Extra skills 'will illuminate your CV'

University-leavers have been told to get ahead of the pack by presenting a CV littered with skills and experience.

The importance of an eye-catching CV has never been of greater significance among graduates as a flurry of university-leaving employment-seekers flood the jobs market each year.

It is therefore essential a student does his or her upmost to make sure their CV stands out from the crowd, as a dull representation is likely to end up in an employer's already-overflowing wastebasket.

But with so many applicants vying for just a small number of positions, how can job-hunters make themselves more attractive on paper?

Well, the key - according to Peter Panayotou, senior consultant for CV advice service The Write Stuff - is to pepper a resume with a rainbow of different skills.

The industry expert noted employers are keen to seek out a proactive candidate who is willing to try his hand at any number of endeavours in order to enrich his life experiences and widen his knowledge base.

Mr Panayotou explained the pursuit could be a world removed from the position a candidate is hoping to land - as the important thing is to show he has the drive to get off the sofa and go looking for fresh challenges.

"Even if it is something completely unconnected, you can fill a gap while also building skills with something such as a first aid course," he observed.

Another area it is imperative a graduate focuses on is the grammar and spelling of their CV, as each mistake spotted acts as another nail in the coffin for a jobseeker's hopes of landing the place.

Proofreading a resume is an absolute must, Mr Panayotou declared.

"Spelling errors are just fatal in a CV and I see quite a lot. Paradoxically that is also the easiest thing to remedy," he added.

The specialist's comments came after an article in the Guardian revealed to students the mountainous task that faces them when their gowns have been handed back and they walk out the university gates to face life on the outside world.

According to the newspaper, today's college-leavers are heading into the biggest scramble for work in the last decade.

It estimated there is going to be an average of 70 applications for each post, while the number of jobs available has plummeted by nearly seven per cent.

And the achievements gained by the pupils during their years in the classroom are now to be put under even greater scrutiny, with nearly 78 per cent of workplaces insisting on a 2:1 degree minimum, according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters.

The organisation polled in excess of 200 firms, including Marks & Spencer and Cadbury.

Again, students were advised to bolster their CV by squeezing in as much extra-curricular pursuits as possible, as well as littering it with work experience - even if it means stacking shelves or flipping burgers for a spell.

Carl Gilleard, the chief executive of the association, remarked: "They need both short-term and long-term career goals because you're graduating in a very tough climate."

So, there you go wide-eyed university graduates, get moving.

A CV needs to be a pulsating account of your wonderful achievements and experiences, one that an employer could never chuck in his waste bin.

Get searching, get working and get helping. Just get off the sofa and make it happen.