A Guide to CV Writing
What is a CV?
It’s your opportunity to sell yourself and to prove to recruiters and hiring managers that you are suitable for the job in question. Your CV should be tailored for each job you apply for. Once completed try reading through it from the perspective of an employer, would you hire yourself based on the CV? Does it tick the skills and abilities of the job description?
The 5 C’s:
- Clear - well-organised and logical
- Concise - relevant and necessary, ideally no more than 2 sides of A4
- Complete - includes everything you need
- Consistent - don't mix styles and fonts
- Current - up-to-date
Structure:
A CV with clearly headed sections works best as it is easy to follow and will allow us to find the details we are looking for easily. We would expect a CV to include the following sections:
- Personal Details – Name, address, contact telephone number and email address.
- Work History - Should be clear and concise, in chronological order and tailored to the job description you are applying for with key responsibilities/achievements within each job role.
- Education/Qualifications - List all relevant courses and qualifications for the role.
Additional sections that are advisable are:
- Personal Statement – A statement specifically tailored to the position you are applying for and the sector of the role, no more than 200 words.
- Skills - Be brief, bullet point the section and tailor it to the position that you are applying for. We don’t need to know you can fire a GPMG or run 1.5miles in 8 minutes, these need to be relevant transferable skills that directly link to the position you are applying for.
- Interests/Hobbies - Highlight in this section areas that show off the skills you have gained that employers look for. Describe any examples of positions of responsibility, working in a team or anything that shows your own initiative. We don’t want to know if you like reading books or listening to music.
- References – always state available on request.
CV Checklist...once written, check the following points:
- Does your CV prove you are right for the exact role you’re applying for in 60 secs?
- Do the relevant points stand out?
- Is the language clear and understandable? Not military speak or abbreviated
- Have you used active words to increase the impact such as created, analysed, devised?
- Is the document free of qualifying words such as fairly, usually and hopefully?
- Are your skills and achievements emphasised?
- Is it in reverse chronological order?
- Is it well presented, smart and professional looking?
- Have you checked the document for spelling and grammatical errors?
- Have you qualified any gaps in your employment?
- Are your contact details correct?
