CV Advice

How many CVs do you think employers and recruitment agencies see every day? The answer is: enough to have little patience with those that aren't concise and relevant.

Your CV is a written sales pitch designed to get you an interview for the job. You need to make a good impression fast because your CV will typically receive 20 seconds initial attention.

Follow these rules to make sure that it's not thrown on the reject pile within those 20 seconds.

Keep it simple, stupid (KISS)

This is a famous saying in sales, and it applies to your CV too.

• Don't use more than two pages of A4.
• Organise your CV with clear headings and space between different sections.
• Use short paragraphs.
• Don't overdo bold type, underline or other font styling.
• Stick to black and white. Your CV will probably be photocopied or faxed.
• Stick to simple fonts like Times New Roman or Arial - why do you think newspapers use them?
• Don't use small font sizes.
• Only use abbreviations that are very well known in your job market.
• Use a spell-checker.

Different roles call for different CVs designed to show a particular skill set or work experience, but your CV should always contain the following sections:

Personal Details

Aside from your name, email and telephone numbers are a must, as is your town and postcode. Many people are wary about putting their full address on a CV these days, but your recruiter will want to know what area you live in.

Personal Statement

This should always be written to be 100% relevant to the job in question. In one short paragraph, answer the question "Why are you the best person for this job?" by referring to your qualities, skills and experience.

Work Experience

The point of this section is to show that you have the right skills and experience, not to bore the reader with a list of everything you've ever done, so don't put in every job you've ever had including the Saturday job when you were at school!

As with the personal statement, tailor this section to be relevant to the job you're applying for. Put current / most recent jobs first, then work backwards.

For each job, give
- the business' name, its location, website
- start and finish dates
- job title
- only relevant responsibilities and achievements

Education

Brief details of academic and professional qualifications (including grades), starting with the most recent.

Skills

If you have language or IT skills or qualifications state them here, but keep it brief it they are not relevant to the job in question. Skills that were acquired hilost working and are relevant to the job in question should be covered within the 'Work Experience' section, as you can demonstrate how you acquired each skill and relate it to that job.

Hobbies & Interests

Keep these brief unless you can relate them to the job in hand.

References

You can state that these are available on request, but if you have referees from your previous jobs then it will do no harm to list them here together with the business name. If your referees come from jobs that you gained relevant experience on, so much the better.

Finally...

Check, double-check and then get others to check your CV. Simple mistakes can cost you dear.