Create A CV

Click here to download a sample CV

Whether a potential employer asks to see your curriculum vitae, CV or resume, they’re looking for one thing – a document that proves why you’re the ideal candidate to invest their time and money in. Essentially it’s a sales brochure, pinpointing the interesting USPs (unique selling points) that make you stand out from the crowd. There’s no universally accepted format, but your CV should cover these elements:

• Your details - Include your name, address, phone numbers and email address so any interested employers can contact you easily. Information such as nationality, age and driving licence status are optional.

• Personal statement - One paragraph that immediately captures the attention of your reader and entices them to find out more about you. Be careful not to cram too much in. Instead take your main skill and relate it to the job you’re after to show employers why you meet their needs.

• Work experience - List your most recent position first, continuing in reverse chronological order including the name, location, website and dates of your employment for each company you have worked for. Aim to use bullet points wherever possible to highlight your responsibilities and achievements in each role so the person scanning your CV can quickly match up your experience with their job description.

• Education - Again, in reverse chronological order, give brief details of your academic and professional qualifications along with the grades you achieved. If you’re looking for your first job since leaving education, include this information above any work experience.

• Skills - Whether you realise it or not you will have picked up many skills over the years, some tangible, some less so. Include every IT package or programme you have used as well as any foreign language skills you have gained, and state whether you're at a basic, intermediate or advanced level. Skills such as communication and project management are harder to substantiate and should be backed up with examples.

• Hobbies & Interests - Including these is optional and often used to fill up space at the end of the document. The idea is to give the interviewer a more rounded picture and, perhaps, something more personal to discuss at an interview.

• References - It’s not necessary to list referees on your CV, but you should state that details are available on request. If this is your first job, it’s a good idea to nominate tutors or mentors. You’ll obviously need to choose references that you’re confident will give positive remarks, but you should also make sure they would be easily contactable by potential employers when the time comes.

• A clear and simple layout - Always keep your CV to two pages of A4. It should be clear to anyone reading your CV where to find the information they’re looking for, with enough ‘white space’ to ensure they’re not overawed at first glance.

The purpose of this document is not to get you the job, but to get you an interview. Always remember you’re not writing a CV for yourself, you are writing it for your reader. As you write your CV, put yourself in their shoes. Keep it short, to the point and, above all else, interesting. Due to the high volume of applications they receive, a recruiter will generally spend at most 20 seconds initially reviewing each CV, so it’s important to get it right. If you follow the structure outlined above, you’re on the right track to presenting the information in a clear, concise and persuasive way.

• Things to watch out for - Time spent making sure your CV is crisp and relevant is always time well spent. There are plenty of simple mistakes that are often overlooked that will turn your readers off before they’ve gone much further than your name and address.

• Resist the urge to jazz up your CV with images or colour
• Steer clear of long paragraphs
• Careful use of bold type can be effective, but don’t overdo it
• Underlining should be reserved for website links only
• Use typefaces like ‘Times New Roman’ or ‘Arial’ - they’re easier to read
• Avoid using font sizes smaller than 11pt, employers won’t strain their eyes to read it
• Don’t use txt speak and only use abbreviations if they’re universally known

And finally…
Check for spelling or typographical errors. Any errors are your responsibility and are one of the first things employers use to weed out the weaker candidates. Even if the role you’re after doesn’t require a high level of literacy, spelling errors scream lack of care, which is an undesirable quality for any recruiter. Don't put all your faith in a spell checker as many are set to American settings as a default. If you're not sure about a word, look it up in a dictionary.

Before you distribute your finished document or upload it to the Internet, get someone to look over it. Professional CV checkers see hundreds of CVs every day and can immediately spot things that may put off a potential employer.

CVs: An advanced guide

You’ve got the basic elements of your skills and experience down, now you need to fine-tune your CV to ensure it’s got the ‘X-Factor’ that will have employers queuing up for your services.

Understanding your audience
As your personal marketing campaign, your CV must make the reader believe you’re a worthwhile product. Business people generally have the same objectives; profit, bigger market share, developing their business and creating new products for their customers. They will look for candidates who will help them to achieve these objectives.

Whether you have two months or 20 years worth of experience, the rules are the same – show what you’ve done or have the potential to bring to the table.

How can you identify an achievement?
They come in all shapes and sizes and are different for every job. For some you will be able to show concrete evidence such as percentage increases in sales or money saved by streamlining. For others you will need to work harder to show that the influence you had on a project or task made a major impact.

A statement such as, “Used new sales channels to increase market share beyond the UK, resulting in a 25% increase in turnover.” suggests you used creativity, initiative and drive to reach a certain goal.

Try to pick at least one specific example per job you’ve held and explain briefly how it improved the business. It can’t be stressed often enough that your CV is designed to get you the interview, not the job so remember not to delve into too much detail. Provide enough information to entice your potential employers to call you in so you can explain face-to-face the exact details of the tasks you’ve undertaken and the skills you have learnt.

Many jobseekers underestimate the achievements they have made and undervalue their impact on the business as a whole. Don’t just say you were “ordering stationary”, you were “responsible for ensuring the company had the necessary resources to operate efficiently”. Always keep examples relevant to the role you are applying for.

Personal achievements are also valuable pieces to include as they often show focus and commitment that will impress recruiters. But be careful not to give valuable space to insignificant achievements. As you refine your CV, discard any content that is not selling you in the right way.

Avoiding alienation
From management talk to obscure abbreviations, the world of business is packed full of clichés, and most of us hate them. Do your reader the courtesy of avoiding clangers like ‘team player’, ‘results orientated’ and ‘good communicator’.

Be very careful of using abbreviations, especially if you’re changing industry. The first person who evaluates your CV is usually somebody in the HR team who may not be an expert in your field. They will be given a rundown of requirements to mark CVs against so statements like ‘extensive experience in working with QCIs” may mean nothing to them, even if it’s an impressive skill that means you could do the job with your hands tied behind your back.

Skills for all occasions
There are countless transferable skills that can be used for many jobs in many companies. If you’re looking to change industry, remember that although an employer may not need your skills on a certain IT package, they may be impressed that you have the ability to pick up new software quickly.

Explaining gaps in your CV
There are many reasons why your CV may have gaps and recruiters don’t look down on candidates with them. They are suspicious however when these gaps are not clarified, so make sure they are explained in a positive manner.

Here are a few common gaps and how to give them a positive spin:

• Extended holidays - Communication and organisational skills are always important, so say how your break helped you develop these areas. Any languages you may have picked up will also be a major bonus.
• Family issues - There’s no need to go into detail on personal reasons for taking time away from work, as essentially it’s nobody else’s business. A three or four word description is enough.
• Nothing in the market - It happens, so don’t hide it. Try suggesting you were waiting for the right opportunity to come along, employers may even get the impression that you were in demand.

Alternative CVs
Technology has made everyone’s life easier when it comes to recruitment. From uploading your CV to an online database so employers can pick out your skills to recording a video CV that gives employers a visual overview of what you can offer their company, your only limitation is your own creativity. Investigate the possible avenues you could take to make your application have that ‘je ne sais quoi’ and stay ahead of other candidates.

Classic CV mistakes
It's deceptively easy to make mistakes on your CV and exceptionally difficult to repair the damage once an employer gets it. Prevention is critical, so here are the most common pitfalls, and how you can avoid them.

Spelling and grammar
Even in roles where writing is not necessarily a key skill, poor writing shows a lack of care which no Manager will want in their team. Never trust a computer’s spell checker and always get someone else to read through your CV to spot any errors that you may have overlooked. Grammar can be tweaked by reading a piece out loud – if it doesn’t sound correct, then it probably won’t read very well.

Writing lots, but saying nothing
Why use 20 words when 5 would do? Employers aren’t looking for you to explain everything you’ve ever done, just a few of the key elements that will persuade them you can do the job. Grab their attention with bullet points rather than long sprawling sentences.

No tailoring
Whenever you try to develop a one-size-fits-all CV to apply for lots of vacancies, you almost always end up with something employers will ignore. Each employer is looking for a CV and cover letter that applies to their role and as all roles are different, you should make small adaptations so that it matches their specific requirements. Show that you understand what it is they want you to do.

Highlighting duties Instead of achievements
Rather than copying the responsibilities from your old job descriptions, try and find ways to show what you actually achieved whilst you were there. Not all roles have KPIs that are quantifiable, but no company would have employed you to just sit there – you must have had some impact in the business. Think of time-saving activities, new procedures, successful campaigns and increased sales, giving percentage increases wherever possible.

Breaking the two-page rule
2 pages of A4 is more than enough room to persuade your potential employer that you’re worth contacting for an interview. They’re busy people and don’t have time to read five or six pages of your career history. Use lots of white space to make it easy to read, make all your sections stand out clearly and only include information that will get you the job. Less is often more.

Leaving out information
Whether it’s by choice or just forgetfulness, some people leave previous jobs off their CV meaning a gap in employment. It’s better to not let your employer guess what you were up to as they will always think the worst. Even if you weren’t working, there may have been transferable skills you picked up that will help your chances.

Using clichés
“Good communicator”, “Works well in a team”, “Committed” – without any hard evidence of these you might as well write “Blah, blah, blah”. If you’ve worded the achievements in the rest of your CV well, the fact that you have these skills will already be evident. If you feel you must use these phrases, at least try to link it to something you’ve done such as “Used my communication skills to build and retain a substantial client base.”

Being vague
Using fluffy lines like "Seeking a challenging position that offers professional growth." doesn’t really give your reader anything to go on. Give them something specific that focuses on their company’s needs as well as your own. "I’m looking for a challenging entry-level Marketing position that allows me to contribute my skills and experience to fundraising for a Charity."

Poor design
Unless you’re going for a design role, layout should always be second stage to the content of your CV. If your CV is wall-to-wall text featuring five different fonts styles and sizes you’ll give the reader a headache. Black and white text on a clean design is all you need, so don’t overdo it. Show your CV to several other people before sending it out to check they don’t turn their heads in disgust.

Incorrect personal details
Not getting any calls despite your perfect CV? There may be a very simple reason for that – you’ve written down the wrong phone number! This is less of a problem now email is the common form of communication, but check your .com isn’t a .co.uk and your address isn’t the flat you used to live in. On the subject of emails, if you have a ‘jokey’ address such as ‘eatingpies@myhouse.co.uk’, be sure to use a more professional one on your CV.

Keeping your CV up-to-date
How often have you tried to put together a CV and had difficulty remembering the details of previous jobs. It’s not just the dates of employment that you’ll forget – tasks, projects and courses you were involved with are easily overlooked.

You obviously don’t want to be redesigning your CV to incorporate every minor thing you do, but adding a quick bullet point when you think you’re done something impressive or developed a new skill will allow you to retain the important information easily.

As you develop in your career, it’s too easy to fall into the trap of simply adding your most recent job to your CV without considering how your experiences in past jobs may attract potential employers. You will have a much better idea now than when you originally wrote your CV of the sort of things employers are looking for, so tweak it accordingly to create a better first impression.

Always be aware of what employers are looking for, and translate your experiences and achievements into a language that will have an impact. For example, if you previously worked as an office junior, you weren’t just “doing the filing”; you were “contributing to the day-to-day efficiency of the company”.

You might have added significantly to your people skills, where previously your CV was more angled towards your qualifications. As your experience develops, it’s important to ensure that the balance of your CV presents the best reflection of the person you are now, the skills you have acquired or enhanced, and your potential value to a new employer.

Be willing to get harsh with the information already on your CV, and hack away the deadwood. As a general rule, if something is not actively adding value to your CV, it’s almost certainly diminishing its impact. Be ruthless to make sure you are selling yourself as well as you possibly can.

If you’re quite far into your career and think it’s too late to get back the memories of things you did, try to get in touch with old managers to see if their recollection is any better than yours. Getting back in touch with them may also uncover an unexpected job opportunity.

How to get on the radar of potential employers
Just because you’re comfortable where you are, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be ready to start job seeking at a moment notice. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes things happen that are out of our control.

Once you’re happy with how your CV looks and how relevant it is to your current situation, post it on job websites and send it to companies or organisations you’d like to work for on a speculative basis. This should be done at least every couple of months, or every time you’ve done something of major significance.

When you post your CV on Monster, you’re automatically shifted to the top of the list so companies searching for someone with your skills will be able to find you easily. You can block certain companies from seeing your details so you can be assured your current employer won’t stumble across your CV.

You never know when it’s going to hit the desk at just the right time, and it never hurts to show a company you are interested in them. The more creative and proactive you are in getting your CV out there, the better your chance of catching your next employer’s eye. They may add you to a talent pool of candidates if they don’t currently have a position available.