Your CV

Your CV is likely to be the first impression you make on a potential employer and will determine your success in attaining an opportunity to attend interview. The following section provides a concise overview of what information prospective employers will look for and assess when screening and selecting applicants for interview.

CV structure

Begin with your personal details. Full name, date of birth and contact details, including all contact numbers and email addresses where applicable. Refrain from including references to your family, number of children and religious preference etc.

Your education and professional qualifications should follow. These, as with your employment history, should be shown in reverse order, your most recent achievements listed first. List all qualification grades, the more recent your qualification history the more important these are.

Your employment history again will be listed in chronological order, detailing you present or most recent position first. Your responsibilities, duties and achievements for each role should be listed, with more emphasis on your recent appointments. Under your employment dates and employer name, a short descriptive overview of what your employer does is also recommended. This should be limited to one line and is there to identify the sector in which you work, the size of the company you work/ed for and their approximate turnover.

If you have had a number of unrelated jobs or positions that may be deemed as irrelevant to your current career path, these may be grouped together. The date's works at each post are still necessary, as a thorough recruiter will look to identify a work history with no or few breaks.

Below your employment details, you should include bulleted technical skills. These should include systems or packages you are confident and comfortable working with.

Your final section should include hobbies and personal interests. Again bulleted, these are detailed to provide an insight into your life outside work and an aspect that can be expanded on at interview.

References should be detailed on request.

Always include a cover letter with your CV / application.

Never...

  • Section an overview of information on yourself. These tend to contain claims of 'hardworking' and 'meticulous' work ethics and are being measured by your own standards not a prospective employer's. Such qualities are assessed at interview.
  • Don't provide salary details. If requested these should be included within your cover letter.
  • Don't attach images or pictures to your CV. This includes photographs of yourself.
  • Don't include reasons for leaving jobs.

Always...

  • Print your CV on plain white or cream paper using black ink.
  • Do limit your CV to three pages, ideally two. Ensure your content is clear, relevant and accurate. (Using bullet points rather than sentences or paragraphs will assist in minimising your word count.)
  • Always proof read your CV and it is imperative you ensure it is grammatically correct.
  • Ensure that the requirements of the employer as detailed in their job specification are evidenced in your CV. Don't assume they think you can do what they want.
  • Your CV is a marketing document for you, and therefore when proof reading prior to application you must be happy that it is a true and positive representation of yourself.
  • Do use one plain typeface. The use of exotic, different sized text isn't easy on the eye of a recruiter.