Writing a CV

A CV is a personal document, after all it's the first chance you'll get to make a good impression with a potential employer.

It's easy for people to dictate how your CV should look and what it should contain, the important thing to remember is that it's good to show some of the skills that a potential employer would find desirable.

For instance, a Graphic Designer's CV might contain examples of their own artwork, perhaps even produced in an unusual format, the whole aim being to show their creativity. For someone in an office role it would be good to ensure that your CV is neatly laid out.

The key to remember when your producing your CV, does it contain all the key information a potential employer would want to see, and is it easy to read through?

Most People Assessing CV's do not have a lot of time to study them and you need to grasp their attention immediately. Start your CV with a brief overview of yourself. This should be a maximum of approximately 50 - 100 words that outlines why a prospective employer should consider you.

Follow this with details of your qualifications, including places of study and dates (optional). Provide more detail on the highest qualifications you've attained, and less on lower qualifications. If some of your qualifications are particularly relevant to the position your applying for it's worth highlighting some of the key topics you studied.

Your career history so far, can be one of the best indications to a potential employer of where your skills lie, and whether the role they are offering is a natural progression or something completely different. Your career history should take up between half and two thirds of everything you've written.

Starting with the most recent/current role first, detail the position, company, dates(optional) and give a brief description of what your role involved. You should also include around 2 to 4 things that you feel you achieved there. This is important because at an interview, the interviewer is likely to ask the question, regardless of whether you have put anything on your CV.

Stick to the facts and avoid too much waffle. A good way to lay this area out is as bullet points, using upto 2 lines for each, avoid using 'internal' jargon from your previous employer. Remember that the reader may not know of your company, so try to briefly explain the structure and how you interact within it.

You may want to include any further personal information that you feel is relevant at the end of your CV, as well as your contact details. If there are any undocumented periods in your career history, give a brief explanation of why this was.

Finally for references, it is best to put that these are available on request, rather than supply the contact details immediately.

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