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- Spice up your CV
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Spice up your CV
A CV is probably one of the most important documents you will ever write. Your CV offers an employer a snapshot of you. It is usually all they ever see before they decide to call, or not call, you for an interview. It is therefore essential that your CV stands out and that it is clear, concise, well presented and error free.The most important elements of a CV are, in order of priority:
1 Accuracy of information
2 Spelling
3 Grammar
4 Detailed work history
5 Layout
6 Document length
Most recruitment agencies believe an employer makes a decision about a CV within 30 seconds - this means many CV's are judged purely on how they look.
You can make in instant impression by:
• Keeping your CV short - no more than two pages, any longer could be detrimental
• Using good quality paper - a light pastel coloured paper to make your CV stand out from the crowd
• Lay out information using clear section headings to make it easier to navigate
• Use bullet points to describe things like duties, responsibilities and achievements
Generally, the format of a CV is up to the individual, as long as it is easily understood. However, content is relatively standard from one CV to the next: personal details, profile/summary, educational details, work history, leisure interests, additional information, references. The amount of space you allocate to these areas in your CV suggests the importance you want employers to attach to them.
Your personal profile is the section that normally appears first on a CV. This paragraph is very important and it gives you the chance to provide the employer with details about yourself that do not appear in any other part of the document. This is your opportunity to sell yourself and describe what you have to offer the employer in terms of personal skills and attributes.
Explaining about your work history is quite difficult. Concentrate on providing just enough information for the reader to gain an accurate picture of your role. Many people have a tendency to go into complicated wordy detail about their previous responsibilities, but this should be avoided - simple and straightforward explanations will suffice and are easier to read.
Always try to be specific about what you have done (managed two staff, responsible for a budget of, completed a project about, used WordPerfect, Lotus and Quark Express). Vague generalities do little to sell your skills to employers. Where possible, use positive action words to describe your work duties (action words draw a visual picture to the reader of a hard working, dynamic individual).
Although leisure interests are not as important as the main body of your CV, they do provide an employer with some insight into what you are like out of work. Often employers use this section to assess your personal qualities, so remember not to overlook it.
References always appear last on the CV and can be dealt with by ‘available on request’ rather than listing individual contact details.
You will find that if you try to adhere to these basic rules when compiling your CV, you should be well on your way to gaining that all important interview. Good luck!
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