CV Writing Tips

This section covers our top tips for writing your CV. If you would like to read the other sections of the CV advice article please click on the headings below.
Links to example CVs and other career advice articles can be found at the end of this section

CV and Covering Letter | CV Writing Tips | CV Content | CV Presentation

CV writing
This is likely to be the first contact you have with prospective employers. It is likely an employer will make the judgement on whether to interview you or not based on the content and presentation of your CV. First impressions count, so it is important to get it right with a well prepared CV.

A few CV writing tips

• Create a 20-100 word career/ personal summary, as an effective way to sell yourself at a glance. Employers may use this summary to decide whether to interview or not, make the content factual, informative and clear.
• The CV should have clearly defined headings. We would suggest building your CV around the following headings:
  
  

  Professional profile:	What is your profession? What is your experience? What are your qualifications? What are your greatest achievements? This should be condensed to 2-5 sentences.
  Career summary:	A summary of each job title held, company name, duration of employment and a summary of your key responsibilities and achievements whilst employed. Between 5-10 sentences as a guide. List most recent job first, oldest job last.
  Career objective:	What do you aspire to achieve in your career? 1-2 sentences.
  Education and qualifications:	List these in chronological order, with your most recent education/ qualifications listed first.
  Training and development:	Depending on the volume of your training and development experiences list all, or a selection of the most relevant to the job you are applying for.
  IT skills:	Highlight a summary of your capabilities, depending on the importance to your profession, emphasise if you are an expert, proficient or beginner.
  Personal details:	As a minimum these should include contact details (home address, telephone number/s (home and mobile), email address. No photos.
  Interests and activities:	Think about the reader, it is normally best to refrain from politics, religion or any controversial activities. Many suggest leaving out this section completely.
  References:	Most people say, "available on request", this is generally best policy. If you have written references you should take these with you to an interview.

• Highlight relevant career achievements, maybe using bullet points, to gain the attention of the reader.
• Think about what a potential employer would want to see and aim to excite them with your skills and experience. Your CV should be tailored towards the type of job and company you want to work for, highlighting your relevant experiences that are pertinent to the application you are making.

Bizarrely, many job seekers apologise for the presentation of their CV, as an opening line to an interview, which certainly does not help them to get the job! Ensure that you are confident that your CV is an accurate and well presented reflection of you, your career and the achievements you have made to date.

Good example CVs

Example CV 1

Example CV 2

Example CV 3

Want to know more?

If you've found our CV advice to be helpful then we would encourage you to spend some time reading our other career advice articles:

Career Planning & Progression

Interview Advice

Legal Advice