Your CV is key when starting your job hunting process. Although this is a daunting experience, it’s something that will help you to get the interview at that company you have been dreaming of.

Ultimately, your CV is about selling yourself in a personal and professional manner, but balancing the two is important. Including too much information about your personal life can be unnecessary and lengthy for the interviewer to read. Also, too much information about your previous professions can be excessive on a CV.

CV Structure

The first thing to remember about writing a CV is the overall appearance, highlighting again how important first impressions are. Layout and grammar are essential. Many employers may dismiss your CV straight away if they encounter mistakes, especially if the role you’re applying for needs a candidate with excellent attention to detail for example.

Keep to a simple structure including these headings:

• Personal details;/li>
• Studies;
• Work experience;
• Skills;
• Interests and other activities;
• References.

This simple, yet clear format can make your CV easy to read. If you need more help with this use our free CV template to guide you more.

Interesting Content

Repetition is what many employers see when looking at hundreds of CVs. Standing out is important. We’ve suggested a few things below to help your CV stand out from the competition:

• Cater your CV to the different job roles you’re applying for to make your CV more specific;
• Be aware of market trends regarding the newest technology, latest training, latest jargon that is relevant to the job;
• Draw the employer to your best qualities and really highlight them.

Useful tips

• Proof-read:

Check there are no errors present on your CV. Get someone to check spelling and grammar if you are not sure.

• Sending your CV online:

In this day and age, the internet is what you are most likely going to use to send off your CV. The recommended format is a PDF File or Word document.

• Be Honest:

Skills that you don’t have but may claim to have will be found out eventually, so it’s recommended to be honest with your CV. It’s normal to exaggerate certain aspects of a CV, however, make sure you can back up what you’ve written.

• Updating your CV:

If you already have a CV it’s important that you update it regularly with those great achievements you keep gaining. Updating your CV allows you to respond swiftly to job opportunities and allows you to customise information about yourself to make your CV better.