CV Writing Tips

CV Writing Tips
Your CV is your personal sales brochure and the key that unlocks the door to high quality interviews. Decisions to interview or reject candidates will be made on this document and in most instances your CV will be pitched against a potentially vast number of other candidates.

How to write your CV
• Include contact/personal details at the front
• Unless requested, do not include supporting documents such as certificates or letters of recommendation
• Ensure all qualifications and jobs are dated
• If there is a gap in dates, include a brief explanation
• Illustrate your capabilities – try not to make sweeping statements
• Be clear about what your main selling points are
• Revisit your completed CV to check if these come across
• Examples of selling points: well-known employer, rare skill set, size of projects, particularly relevant qualifications etc.
• State the size and scope of your responsibilities. Examples of people you were responsible for,budgets, number of people affected etc
• Give examples of achievements, using adverbs where possible eg. “Successfully implemented…”
• Use a universally recognised job title if the internal one is likely to confuse
• State the scope and size of business when a company is not widely known
• Dedicate just a couple of lines to you your hobbies / interests Format
• Aim to keep your CV to 2-3 pages long. (Interim CV's may be longer).
• Try to use a good word processing package like Microsoft Word
• Include page numbering and repeat your name on each page
• Space the text out – with clear breaks in between sections
• Use lists – it is quicker and easier to pull out key information than in paragraph form
• Make it 3rd person: avoid using 'I was involved with..' - instead find examples where you can use 'Responsible for…’ or ‘ Achieved …’

Finally:

1. Check your CV for spelling and grammar
2. Ask a friend to have a look as they may spot some oversights
3. Read your CV again and ask yourself
Is it realistic? – don’t exaggerate or indeed, undersell Is it relevant to the job?
Would you want to meet that person?