Your story and nothing but your story. Be honest, or you will be found out!

The following points should help you on your way to creating your cv.

Presentation

These day’s most cv’s are sent via email.

• Choose a common font such as calibri, verdana, arial or century gothic
• Choose black font
• Make sure your headings are in ‘bold’ and use a larger font size than your standard text
• Avoid decoration and don’t add an ornate border
• Try to keep your CV to two pages
• Photos can be a distraction so leave them off and make the words work!

Structure

• Have a clear structure that’s easy to understand and read. Your aim is to present facts about yourself concisely and with clarity
• Put your name right at the top of the front page, with your contact details directly underneath.
• Don’t include your work number – it’s not fair on your present employer!
• Write a short profile
• Your educational history, academic achievements and work experience should be listed in reverse order – university degree should come before your school exam results
• Never leave gaps – If you took a year out, or carried out interim assignments, say so – otherwise, employers can suspect the worst
• List your career history – current position followed by previous and so on
• Date to and from – Company name – Position
• Use bullet points rather than complete sentences and focus on achievements
• A one line description saying why you left is helpful i.e. ‘redundancy’, ‘career development’, ‘improved prospects’, ‘promotion’ etc
• Leave your hobbies and interests until last and and keep this section short
• Double-check and proofread
• Check your CV carefully – always run a spell check over it carefully and re-read to ensure accuracy; ask a friend to check it too
   

Your CV is the first opportunity to make a first impression, so take the time to get it right as you may not get a second chance!

You can download a cv template here