Were you made redundant from your previous job and are now thinking about returning to the workforce?
The redundancy may have been because your role was no longer required in the company or perhaps they needed to cut costs. Whatever the reasons, if you now feel ready to put your jobs strategy in place, take a look at how to create a redundancy CV template.
1. Personal Statement
A personal statement also referred to as a personal profile, is an introductory paragraph at the beginning of your CV. It is an outline of your experience and abilities and how they are relevant to the role you are applying for.
You can use the personal statement to reference the reason for your redundancy if you wish. Keep the explanation to the point, one line is fine.
An example might be, “Driven Marketing Manager with over ten years experience in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. Proven track record of success, including managing the top performing campaign in Europe. Currently out of work due to the company relocation, looking for the next opportunity to join an established company in a middle management position.”
2. Key Skills
Next, you could highlight your key skills instead of starting with your work experience. Similar to the personal statement, give examples of skills that are applicable to the role. Examples may be:
- Strong leadership skills, led several cross-functional teams in three regions to bring big brand projects to successful completion.
- Expert knowledge of the FMCG sector
- Experienced user of marketing software [insert name]
- Fluent in three foreign languages including Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.
3. Experience
The experience section should contain your most recent employment, listed in reverse chronological order. It should contain each company name, start and finish dates, location and a brief description of each position.
Mention your main responsibilities but focus on listing your achievements and results. Mention any big brands or clients you worked. Again this section needs to be tailored to only include the relevant information to the role you are applying for.
If you don’t have a recent example of employment to list then include any relevant training, volunteer, community or part-time work. Add anything that showcases the range of skills you have that are applicable to the role.
4. Education
List your education in reverse chronological order. Start with the name of the qualification/award and include dates, level achieved (ie First Class Honours) and start and finish dates.
5. Awards or Accolades
Include any industry-specific recognitions or notable achievements. Don’t include anything that is not relevant to the specific sector or industry that you are applying for.
An example may be: I lead the team that won the 2017 All Ireland Marketing Award for Best Brand Campaign. This award was given in recognition of the team’s outstanding success in creating clarity around the brand’s values, achieving differentiation in the minds of consumers and consequently achieving significant brand growth.
6. Personal Interests
Only include a personal interest if you want to demonstrate a skill relevant to the job, a certain quality or personality trait. For example, if you know that the company you are applying for a job with is passionate about the environment or has recently invested in green technology, then you could mention your involvement in Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth or another relevant organisation.
Final Tips
- Study the job description in detail and research the employer in-depth before customizing your CV. Always aim to match your skills to the job you are applying for.
- You don’t have to disclose your unemployment status on your CV. However, it is advisable, as outlined above, to mention it briefly in the personal statement. Being honest about your current situation means the recruiter won’t have questions regarding the dates of your last employment.
- Emphasise your skills and qualities – especially those gained since being made redundant.
- Be concise, keep the document to the point and focused on the main points. No more than two A4 sheets of paper, ideally one double-sided printed page.
- Give a brief description of the details of your redundancy in your cover letter, mentioning the reasons for it and if others were also made redundant.