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How To Write A Good CV
A well-presented CV is vital in your
search for a new job. It will not
get you the job, but a good CV makes the difference between getting an
interview and your application being thrown in the bin. With your CV
being one of many, recruiters will only read it for a short space of
time, so it is extremely important that it is structured clearly, with
your best selling points presented in a logical manner and the most
relevant information readily identifiable.
Everybody writes and presents their CV as they like, there is no right
or wrong way. However, with these words of advice we will help you
produce a clear and concise CV that will increase your chances of being
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Content
To begin, prepare a list of your key competencies and skills that your
employer will be looking for. Be analytical about yourself and identify
your main selling points that differentiate yourself from competitors.
The most common content to be included includes:
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Personal Details:
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Name, Date of Birth, Contact Details, Nationality - Work Permit if
relevant.
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Education and
Qualifications:
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The full title of your degree and university and any significant exam
results, Secondary School and A/AS level subjects and grades.
Concentrate on GCSE and beyond.
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Work Experience:
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List the companies that you have worked for, the dates that you worked
at them and a brief description of your role. It is important that they
are relevant and detailed in short, bullet-pointed statements. Make
clear what your individual contribution was using positive language and
include your responsibilities and achievements. Back everything up with
quantifiable facts, such as size of budgets and results achieved, to
make your skills tangible.
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Achievements:
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Think carefully about which examples you include in this section, as
employers may deduce a lot from your choice about your motivations and
what you regard as important. Employers are only interested in your
most recent achievements.
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Extra-Curricular Activities:
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This section on hobbies and interests should be kept short and include
information, such as, membership of and positions of responsibility in
sports teams, drama societies etc. Any information should have a
purpose, showing
skills relevant to the role you are applying for and
saying something of interest about yourself.
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General Skills:
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Driving licence details, courses attended, foreign languages and IT
(include level of proficiency).
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References:
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Unless requested, references need not be given at the initial
application stage and a simple "references available on request" should
suffice. Employers will ask for references if and when they need them.
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Good CV's are logical, clear, concise and simple with sentences
including short, to the point key words and statements. It is best to
leave out words, such as, 'and' and 'I' as much as you can and make
each sentence as meaningful as possible. An effective CV needs to focus
the readers' attention on the criteria that they are looking for,
highlighting important information that can be accessed and interpreted
easily. Try to match yourself with the criteria they are looking for.
You may also be asked to justify and elaborate certain statements that
you have made in your CV if you are invited to an interview, so you
should be honest and accurate all the way through. Be careful not to
over-exaggerate, however, always remain positive! Accurate spelling,
punctuation and grammar are vital, as well as the overall layout and
format of the CV.
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Structure & Presentation
First impressions are very important! Each section needs to be headed
clearly so that it is well presented, orderly and pleasing to look at,
to avoid any discouragement to read on. Your skills, experience and
achievements must flow in a logical manner detailing all key points.
Any dates should be included where applicable and placed in reverse
chronological order within each section.
Two pages is the standard length of a
good CV, however, although you
want to avoid adding irrelevant material that will bore the reader you
do not want to miss out including valuable information or cramping all
your data into a shorter CV. So, try to include at the beginning the
most important skills and abilities where the reader will look first
and include your name and page numbers in the header or footer of each
page to avoid any confusion.
Once a layout and structure is decided on, you should stick to it using
consistent headings and sub-headings as well as a standard font size
and type. In general, Times New Roman or Arial and size 9/10 is the
norm but the use of bold or different size fonts can highlight
important information and point the reader to the relevant areas! All
text should be fully justified so the paragraphs look neat and tidy and
there should be a balance between text and space. Bullet points are
useful to break up text, black lines can be used to emphasise headings
and sometimes text can be split into two columns to look more
professional, for example, in personal details.
But remember, there is no one standard layout or format for CV's and
those of professionals will be very different to those of graduates.
Individual tastes of both the recruiter and applicant mean no absolute
design will be right and you must also remember that CV's for different
job applications must vary to be tailored to their requirements. The
design of your
CV does not however get you an interview no matter how
attractive it is; you must bear in mind that the content you put in and
your selling points are paramount.
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Finally
A good idea is to print off your final copy and look at it, getting a
second opinion on its content and presentation. To see what looks best
you should experiment with different formats as it may take several
different drafts to get to the final selected one. Check that your
personal details are all correct, your spelling, punctuation and
grammar are accurate, the presentation is pleasing to the eye, you have
identified your main selling points and you have avoided any
repetitions.
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GET YOUR CV PROFESSIONALLY WRITTEN
10
TOP CV TIPS
RECRUITERS
CV TIPS
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POINTS TO ALWAYS REMEMBER
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