When writing a CV you must always be aware that this is your first impression. If your CV is not effective and doesn’t sell you, then your chance of being offered an interview is rapidly reduced. Always consider what you would like your CV to say about yourself. Because every employer needs facts about your skills, experience, qualifications, and some personal insight. Your CV must be clear and easy to read.
Some tips for CV
- Your CV should be no longer than two sides of A4 paper with black print
- Always check the spelling and grammar
- Remember to use spacing well as this helps
- Highlight the different sections
- Think about the font you use.
Structure of a CV:
- Personal details
- Education history
- Employment history
- Additional qualifications, courses, projects
- Key skills and strenghts
- Hobbies and Interests
- References
Personal details – Here you can include your name and surname, address, phone number, professional email address and possibly any social media presence (Linkedin, Skype). You no longer need to include your date of birth, owing to age discrimination rules.
Education history – Here you can include list your university, college or school, the subject you studied and the grades you achieved. If you are an undergraduate then you can still include your expected grade and share any previous year grades.
Employment history – Write in reverse chronological order, including starting and leaving dates for each position. Include name of employer, your position, the length of time you worked there, your responsibilities and what you achieved when in employment. If your employment history is long, limit the number of jobs you include to only the four or five most relevant. If there are any time gaps between employment explain what you were doing in that time, for example travelling, at college, carrying out charity fund raising work.
Additional qualifications – Here you can include any extracurricular qualifications you may have.
Key skills and strenghts – Here you can include your specific skills such as IT skills, language and having driving licence, etc., that could be valuable for employer and that make you stand out from the rest of the applicants.
Interests – This section is optional. Here you can include what you do in your free time. Keep it short and avoid obvious things such as “reading” or “watching TV”. This section is your opportunity to show what you do outside of work and give the employer another insight into character.
References – Contact details of previous employers or academic tutors, to be contacted for details about your strengths and how you conduct yourself. Ideally two conctact – one academic and one of previous employer.
