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How to write a CV
Your
aim is to produce a CV that is interesting, while at the
same time keeping the reader engaged through the entire
length of the CV. To
have any chance of success, you must get the reader of
the CV to the second page and beyond with well-written
content.
A
CV is made up of several components:
- Profile
- Key
Achievements
- Work
History
- Company
� brief explanation of the
company
- Role
� what your role is
- Performance
� outline your success
- Education
- Personal
Information
Profile
This
is the first thing to be read on the CV and you are
trying to present the following:
- Past
experience
- Current
experience
- Future objective
This
is all to be achieved in a four/five line paragraph. This then gives the reader an
immediate pr�cis of you � and it should excite them
to read further.
Key Achievements
Highlight
five key achievements in your career to date, in a
succinct bullet point format. Have three standard ones,
and insert the other two, tailored to the position you
are sending your CV for.
Work History
Use
this standard format for each job, in reverse
chronology:
Company
Name
Job Title
Exact
dates of employment
-
Describe
the company � not everyone will know who they are or
what they do. Include the website address.
-
Describe
your role and responsibilities.
-
Describe
your achievements in the role.
Don�t
leave gaps in the work history � it immediately
creates doubt with the reader.
If
you have gaps in employment, make sure you cover them
with constructive comment, whether it be traveling,
studying, illness etc.
Education
List
all your qualifications in reverse chronological order.
Include where you achieved your qualifications.
Please
exercise caution here � if you have several stages of
education (GSCE�s; �A� Levels; Degree) you don�t
need to list all the GSCE�s you took, just simple the
number of passes.
Include
non-academic certifications only if they are relevant to
the position you are applying for.
Personal Information
Provide
full details to include:
- Full
Name
- Address
- Phone
numbers (landline and mobile)
- Email
address
Interests / Activities
You
may have noticed that these have been omitted from this
CV writing guide. Most of the time they are irrelevant
to the roles being applied for, and while you may feel
you want to put them on the CV, most people who read
CV�s bear no reference to them at all.
There
are of course exceptions to this rule, the main one
being graduate recruitment, where employers will look
for interests as an indicator to type of personality.
References
Don�t
under any circumstance put references on your CV. You
want control over your references, and they only become
relevant when you get offered a job. Your prospective
employer should only ask for references either just
prior to an offer being made, or as part of the actual
offer itself.
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