Workplace

Making a positive impression on a potential employer begins with your CV. The most effective are those tailored to a specific occupation or application. Remember, an employer will only spend 20 to 30 seconds glancing at a CV, so you need to highlight your main attractions at the beginning.

To make your CV as effective as possible, think about what skills and qualities the employer may wish to invest in and why. You can then present your information in a way that is likely to interest them.

Self-assessment

The first step in your CV-writing process should be to assess yourself against the detailed job specification. This is your first opportunity to display evidence of your suitability for the post. Note specific examples of when and how you displayed particular skills, highlighting all the key points an employer is looking for.

Content

The first section features your personal details – including name, address, telephone number and, if possible, home email address. Your personal profile can follow this. This is an optional paragraph but its purpose is to provide a short, punchy summary of you as an individual.

Education & qualifications

List your educational achievements, giving prominence to those most recent/relevant. Include names and dates of attendance at school, college and higher education. List in reverse chronological order.

Skills/training/memberships

Include all your software skills and languages, specifying your skill level. Include any extra relevant training, such as seminars or courses. This is where you need to demonstrate the ways you can offer more than other applicants.

Employment/work experience

List each job in chronological order with a brief description of the key skills you developed in each role. Note the employer, date, and job title alongside each one. Use concise sentences and never leave gaps in employment history – employers can suspect the worst. Don’t put your reasons for leaving a job on your CV – leave this for discussion in an interview.

References

You can either list your references here, or just state that references are available on request. Remember to ask permission from the people you intend to include on your CV beforehand.

Presentation

Quality and presentation of your CV is vital. The most effective way is with bullet points, bold headings and underlining. If printing your CV, don’t photocopy it and don’t use a typeface smaller than 10pt – this is a reasonable reading size. Check the spelling and grammar and ask someone else to check it too; mistakes are not always obvious to the person who made them!

Covering letters

This is a great way of imparting more personal information about yourself and can do as much to help you get a job as a good CV by beginning to build rapport with an employer. Ideally addressed to a specific person, it should concisely outline the purpose of your application and invite the recipient to contact you should they require any additional information.