How to write a good CV
Your CV (curriculum vitae) or resume is your sales brochure that describes your major selling points to potential employers. Essentially, it's your key in unlocking the door to an interview - and nothing more!
On average, recruiters and potential employers will spend around 8 seconds scanning a CV for information that they are looking for, so it's important to get it right! You should therefore tailor your CV to emphasis your skills and experiences towards each individual job.
There is no universal format in writing a CV but it should cover the following areas, beginning with your details and personal statement:
Personal Details
Include your name, address, contact number(s) and email address, for any interested employers or recruiters to contact you. You could also include details such as your age, nationality, gender, driving licence status, etc, but these are not necessary.
Personal Statement
This should be a one paragraph statement that immediately captures the reader's attention and entices them to carry on reading. Try not to cram everything in. Only put in the relevant information about skills that is related to the job that you are after to show the employer how you meet their needs.
Your personal statement is important because this is the first thing that employers and recruiters read. So you this to really sell yourself!
Work Experience
List out what work experience you have in reverse chronological order, starting from your most recent experience. Include the job title/position, employer name, location, date of employment and job description. You should try to use bullet points wherever possible or short straight forward sentences to highlight your responsibilities and key achievements so that the reading scanning your CV can easily match your experience with their job requirements.
Education
Same as Work Experience, list out your academic, training or professional qualifications in reverse chronological order, starting from your most recent qualification. Include the name of your qualification, the grade you got and where you got it from. If your looking for your very first job after school or university then you should have this section before your Work Experience.
Skills
You should list out all the skills you have picked up over the years that can be used in the work place. Include every IT package / program, language, communication / management technique that you know or may have used, and state whether you are at a basic, intermediate or advanced level. Skills such as communication and management skills may be harder to substantiate so they should be backed up with examples. If they are not then they probably will be asked about in your interview - if you do get one.
References
It's not compulsory to include a list of referees in your CV, but it is good to state that details of referees are available on request. If you are looking for your first job, preferably, you should nominate tutors or mentors that know you well or you feel can provide you with a good reference. If it is not your first job then nominate a past employer or even your current employer who will be willing to give you a good reference. You should make sure to not forget to ask your referee first for permission to cite them and also to notify them that they can provide information about yourself to the recruiter who may be contacting them in the near future.
Hobbies & Interests
Your hobbies and interests are optional, and are often used to fill up space in your CV. They can provide a wider picture of who you are and could, in some cases, provide something more personal to talk about with the interviewer.
Layout
You should keep your CV to no more than 2 sides of A4. Keep your layout clear and easy for the reader to find what they are looking for. Use enough white space to ensure that everything is not overawed and separate your content with clear headings.
A recruiter will usually spend around 20 seconds scanning each CV, so make sure all information on your CV is relevant to the job that your applying for. Keep it short, to the point and interesting!
Do's and Don't...
- No fancy images, colours or attachments.
- Keep your paragraphs short
- Use easy to read font types such as Times New Roman or Arial
- Use bold type where necessary but don't over do it
- Underline fonts only for website links
- Avoid using font sizes smaller that 11pt. Smaller than that and it the reader won't bother straining their eyes to read it.
Last but not least
Always check for spelling, typo and grammatical errors in your CV. These errors will make it easier for recruiters to filter out the weaker candidates.
Better yet, before you distribute your CV to employers or upload it to the Web, get a friend to have a read it. They may spot something that you have missed out - which could put off a potential employer.
