Writing your CV
Your CV has one purpose - to make an employer want to interview you. It is therefore a sales item, and should be concise and easy to read.
Remember, a future employer sees hundreds of these every day - if your CV is too long, too wordy, or in a hard to read font, then it is likely to be overlooked.
Keep your CV to 2 pages if you can. If your work history stretches much beyond that then consider summarising it and adding a note that you have a full CV available too.
A good format to keep in mind is as follows:
Name
Contact details
Profile - a short paragraph stating "what you are" and what you want
Employment history - most recent first
Education history - most recent first
Courses - relevant professional courses you have attended
Skills - e.g., software proficiency
Interests - keep this brief
References - state minimum of 2 professional references
Do not include salaries, reasons for leaving jobs, or a photograph. You can discuss the first two of these at interview, and you will have your chance then to explain anything you need to rather than have a prospective employer jump to the wrong conclusions. A photograph is not necessary, and may cause a prospective employer to judge you or make assumptions about you.
Be specific with dates and always include month and year.
Include as much detail as you can on relevant jobs, and do not labour the point on jobs that are not relevant to that for which you are applying. If you have worked as a cashier for four years throughout university then include this information, but be careful not to include more detail on this than on your studies and your engineering/ technical work experience. Think about your audience and tailor your CV accordingly.
Use clear fonts and bold typeface/ underlining to make the sections distinct and easy to read. Remember to proof read and spell check the final document.
For more advice on writing your CV please Contact Us.
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