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Give your CV some thought and spend some time on getting it right – it may make all the difference in getting the job you really want.

Most importantly, always thoroughly proof-read your CV or ask someone to do it for you before sending it to either an agency or a potential employer.
 

• Make sure your CV is well laid out so that it is immediately easy to read and understand. Leave plenty of white space.
• Use concise, unambiguous sentences; avoid exaggerations and a flowery writing style.
• Do not make false claims; honesty is always the best policy.
• Bullet points are useful to highlight relevant skills and experience and help break up continuous text.
• Depending on your experience, two pages is an ideal length.
• Stress your past accomplishments and the skills you used to get the results you achieved.
• Focus on information, which is relevant to your own career goals.
• If you are making a career change, stress what skills are transferable to support your new career objectives.
• Put your highest level of education first.
• Put your most recent job first and work backward chronologically in time.
• Ensure all dates are accurate.
• Explain any long career gaps (i.e. traveling, maternity leave etc) these will only need to be explained to our clients. .
• Avoid references to hobbies, activities and memberships, which are not business related, or have no relevance to your current career goals or job objectives.
• If you are preparing a CV for a specific vacancy, explain why you would be good at the position for which you are applying. This is a brief summary of your significant technical and managerial skills (where appropriate). Include accomplishments and soft skills such as team player, dependable and successfully meeting deadlines. E.g. – Achieved a fundraising target of £100,000 within one year.

Checklist

There are a number of ways to write a CV. Listed below is a check list of things you might include. We recommend you keep your CV where possible to 2 pages maximum. Take some time on the layout and use a professional and polished looking font.

CURRICULUM VITAE

 

 

• Name
• Address
• Telephone/Mobile
• Email
• Date of Birth
• Gender
• Marital Status
• Nationality
• Driving Licence

Profile/Personal Overview

This section should be concise and include personal strengths and attributes along with your career achievements and aspirations. It is designed to give an overview of you as an individual and is an opportunity to sell yourself.

Career History

It is important to give more in-depth information on your recent positions, beyond 10 years a brief description will suffice unless the role is extremely relevant. Positions should be listed in reverse chronological order and include:

 

• Company name
• Dates of employment
• Position held

A description of the role itself should include:

 

• Company business
• Products and services you were selling
• New business or account management
• Target markets and customer base
• Targets and achievements

Education, Professional Qualifications and Training

Keep this section concise, it is not always necessary or relevant to list all the schools you attended and the grade you got for woodwork!

Interests

Once again keep this concise or use bullet points

References

List two from your most recent employers.

Useful links for CV writing

The following are some useful links with regards to CV writing information.

CV Service Professional CVs / Resumes for Professionals
http://www.cv-service.org/

The CV Centre Specialists in professional Curriculum Vitae (CV) and cover letter writing and assistance.
http://www.cvcl.co.uk/

The CV Store CV writing service, free CV writing tips plus lots of tools and advice for jobseekers
http://www.thecvstore.net/