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If you’re wondering how to write a CV for a part-time job, you’re in the right place!
At PurpleCV, we know jobs come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, but one thing stays the same: the importance of your CV.
A part-time job doesn’t mean your CV can be in any way lacking or less complete than one you would use for a full time role.
In fact, there are additional elements to consider when writing a CV for a part-time position.
Remember: it’s a competitive job market out there. Part-time jobs can be particularly sought after, and in certain settings, such as university towns, employers will have a significant number of CVs to sort through.
They’ll be looking for a good culture fit, as well as the right skill set. Make your CV stand-out, and be sure not to make any “textbook” CV errors.
In this guide, we’ll give you our top tips for writing a CV for a part-time job.
It’s important you convey your reasons for wanting to work part-time.
This is where the personal statement section (three to four sentences, max. 150 words) at the top of your CV comes into play.
By sharing your motivation for working part-time, an employer can gain a sense of how you might fit into the team and may also be able to consider practical concerns such as schedules.
For example, if you’re a student, they will know that you are more likely to be available evenings and weekends.
Note: you might be looking to work part-time for various personal reasons, such as due to illness or a change in family circumstances.
While you’re perfectly entitled to mention this, particularly if it makes you feel more comfortable to let your potential employer know up front, there’s no obligation to.
Indeed, it isn’t professionally relevant, therefore be sure to focus primarily on relevant skills and experience for the role.
While you should be able to succinctly convey the above in the personal statement, it isn’t uncommon to include a cover letter in your application for a part-time job. This allows you to expand on your key selling points and add some additional shine to your application.
If you’re looking for a professionally written cover letter, get in touch.
It’s important to read the job description forensically.
What skills are mentioned? And how does your skillset compare?
Remember, many skills are transferable. You may think that your previous work experience isn’t particularly relevant to the part-time role you’re applying for, but there’s almost certainly going to be useful skills to draw from it.
For example, working on front-desk demonstrates an ability to be customer/client facing, denotes organisational skills, and likely, a good phone manner.
Once you’ve identified the skills you’ve developed in previous roles, it’s important to tailor your CV to the job description. You can do this by mentioning the specific requirements throughout and linking them back to your past experience.
If you’re struggling to identify the most appropriate skills for a particular part-time role, it can be helpful to split a page into four sections, and brainstorm “soft” skills (personal attributes), “hard” skills (such as proficiency in a foreign language), technical skills, and others.
You can learn more about the different types of skills and how to include them on your CV in our blog.
Once you have your list of skills, you can reuse it time and again for other applications, bearing in mind that each time you apply for a job, your CV should be tailored to that particular role.
When writing a part-time CV, it can be tempting to simply list your work experience chronologically, providing the employer with a picture of where you worked and when.
This approach may be unhelpful as it doesn’t provide the employer with the information required to judge whether you’re the right fit for the role.
Instead, be sure to detail what the role entailed (core responsibilities) and any stand-out achievements there. If you received frequent praise from management, or developed strong relationships with customers, shout about it!
You may want to move away from the chronological CV format entirely. It may be suitable to group your employment history by skills – a particularly popular choice for those with career gaps or returning to work after some time away from the workplace.
In our blog, you can find out more about the different types of CV and take our quiz to see which is best for you.
If you feel you’re lacking any relevant work experience when writing a part-time CV, this isn’t necessarily cause to panic or to assume you won’t be able to get the job.
In fact, many applicants for part-time jobs will be in a similar situation, particularly those still in education or having recently left school.
Expand further on any additional skills that you have which are relevant to the job, and include a hobbies and interests section.
While professional experience and educational qualifications will take precedence, detailing your interests away from the workplace can effectively support your application.
A hobby can demonstrate perseverance and patience, among other things. Hobbies that involve others can signify teamwork and the ability to get on well with others.
Indeed, the employer may recognise that you share interests with them or other team members, which might make it easier for you to integrate into the team.
For more information about hobbies and interests on your CV, check out our guide.
We see it so often – an applicant has worked hard to tailor their CV to the role, has thought diligently about their skills and achievements, but fails to proofread their work.
A simple typo or misspelling can really draw attention away from everything else that you’ve done well on your CV.
Proof once. Then proof again. And if you find an error, well, you know what to do. Yep, proof once more.
You may also find it helpful to send your CV to a friend or family member, so a fresh pair of eyes can look over it and spot any errors you’ve missed.
Make sure the CV format is tidy and consistent throughout.
If an employer is looking through multiple applications, poor presentation could count against an applicant – particularly if they are applying for a role in which appearance and attention to detail counts.
Generally, we’d suggest converting your CV into PDF format as this removes the risk of formatting issues if the employer is using a different word processor or device.
When considering how to write a CV for a part-time job, it’s important to reflect that the core principles of good CV writing remain the same.
Remember to tailor your CV to the role, and consider the most appropriate skills to highlight – as well as how to present them most effectively.
As always, attention to detail counts. Accuracy is key.
If you would like to discuss writing a CV for a part-time role, or you’d like to know more about PurpleCV’s CV writing services, get in touch today.
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