, right.
(God, I'm coming off as a complete know-it-all. Sorry about that. But I do know what I'm talking about.)
Two final things, the first critical.
Make
absolutely
sure that your spelling and grammar are perfect on your resume and in every cover letter--and I mean PERFECT. There are plenty of people other than editors who respect the language enough to see typos, misspellings, grammatical errors, etc., as a sign of apathy on your part, and possibly an indication that you may be equally careless on the job.
Finally (phew!), if you get an interview and start getting into salary negotiation, try to get a feel for what they're thinking first. If they ask what YOU'RE thinking, ask for 10 percent more than what your absolute bottom line is. They might just say okay, in which case you're fortunate. If not, you've still left yourself some room to let them "bargain you down," leaving them (and you) with a win-win feeling. I wouldn't recommend doing that if I hadn't been successful (often beyond expectation) in doing so myself, and also because a lot of women have a conciliatory tendency to accept a job that doesn't pay what they deserve.
Anyway, if I haven't literally bored you into a coma or to death by now, I hope that helps.
Suzanne
