How to Write an Electrician CV
You need a first-class Electrician CV, as the construction industry is still affected by the recession, it has never been harder to secure work as an electrician. Competition for jobs in the commercial and domestic sectors is hotly contested, meaning it's never been more important to improve your chances of gaining a job interview by having an excellent CV.
Your CV needs to have the competitive edge. This may be hard to get used to, especially if you're used to getting work due to 'who you know', without submitting a formal application. Yet while personal contacts will still be important, many electricians are going to find their personal contacts no longer have the jobs to give out.
When it comes to job applications, you need to make sure yours stands out from those of other candidates who may have similar qualifications and experience. This means not only giving details of your professional skills, but of showing the employer that you can present yourself and interact with others too. Your CV must impress that employer in many ways.
A professional CV from Bradley CVs can make it much easier to secure work as an electrician with employers that require a CV from you.
Electrician CV Profile
This short statement at the top of the first page of an Electrician's CV highlights your main qualifications, the length and breadth of your experience and your personal strengths as a professional worker. If well-written, it will tell the employer that you care about the impression you make. The employer, of course, is going to want employees who can present themselves to customers too.
It's easy to write one profile and use that version for all your job applications, but it's going to be most effective if you write one for each type of job you apply for - i.e. you target your Electrician CV by altering it to suit each vacancy. This makes it more important to read the job description and note what is most important to that employer.
Your profile on your Electrician CV should only be 2 to 3 sentences long, but it must make a strong statement in summing you up. You should include your professional title, how many years' experience you have and in which industrial sectors.
This can be followed by the key areas of your experience - these should be highly relevant to the vacancy, so select them carefully.
Next, list 3 or 4 of your main knowledge areas. If you have certifications, these will usually be the areas you list here. When writing these up, mix in some of your personal attributes and strengths. These strengths are frequently 'transferable skills' that you can use in different jobs.
Examples for an electrician are: problem solving, analytical thinking, attention to detail, being practical, having a methodical approach, a flexible approach, ability to work under pressure, etc. Don't try to include them all. Just 2 or 3 will give your profile some impact. The rest are still important, as you can use them all throughout your CV.
A CV writer from Bradley CVs can help with your Profile (and other sections of your CV), giving you a CV that enables you to secure work as an electrician with both large and small companies.
Achievements for an Electrician's CV
If your work has been notable for some reason, then an achievements section will help your Electrician CV stand out from other candidates. An achievement is something you did in your work to make a difference, which can hopefully be measured or quantified in a numerical way.
Achievements are usually presented as 4 or 5 bullet pointed sentences. They are most easily identified if you've held greater responsibility in a project or have worked on jobs where you've had to design and implement solutions. Examples might be training other staff or supervising a team.
An example might be if you have helped clients make major savings through energy-efficient solutions - you can state how much money you have saved them. Another achievement might be the development of new business through referrals from satisfied customers - you can state how much new business you were able to generate.
What Skills Should You List on an Electrician's CV?
As practical skills and training are so important in this trade, you can deviate from the standard 'chronological' or 'performance' CV format by including this short table under your Profile or, if you've included one, your Achievements section or after your Career History.
This is common with technical CVs, as it enables the employer to see at a glance if you possess the training and skills they are looking for.
If you don't, your CV won't persuade them to interview you, no matter how well written it is. This section ensures that your skill set is highly visible on page one of your Electrician CV.
The skills section is no more than a list, presented in a table format so that it doesn't take up too much space in your CV. The table should have 3 columns. For example, your areas of expertise might look like this. Note that additional certifications such as First Aid have been included as skills areas.
| Electrical installations | Inspections and repairs | System upgrades |
| Electronic controls | Switch gears | Fire alarm systems |
| Low voltage switching systems | Machinery controls | Service and repairs |
| Maintenance schedules | Quality control standards | First Aid and CPR |
Career History on Your Electrician CV
In this section on your Electrician CV, you present your work history in reverse date order, i.e. starting with your most recent job and heading back. List your employer, the inclusive dates you were employed and the role you played. This means outlining your duties, but without simply repeating lists of skills you used in various tasks.
Instead, you can group your duties into a few bullet-pointed sentences, summing up your contribution. There's no need to repeat all your skill again, as the employer already knows your profession and can see which skills you have from the above table.
On the other hand, you can certainly mention the outstanding or unusual skills or knowledge that you've used, as these mark you out from other candidates.
Also, you can easily write up your duties as if they were achievements - wherever possible, include numbers or quantities. For example, "Worked as electrician on more than 100 new home construction projects."
Qualifications and Training for an Electrician CV
Finally, you should list all your qualifications at the end of your CV. Regulations state that particular certifications must be held for different types of electrical works, so start the list with those that are required for your work.
Start with any City & Guilds qualifications you have: the 17th Edition 2382-10, the 16th Edition and 2382-20 update, with the awarding institute and date you achieved the certification.
If you're a domestic installer, include the City & Guilds 2393-10 Building Regulations qualification if you have it.
The Electrotechnical Technology NVQ3 qualification covers electrical installation and maintenance, instrumentation and equipment, and highway electrical systems. This is required for certain types of domestic electrical work.
If you've completed or are still completing an apprenticeship, state which level of NVQ/SVQ you are taking or have taken. Include dates of completion or expected completion, the name of the institution where you are studying and the employer you are undertaking your apprenticeship with (this employer will already be listed in your work history).
Pages an electrician may want to view:
- Need to improve your electrician CV? A CV writer from Bradley CVs can really improve an electrician's CV and make both big and small companies want to offer you a job.
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- Free CV Review
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