CV is the abbreviation for Curriculum Vitae. It translates from the Latin – meaning ‘course of (one’s) life’.
It is the written document that gives an overview of your qualifications, work experience and skills along with reflecting your unique personality.
CV’s are used by employers to screen the suitability of candidates so that they can match a job seeker to their available job.
First impressions count. When applying for a job, your CV should give a summary of your qualifications, skills and abilities, making an employer want to take the next step and call you for an interview.
A standard CV should be 1-2 pages of A4 paper, depending on your qualifications and work experience. If you are a graduate with little work experience, then 1 page of A4 is fine.
Employers sometimes get hundreds of applications for a job and they do not have the time to read through pages and pages of repetitive or irrelevant information. To save space, only include the main points and keep it relevant. You can include a personal profile and hobbies, but do not be tempted to describe your whole life!
Before you start, read the job description and tailor your CV to the job that you are applying for.
Include your full name, home address, mobile number and email address. Most employees want to know that you have a permanent address or need to know where you are located – if you do not want to put your full home address, then you can put the town and area that you live in.
This is a concise statement introducing yourself, highlighting your key attributes and expressing your career aims making you stand out from the crowd. Make it factual and relevant to the job you are applying for. Do not ramble! Keep it short – one paragraph of about 100 words is fine.
List your work history in reverse order – starting with your most recent job. Keep it concise and informative:
If you are applying for your first job and do not have any work or volunteer experience, then do not worry – list your skills and achievements instead.
This is where you can include what IT packages you can competently use and what languages you can write and speak. Make it relevant and do not exaggerate your abilities! Ideally you should list a combination of soft and technical skills which will demonstrate you as a person and show your technical abilities.
Soft Skills – these are a mixture of your people, social and communication skills which could include:
Technical Skills – these are a mixture of abilities which will enable you to be able to perform the job you are applying for. They can be learnt or gained from previous experiences and could include:
This is your opportunity to list your academic and professional qualifications. Place them in reverse chronological date order, with the most recent first. If you are waiting to receive your grades, then you can include your predicted results.
Relevant hobbies and interests can provide a complete picture of who you are and provide a topic of conversation at your interview. Be professional – it is best not to put that you like socialising with friends, or enjoy taking lots of selfies! Let them reflect your personality. Some examples are:
Employers often ask for 2 or 3 references. Referees are people who know you in either a personal or professional capacity and who are happy to confirm your experiences, skills and personality. Do ask them beforehand if they would be happy to act as your referee. Examples of types of referees are:
If you do not want to name referees, then you can simply put ‘references available upon request’.
Creating your CV takes time, and after putting in all your hard work, you do not want to make basic mistakes and your CV is rejected because of a simple error. So try and avoid these mistakes:
An error free CV shows your precision and attention to detail, so make sure you check all the spellings on your CV. You can use online tools such as spell check and Grammarly to assist you. Sometimes it is helpful to ask a friend or colleague to proof read you CV for you.
On average, employers spend around 8 seconds reading a CV – this gives you little time to make a good first impression. So it is important to keep your CV concise and simple to read. Avoid cluttered layouts and be careful of fancy fonts or small font sizes. There are lots of templates online that you can choose from, but if you cannot decide, then stick to:
Does a potential new employer need to know all the facts about your everyday life? Be relevant and concise. For example you can list your hobbies and interests using bullet points, but do not go into long detail over each one.
It is better to use your time writing a well-tailored CV, highlighting qualifications, skills and job experiences that you have, rather than exaggerating or lying about them. Remember that facts on your CV are easy to verify, so never assume that an employer will not check them out.
Do not boost your university grades or claim to have attended a university when you have not. Lying about your current job or embellishing your work experience will not do you any favours in the long run. At best, your lies will be obvious and your CV will be rejected. At worst, you will be asked to attend an interview where you will not be able to answer questions correctly and embarrass yourself. In some countries lying on your CV is a fraudulent act and is a criminal offence.
Gaps in employment are fairly common and are not a problem as long as they are explained. You do not have to worry about a short gap of a couple of weeks, but if you have been out of work for several months, or even year, they you need to clearly explain why. Unexplained long absences can be seen as suspicious by employers, and might give an impression that you are idle, so do not worry about having to put that you had to look after a sick relative, spent time away from work due to an illness or that you were made redundant.
Carefully look through the job advert – what specific skills and qualifications are they looking for? Do not be tempted to write one CV and then use it for all your applications – one size does not fit all! Check the specific requirements and then tailor your CV to suit the role that you are applying for. By evaluating which of your skills match the job description, then you will have a better chance of success.
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If you are still stuck for ideas on how to write your CV then why not check out the many websites that offer free advice, examples and templates online
