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Writing a Great CV
When drafting your CV it is important to remember that this is your first introduction to a prospective employer, and will form the basis for much of what will be discussed at a first interview.
A professional and well written CV will promote you in the best possible light, and give you an advantage in helping to secure interviews.
How do you write a great CV? What should be included and how should it look? There is no single right way to structure and present at CV, but the following should help to provide a good framework for work from.
Information to include:
Personal details
Include your full name, address and telephone numbers, email and visa status, being sure to avoid anything superfluous such as children’s names, sporting teams you support etc. You are not legally required to include your date of birth or marital status.
Education and Qualifications
Detail your relevant qualifications and academics in reverse order making sure to include the names of institutions attended, dates, and results obtained. Universities should be included before schools.
Work Experience
For most appointments a chronological CV is most relevant. Career history is included in reverse date order, starting with the most recent. Be sure to list your job title, achievements and an overview of your main responsibilities for each role. Add more emphasis on the more recent roles. You should explain any periods of unemployment in your career history.
Skills
Include computer skills, foreign language skills and any training or development attended that is relevant to the role you are applying for.
Hobbies and Interests
If including this, keep it short.
Referees
This can be full details, or simply “available on request”
General
- Your CV should be laser printed in black ink, using a plain font and on good quality paper. Avoid photos, fancy fonts, clip art, borders etc.
- A good CV will be concise and relevant, the content clear and well structured. Aim for 2 to 3 pages, any more than this is probably too much
- Use bullet points rather than full sentences to help minimise word usage
- Tailor each CV application to the role being applied for
- Make sure your CV is free of errors and makes sense when read as a whole. Ask someone else to proof read it for you before sending it out
- Remember that your CV is a marketing document, and it is marketing you, and that it will be used by a potential employer to form interview questions
- You should not include reasons for leaving roles, but be prepared to answer these at an interview
- Current salary information should not be included
- Every application should be accompanied by a tailored covering letter
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