CV Writing

CV WRITING

When it comes to job hunting, your CV is very important thing. Get it right, and you’ll have an interview in no time, but get it wrong, and you may face rejection after rejection. Every CV is different as you want to show why your set of skills makes you suitable for the position you’re applying for at that moment, but all follow a similar structure.

 CV is a personal marketing document used to sell yourself to prospective employers. It should tell them about you, your professional history and your skills, abilities and achievements. Ultimately, it should highlight why you’re the best person for the job.

What to include in your CV ??!

1.Name, professional title and contact details

The first part of your CV, positioned at the top of the page, should contain your name, professional title and contact details. Treat your name as the title instead.

the contact detail must include full of your home address, mail address and contact Number and the mail address must be hyperlink and the address simply need to list your town and county

If you like, you can also include a link to your LinkedIn profile in this section

Forename Surname | Professional Title

Location: Town, County

Phone: 01234 567890

Email: name@example.com

2.Personal profile

A personal profile, also known as a personal statement, career objective and professional profile, is one of the most important aspects of your CV. 

   

• Who are you?
• What can you offer the company?
• What are your career goals?

3.Experience and employment history

Your employment history section gives you a chance to outline your previous jobs, internships and work experience.

List your experience in reverse chronological order as your recent role is the most relevant to the employer.

When listing each position of employment, state your job title, the employer, the dates you worked and a line that summarises the role. Then bullet point your key responsibilities, skills and achievements, and bolster each point with powerful verbs and figures to support each claim and showcase your impact.

Company Name, Location

Role Title

mmm yyyy – mmm yyyy

Outline

Key responsibilities

Key achievements/projects

4.Educational and professional qualifications

 your education should be listed in reverse chronological order. Include the name of the institutions and the dates you were there, followed by the qualifications and grades you achieved.

 you may write your degree, A-levels and O-levels like so:

Institution name – Dates attended (from – to)

Qualification/subject – Grade

If you have a degree, you could list a few of the most relevant modules, assignments or projects underneath.

For professionals that are a little further along in their careers, or have many certificates in their repertoire, you can lay your qualifications out in this way:

Qualification, grade – Institution – Year

5.Projects- The detail of the projects and what did by your self.
6.Work Experiences - Start with current or last employer and work backwards. We should include the dates of employment,  job title,  responsibilities, duties and achievements.
7.Volunteering, Conferences, Extra curricular activities, Training - Recent activities first.
8.References - There is no need to write the details of your referees on your CV. Simply state that they are available on request, but make sure that you know who your referees are and that you have asked their permission to use them.

Here are some formatting and spacing tips to bear in mind:

Length: The standard length of a CV in the UK is two pages. However, one size doesn’t fit all, and so for some professionals, one or three pages may be more appropriate.

Headings: Each section must be introduced by a big, bold heading to ensure an easy read.

Font type: Most employers will receive your CV in a digital format, so choose a clear font like Calibri or Arial. You can use a different font type for your headings, but keep it professional and easy-to-read too.

Font size and page margins: The body of your CV should be between 10 and 12 point font, and your headings between 14 and 18 points. Keep your page margins around 2.5cm, but never reduce them to less than 1.27cm or your CV will appear cluttered and hard to read. White space ensures clarity and professionalism.

Proofreading and consistency: Your formatting must be consistent throughout your CV to keep it looking slick. Don’t spoil your polished look by including typos and inaccuracies; proofread like a pro to capture every mistake or invest in intelligent spellcheckers like Grammarly.

Tailoring, keywords and ATSs: It’s perfectly acceptable to keep a generic copy of your CV for your own records, but if you’re applying for a job, it must be tailored to the role. Not only will this show employers why you’re a match, but it will help your application beat the ATS robots too.

Saving the file: It’s likely you’ll send your CV via email or through a job board like CV-Library. Save your CV as a pdf file to ensure recruiters can open it on any device. A pdf will also maintain formatting, so you can be sure that employers will see your CV as you intended