Ask the expert: How to write the best CV

Q. We found the article, "Find the right job fit", in the New Zealand Herald and wondered if you could suggest where we might find examples of how to write CVs and cover letters. In the article you were making suggestions for someone who had just returned from overseas, but we found your ideas too broad for the problems we are facing.

My husband and I would be deeply grateful as we have returned from overseas ourselves, and are finding great difficulty with barriers such as our late age and nationality.

A. There are a number of websites and services that offer assistance in formatting your CV, but some can be rather expensive, and they may not all fit the industries and type of work that interests you.

If you need general career guidance and help in making a transition, head to the public library and look for Richard Bolles' What Color is Your Parachute?

There is also a workbook made from the book, and look for more recent editions. This offers a framework for thinking through the skills and abilities that you have, what kind of work you might want to pursue, and where your strengths are. While you're in the library, you'll probably see quite a few other books in this section that might offer some help as well.

There are also several books on writing CVs; have a look and see if you can find one that is local (practices vary widely by country) and fairly recent. When I took a stroll through the stacks, I spotted Write Your Own CV, by Lyn Ayo, which looked good.

There are also several websites that I was able to find with clear examples and instructions on writing a CV. Two that provided the clearest guidance were on government websites.

The first,

Leadership Development Centre

, is the website for the leadership development centre for the New Zealand public sector. From their homepage, if you select "services" then "publications", you'll see the article "Preparing a curriculum vitae", by Keith McGregor, which is very clear.

Another great resource appears on the

Ministry of Economic Development

website. There are additional CV resources at

NZ Job find

and

Working in NZ

.

With regard to cover letters, there are far fewer resources available, but general suggestions include making it clear what position you are applying for, summarising how your qualifications and experience qualify you for the post you are applying for, and drawing attention to any part of your CV that you think is particularly relevant to the vacancy.

Assume that your CV and letter might be separated in the process, so someone who reads your CV on its own should also be able to see the key points that make the job a good fit for you. Many people deal with this by putting a summary at the beginning of their CV which relates their skills and experience to the job they are applying for.

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Q. I work in an open plan office, and I often hear my co-workers discussing something that I could actually help them with, by volunteering a contact or providing some documentation. I always feel quite awkward saying anything, though, because then I'm basically admitting that I'm eavesdropping. Is there a protocol for this?

A. Open plan does present some problems about privacy. One of the reasons for open-plan offices was to provide for flexibility in working together and more open communication, but knowing how open communication is can be a problem, as we often pretend we don't hear things, when we clearly do.

The sharing of information is exactly what the open plan office was designed to accomplish, it's up to you and your colleagues to work out the best ways to make it work for you.

Perhaps a quick meeting, maybe over morning or afternoon tea, could be used to discuss the issue. I think you could open by stating the issue exactly as you have above; it's unlikely that you are the only person who has this dilemma.

Discuss how it should be handled and set your own group protocol, then meet again at some agreed point in the future to make sure it is working for everyone.

Groups in open plan often have a set of expectations that they've developed to enhance working together. For example, your group might agree that if you have a private matter that you'll go out for a cup of coffee or use a meeting room, that if you're on the phone that you don't want to be disturbed, but any other time it's fine to enter the discussion.

Other groups use space to signal privacy, using a closed meeting room for private discussions, working privately at a desk or work station, but being much more open in an area of the office reserved for informal meetings.

Some combination of methods is likely to work for your group, but a discussion will be required to gain a better understanding of the group's requirements.

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Email a question for Dr Marie Wilson