The Good CV Guide

Finding a new job is a very important issue. In today's competitive marketplace the need to market and sell yourself effectively is increasingly important. Remember, YOU are the product and YOU have the responsibility for packaging, presenting and marketing that product. In a normal selection process you have two fabulous opportunities to create the right impression on your prospective employers, namely your CV and the interview.

Why do you need a CV?

• Your CV is the first thing on which an employer can judge you
• It is your own personal advertisement
• It gives you less than two minutes to create the right impression on a potential employer and secure you an interview

Where do you start?

Start by assembling the facts and listing the information you need to include in your CV. Don't expect to write the perfect CV at the first attempt. Once you have decided what to include, you can concentrate on the layout.

What details should your CV include?

• Personal details
  Name, date of birth, nationality, contact address, telephone numbers of home and office
   
• Education
  Details of secondary school and higher education, including: dates, which school, number of O-Levels/GCSEs, A-Level subjects and grades, degree course, university/college, degree classification and similar details for any further and higher education courses
   
• Professional Qualifications
  Dates of professional qualifications achieved and current stage of qualification if still studying, intended date of next exams and exam record to date if applicable
   
• Work Experience
  Experience should be presented in reverse chronological order. Give brief details of the companies you have worked for i.e. type of business and turnover. Specify the dates at each company (year and month), include details of the job content and the scope of the position. Think of your job in terms of tasks performed, the level of responsibility you had and your achievements. Make sure the detail is factual and quantitative where possible. A potential employer wants to know what you can already do and what challenges they may have for you.
   
• Systems
  Detail all the systems you have used previously and currently, including spreadsheets, word processing, accounting and graphics packages.
   
• Languages
  Define your level of competency by basic, conversational, fluent, mother tongue. This is especially important in light of the open European market.
   
• Remuneration
  Detail your current remuneration package. Your salary is only a part of any negotiated remuneration package and benefits such as car, pension, bonus and share options may fundamentally alter the picture.
   
• Hobbies and Interests
  It is worthwhile including these as they may give rise to discussion at interview. However, it is worth noting that someone who has an endless list of time-consuming hobbies and interests is either not serious about them all or is not serious about their work!

How should your CV be presented?

Your CV must look like a professional document. The credibility of the content may be challenged if the CV is poorly presented.

• No spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.
• Avoid subjective paragraphs extolling your personal characteristics.
• All qualifications written correctly.
• No unexplained gaps – if you have travelled or been out of work, say so. Someone’s guess may not be positive!
• Be concise: Find the balance between writing too much or too little. Keeping information factual will help.
• It is not necessary to state reasons for leaving each position.
• Career in reverse chronological order with dates stated in months and years.
• Short paragraphs and bullet points are easy on the eye and make the information quick to access.

Ideally a CV should not be any more than three pages, although the crucial factor is to ensure that the information it contains is relevant, complete, concise and interesting.

Personal details, educational details and professional qualifications, together with details of your most recent position should appear on the first page. If the reader is not excited by the first page, they are unlikely to read on.

Your CV must be word processed unless a handwritten application is specifically requested. The latest professional thinking is that the accompanying letter should also be typed and not handwritten. Definitely do not incur the additional costs of plastic bindings and fancy folders; these do nothing to enhance your application in many cases do the reverse. Simple and straightforward presentation on quality paper is your best bet.

It may take several drafts to finally come up with a format that you are happy with. Ask a friend of colleague to give you their honest opinion of your efforts.