Keep it short, sweet and clear

• Choose the right structure for your CV.


• Focus on the important information


• i.e. key skills, recent experience which be near the top


• Include your Profile, Achievements, Experience, Special Skills (languages / computers), Education, Training, and (if you wish) Interests.


• CV should normally be two pages in length; you can expand on specific details in your covering letter or if specifically requested.

Make it look good

• Clear, attractive presentation is also important.


• Keep it uncluttered, with key points easy to spot.


• Use bullet points and keep the sentences relatively short.


• Make it easy on the eye.

Most recent first

• Put your employment history in date order, starting with the most recent first.


• Briefly explain any gaps.


• Don’t go into detail about positions you held over 10 years ago.

Include many facts

• List your job duties beneath each position.


• List your achievements, responsibilities and results.


• Talk about results – what difference did your presence make?


• Use numbers for achievements wherever possible, e.g. “Boosted sales by 20% in first year”.


• Always write in a slightly formal manner and never use the word “I” – e.g. “Supervised the team” rather than “I supervised the team”. Use the past tense for previous jobs and the present tense for your current job.

Not too many lists

• Include specific skills, such as languages, administrative or computing skills, in a separate section in your CV.


• Don’t relist them for every job you’ve used them in.


• This is particularly so for IT work – lists of tools and packages make dull reading and won’t make you stand out from other people with the same abilities.

Breathe some life into it

• Remember the employer wants a sense of the kind of person you are, as well as what you can do.


• Are you punctual, conscientious, or motivated? Do you rise to a challenge? With each point you write, ask yourself “What does this say about me?”

Be accurate

• Always check for errors. Run a spelling and grammar check and ask someone else to read it for you. Read it aloud to the dog. The employer isn’t going to believe you’re a good communicator if your CV is full of mistakes.

Adapt it

• You don’t have to use the same CV every time.


• You can have two or three versions, each for a different kind of job. Or you can tailor your CV to suit the job you’re applying for. It isn’t a case of one size fits all.

Send a covering letter

• Unless the advert tells you not to, always send a covering letter. This should highlight the two or three areas of experience from your CV that are most relevant to the advertised job.

Be truthful

• Although you obviously want to present yourself well, don’t go too far and embellish the truth. It can easily backfire on you.