Candidates

CV Tips

A successful CV should be simple, clear and concise. Choose a simple, black font and use a plain white background with no decoration. It must be word processed and should be well structured and easy to read. Aim for a length of two sides of A4 and never write more than three. If you are struggling, use a smaller font but make sure it is easy to read. Use bullet points, but sparingly.

You should start off with your personal details. Include your full name and your nationality. Details like 'marital status' and 'sex' are likely to be irrelevant. New legislation states that it is not necessary to include your D.O.B. but you may decide to anyway.

The next thing to be included should be your contact details. Include your e-mail address, your phone number and your postal address. It seems obvious but it is worth double checking as however brilliant the rest of your CV, it doesn't matter if an employer is unable to contact you!

After these details, write a short personal statement. This should highlight your professional attributes and summarise your career goals. You are convincing your prospective employer to read on. This section in particular may need to be tailored to suit the specific job or industry for which you are applying.

Next list your skills. Divide this into two sections: technical skills and personal skills. Your technical skills section should include any knowledge or practical skills that you have which are relevant to the job, for example your typing speed, computer programs you are able to use, any extra languages you speak, any relevant training courses you have undertaken and whether or not you have a driving licence and/or your own transport. Your personal skills section should include attributes which are relevant to the role and transferrable skills from previous employment. There are some qualities which will be relevant to practically any role such as flexibility and good communication skills.

Next should come your education and qualification history. You can judge how much detail is relevant for each education level. It is unlikely that employers will need to know all of your GSCE subjects, especially if they are irrelevant to the job. However, you will probably need to include more details for higher education etc. For each stage include school/college/university name, location, course title and grades. You could also mention any particular achievements or prizes you have attained here if applicable.

Now finally we arrive at the main part of your CV; your employment history. For each job start with your job title, followed by the company name, its location and the dates of employment. For your most relevant jobs, list your responsibilities and achievements using appropriate adverbs and adjectives to sell yourself to your prospective employer. Give specifics and figures if you can.

It is important not to leave any unexplained gaps in your CV. If you have been out of work for a while due to travelling, illness or injury, say so. For jobs which are less relevant, keep it simple, but do not leave them out.

A good way to finish up is either with a couple of, preferably professional, reference details, or simply 'references available on request.' Ideally one of your references should be your most recent employer.

Once everything is written up, proof reading is extremely important. Spelling and grammar mistakes look terrible and you can not necessarily trust the spell check on your computer! Use capitals in all the appropriate places such as at the beginning of names, for all the 'I's, for your postcode and at the beginning of each sentence. Write in complete sentences unless using bullet points.

Some of most common mistakes people make when writing CVs are leaving gaps or omitting dates. In today's economic climate with multiple candidates applying for every vacancy, mistakes like these could mean your application will not even be considered. A professional looking CV convinces the employer to read on and content which does not disappoint can win you that sought after interview!

To download our CV template, click here (MS Word document).

Click here for our guide to writing a cover letter.

Click here for our interview tips.