Alfred Russel Wallace     

22 Temple Road, Folkestone, Kent CT17 3YU Date of Birth: 6th February, 1990.  

Email: arw999@yahoo.co.uk Mobile: 0339005678 Tel: 0167534768

PROFILE

I am passionate about conservation and the environment. My three years of study and my summer practical field work experience have strongly confirmed biodiversity conservation as the career choice for me. I am now looking forward to a career focused on my passion for the environment, presenting opportunities to work with similar minded people.

My reliability, communication skills, responsibility and friendly nature are assets I would bring to the work. I have experience in project management and strong organizational and administrative skills with the ability to work independently and use my own initiative. I also have the ability to prioritise whilst under pressure meeting tight deadlines. I have specific experience in research, data collection and analysis.

I am able to work in a multi-cultural team and adapt to new cultures. My previous positions have involved working and living in remote areas often under difficult conditions with significant physical fieldwork.

A large font size for the name makes it stand out and easier to find in a pile of CVs

Use a sensible email address. Something like RavingLoony@hotmilk.com may not make the best impression!

A profile or career objective isn't essential as much of this information would be included in a covering letter. It can be a useful summary particularly if you are sending your CV to recruitment agencies where a letter may become detached. You can also call this a career aim, profile or personal statement.

EDUCATION

2008-2011 THE UNIVERSITY OF KENT Biodiversity Conservation BSc (Hons)

The use of tables to list modules looks smart, suggests an organised person, and makes the CV easier to read. You can add your module marks here if they are good!

Modules and practical skills are listed as every environmental course is slightly different.

If you were going for a non-science job (e.g. banking, you could leave these out.

Research Project. Field research in a tropical forest in the Peruvian Amazon has allowed me to develop both theoretical and practical skills including developing a research proposal, finding appropriate methods, conducting research, analysing results, interpreting results, writing up a full research project and giving an oral presentation on my findings. I gained a knowledge of biological field techniques with specific experience including wildlife tracking using GPS telemetry, wildlife collaring and wildlife health monitoring.

2001-2008 Folkestone High School

A-levels: History B, Biology B, English C

GCSEs: 8 including Maths and English at grades A to C

Projects are very important if you are going for research work as they are the nearest thing you will have done to real science work. You could sell the skills you had gained here:

• ability to work independently
• manage your time
• solve problems
• working in a team (for group projects)

RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE

July ‘07 – Sept ’07 Kenya for 3 months.

I have organised work experience during my summer holidays which has involved conducting scientific research, animal care and a variety of physically demanding activities, all of which have contributed to my personal development.

Voluntary work for “Save The Elephants”: taking part in daily research work in the field. Data collection and entry on the computer. Tracking and monitoring of the elephant population. Participation in the fixing of GPS collars on selected elephants.

2008-09 Blean Woods RSPB Nature Reserve Rough Common, Canterbury

Voluntary work on Saturdays, clearing rhododendron bushes, coppicing and preparing environments for the Heath Fritillary butterfly

OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE

Summer 2008 Next Retail (Sales Assistant)

The job entailed working on the busy sales floor, taking deliveries, stock control and dealing with customers with high quality customer care.

September 2006-February 2009 Sales Adviser in the Cookware Department, BHS.

Duties involved stock taking, ordering of relevant stock from warehouse, arranging stock, displaying sales items, customer assistance and advice, arranging special orders and deliveries, as well as answering telephone enquiries. I was also responsible for my own particular sections of the department and had to ensure they met with the approval of my department store managers.

Other jobs have also included: voluntary care in Folkestone Hospital and assisting in teaching infants at a Primary School.

Here experience is divided into relevant experience and other experience. This is not essential, but means that the selector reads about your relevant experience first

Fonts are largely down to personal preference, but choose something clear and easy to read. My own preference is for the "Sans" fonts. Lucida Sans or Verdana in 10 points for the body text is a good choice (don't use Comic Sans!). This CV is set in Verdana. Subheadings such as Education and Work Experience can be slightly larger: say 12 or 14 points.

Although these are not all science jobs, transferable skills are mentioned here. For example, people skills, teamworking skills, communication skills - all valuable evidence that you could employ these in a science setting. This is a good place to use Action Verbs

If you have done a lot of jobs, you can summarise the more routine jobs, rather than filling your CV with lots of irrelevant information.

All of my work experiences have involved working within a team-based culture. This involved planning, organisation, co-ordination and commitment e.g., in retail, this ensured daily sales targets were met, a fair distribution of tasks and effective communication amongst all staff members.

SKILLS

Again more evidence of relevant skills, focusing on some of the core competencies needed in science jobs

Computing skills are important to mention: be specific about which programs you have used.

INTERESTS

• My peers nominated me as course representative for my degree course.
• At university I was a member of the Badminton Society which I attended weekly and successfully encouraged friends to join. 
• I have travelled to Peru, Kenya, Europe, the USA and Asia.

REFEREES

Try to show a broad variety of interests and focus more on social and active rather than solitary and passive interests. Serious commitment to at least one activity can be viewed favourably, as will evidence of getting on well with other people e.g. in team sports. Independent or challenging holidays or foreign travel can also look good.

Again, sell your transferable skills here: evidence of leadership, responsibility, and communicating.