We want you to know how to write a CV that will get interviews. We have produced comprehensive assistance and guides that help you at every stage of the CV writing process. Whether you need a general purpose CV in the style most popular with employers, writing your first ever CV or you are an IT specialist, graduate or professional, we show you how to write a CV that really works.
How to write an interview winning CV
Job hunting, especially in the current economic climate can be tough so you need to give yourself every chance of getting to the interview stage and your CV will be fundamental in achieving this. Many people struggle with their CV but the really good news is that by following a few simple rules, you can maximise your chances, reduce the chance of rejection and stand out from the other applicants.CVwriting.net is a quick and easy to use general purpose CV builder that helps you create a CV that employers and recruiters want to see which will dramatically increase your chance of success. By completing each section the CV builder will convert all the information into a finished and ready to use CV.The targeted and step by step help, assistance and examples, created by qualified career and recruitment professionals will help you to concentrate on the content of your CV and show you the key requirements of a successful CV including how many pages, what to include, what not to include and how to say it. Try us FREE. We guarantee your satisfaction by including unlimited updates, amendments and downloads for a full 12 months plus customer support by telephone, e-mail or post.
curriculum vitae writing tips - introduction
Keep your curriculum vitae simple. Your curriculum vitae must be concise. Your curriculum vitae must be easy to read. Your curriculum vitae must sell you. And your curriculum vitae must be tailored to what the reader is looking for.
These CV and letter principles apply to all career moves. Having a good CV is essential for full-time jobs, part-time, internal, external, promotions, new jobs, career changes, internships and work experience placements - wherever an employer or decision-maker is short-listing or interviewing or selecting applicants.
Short-listed and successful candidates are invariably the people who provide employers with the best CVs and best covering letters.
A CV does not have to be a text document. It can be a video. If a picture tells a thousand words, imagine what moving pictures can convey about you. The technology exists now for anyone to create a video CV, and to upload it onto a website - including this one.
These notes are therefore not restricted to text-based CVs. The principles are good for your video CV too. Text or Video - the same principles apply.
How you perform at the interview or group selection is of course crucial, but only the people with the best CVs and letters get to that stage.
curriculum vitae template presentation and style
Irrespective of style and design, above all the presentation of your CV needs to be high quality and clear and professional and up-to-date.
This means not using poor quality photo-copies. Original prints are best. This applies to letters as well. Photocopies and documents that have obviously been mass-produced imply that the sender is throwing lots of mud at the wall and hoping some will stick. This makes the recipient or interviewer feel like you don't care much where you end up, and that you don't have a particular reason for wanting to join their organisation, which is the opposite impression that you need to be making. Poor quality photocopies reflect on your own quality. Scruffy unprofessional documents will be interpreted as a sign that the sender is scruffy and unprofessional. Old CVs that are dated several months ago, or a photocopied letter with a blank space in which the sender writes the date in biro, will suggest that you are not up-to-date nor well-organised, and also that you've been looking for a job (obviously without success) for some while.
On the other hand, pristine professional-looking documents on good quality paper stock (100 gsm minimum ideally) will signify that you are professional, and also that you can be trusted to communicate appropriately and professionally when and if you end up working for the organisation concerned. CVs and letters with current dates, that are purpose-written (tailored) for the recipient, will suggest that you are recently available, selective, focused, and also that you have logical reasons for believing that a good fit exists between you and the employer, all of which weighs heavily in your favour against all the mud-chuckers.
cv file format
This is obviously important if uploading your CV to a website, or sending via email, or conveying your CV in digital/electronic format.
Use a file format which is most accessible to most people.
For example:
Docx files are not accessible to everyone. (Docx files cannot be opened by old versions of MSWord).
Doc files are therefore more accessible to most people than docx files.
Pdf is arguably the most accessible and safest format. (Pdf files can generally be opened by everyone - using Adobe Acrobat Reader - and also the pdf format remains consistent when opened, unlike doc and other word processor files, which are often affected by fonts and settings on the recipient's computer.)
The excellent open source 'office equivalent' http://www.openoffice.org/ enables easy conversion from doc to pdf, although other methods exist.
Consider file format from the view of your target audience/reader and choose a format by which the recipient will be able to access your CV easily and reliably.
As a general rule, the more complex/unusual your code/fonts in your CV, then the more it will make sense to use a pdf file format.
Another consideration is that unless you protect with a password, word processor files like doc and docx can be altered by the recipient. It is very much more difficult to alter a pdf file. This robustness of a pdf is a further reason for choosing pdf format.
In certain sectors (media, marketing, design, etc) pdf files will be recognised as a more appropriate presentation format, which inevitably reflects as a subtle advantage for anyone demonstrating that they've chosen to use the pdf format in presenting their CV.
As ever - for the presentation of any important information to a specifically targeted reader - ask what file format they prefer.
curriculum vitae template - structure
(Other than 'Title', use these sub-headings or similar)
Heading
Simply your name followed by the word or 'CV' or 'Curriculum Vitae' ('Resume' is used more in the USA).
See the notes about CV/Curriculum Vitae in the heading above.
Personal Profile (and/or Attributes)
Five to seven high impact statements that describe you. These are effectively your personal strengths. Be bold, confident and positive when you construct these key statements. Orientate the descriptions to the type of job you are seeking. If you have a serious qualification and it's relevant, include it as the final point. Look at the examples shown to see how these statements use powerful words and professional business vocabulary. See the examples of CV words and phrases below.
Experience (and/or Specialisms or Capabilities)
This is not your career history. It's a bullet points description of your experience and/or your capabilities. Make sure you orientate these simple statements to meet the requirements of the reader, in other words ensure the experience/strengths are relevant to the type of job/responsibility that you are seeking. Again try to use powerful statements and impressive language - be bold and check that your chosen language and descriptions look confident and positive. If you are at the beginning or very early stage of your career you will not have much or any work experience to refer to, in which case you must refer to other aspects of your life experience - your college or university experience, your hobbies, social or sports achievements, and bring out the aspects that will be relevant to the way you would work. See the notes for writing CVs with no work experience. Prospective employers look for key indicators of integrity, enthusiasm, passion, determination, initiative, creativity, originality, organisational ability, planning, cost-management, people-skills, technical skill, diligence, reliability, depending on the job; so find examples of the relevant required behaviours from your life, and encapsulate them in snappy, impressive statements. Go for active not passive descriptions, i.e., where you are making things happen, not having things happen to you. See the examples of CV words and phrases below.
Achievements
High impact descriptions of your major achievements. Separate, compact, impressive statements. Ensure you refer to facts, figures and timescales - prospective employers look for quantitative information - hard facts, not vague claims. These achievements should back up your Personal Profile claims earlier - they are the evidence that you can do what you say. Again they must be relevant to the role you are seeking. See the examples of CV words and phrases below.
Career History
A tight compact neatly presented summary of your career history. Start with the most recent or present job and end with the first. Show starting and finishing years - not necessarily the months. Show company name, city address - not necessarily the full address. Show your job title(s). Use a generally recognised job title if the actual job title is misleading or unclear.
If you have little work experience you can combine Career history into one section. See the separate notes about writing CVs where there is very little or no actual career history. See also the examples of CV words and phrases below.
Personal Details
In most markets including the UK, modern employment discriminantion law has reduced the need and expectation for many personal details relating to age, ethnicity, marital status, etc, to be included in a CV. Aside from obviously necessary contact details, the level of personal detail you must include is now optional. This is a particular consideration if you are posting or allowing your CV to appear on the web, where privacy can more easily be invaded, or identities stolen. Therefore be cautious and sensible about how much personal detail you show in a CV. See the notes about CV personal details. Potentially this section enables sub-headings to provide details of full name, sex (if not obvious from your name), address, phone, email, date of birth, marital status, number of children and ages if applicable, driving licence (hopefully clean - if not state position), education (school, college, university and dates), qualifications, and emphasise clearly that references are available. Keep all this information very tight, compact and concise. Being at a more advanced stage of your career is another reason for reducing the amount of personal details shown, as some will be implicit or not relevant. On the other hand, there is an argument for giving as much detail as possible for senior positions as an indication of confidence. As for some other debatable aspects of what to include, it is your decision, and one probably best made considering the precise circumstances of the CVs purpose and likely exposure. The best position for your address and contact details is a matter of debate. Many people suggest these should be at the top of the CV below the heading, however this template structure recommends that they be shown lower down the CV in the personal details section. See the notes on where to put CV contact and address details. It's your decision - there are arguments both ways. Date the CV, and save as a file with some indication of what type of job it was orientated for, as you should ideally develop a number of different versions of your CV.
Education and Qualifications
Depending on the person and the job vacancy and the employer's expectations it is often better to show education and qualifications in a separate section, rather than within the Personal Details, as a way of giving them greater emphasis and clarity. If so then this section can be placed after or before the Personal Details, or given higher prominence if the situation warrants it. The level of detail and type of detail in this section should change as your career progresses. For example your school/college exams subjects and grades would be highly relevant when you are seeking your first job, but after working for 5-10 years, especially if you've achieved further training and qualifications, your school/college qualifications warrant far less detail and prominence. As ever,,include and emphasise details according to the jobs you are seeking, and what the employers will find most relevant and useful.
