CV Tips

One of the first things to bear in mind is that your CV is a SUMMARY of your career and experience – do not waffle or include unnecessary or superfluous details – length will vary depending on your experience and age but generally CVs should not be more than 3 pages in total.

General Tips

Make sure that your CV is formatted clearly.
Do not squash all your details together – it is better to take 3 pages and have the CV well laid out than to cram it all onto 2 pages.
Make it a CV that somebody would want to read – first impressions count so make it look well laid out and clear.
The person who is looking at your CV probably will have lots of others to look through too – make the information on your CV easy to read. Bear in mind the first person to see your CV may not be final decision maker.
A skills summary or experience summary on the first page is often a good idea.
Never lie about what you have done – you will be found out in interview! However there is no problem with emphasising the things you have done well!

Do not have ‘gaps’ on your CV – you must account for any years that you have not worked. If you do not people will assume the worst!

CV Layout

Name
Personal Profile – a three or four line paragraph highlighting your strengths to gain the readers initial interest.
Employment History – put your most recent position first and work backwards. Again this is the most relevant and generally will be the position a potential new employer will be most interested in. Put in your job title, a description of the job that you do, and any significant achievements you have made.
Skills Summary – particularly for technical positions it is a good idea to provide a summary of the technical skills you have.
Personal Details – Address, Telephone Number / Fax / Email Address, date of birth, marital status, nationality.
Education – put the highest qualification you have achieved first – this is generally the most relevant and most important. If you have lots of work experience then there is no need go into lots of detail about your education – just the level of qualification, grade obtained and institution. If you are a fresh graduate see the tips below.
Hobbies – keep this fairly short and concise.

This is just one way to lay out your CV – it is up to you to ‘personalise’ your CV and decide in what order you present the information. Remember your CV is the only way you can ‘sell yourself’ to a potential employer – a good CV will get you an interview where you can expand on your skills and experience. It is worth asking a friend or partner to give their opinion, as sometimes it is hard to be objective about your own work! It is important to get your CV right – take time to do this, it will be worth it!

Graduates

The most important information on your CV will be the details of your degree (subjects studied etc), your degree project and any relevant work experience that you have had (including placement year). If your CV does not include these details you will be ruling yourself out of the job hunt before you even start!
Although it is worth mentioning, do not spend lots of time detailing non-relevant work experience. For example, mention that you worked at ABC Stores as a Cashier during the summer as this shows initiative but there is no need to go into great detail about this.
Also mention any extra-curricular activities you participated in especially if they demonstrate initiative, leadership, teamwork etc. For example, posts held in the Students Union, Societies, and Sports Clubs.