CV Format

Spending time putting together a good CV is important; this is your first opportunity to make a good impression on a new employer.  It can be difficult to write about and ‘sell’ yourself, but it is extremely important that you highlight all of your key responsibilities, abilities and achievements and show yourself in a positive light.

• You do not need to write the title ‘curriculum vitae’ at the top of the page.  Any employer or recruitment agency will know what it is and the extra text will take up unnecessary space within the document.
• The most critical information needs to be on the first page.  This is what will catch the employer’s attention and potentially result in an interview.
• If you are applying for a particular position, it is important that you read the job description for that role.  You can then tailor your CV to emphasise and highlight your experience that is particularly relevant, without altering basic facts.
• Basic/personal details should be first, the employer needs to know how to contact you and this must be clearly visible.  This section should be brief, include full name, contact address, telephone numbers and email (only include work details if you are able to respond freely and would like to be contacted in this way).  You may also wish to include nationality, preferred locations and salary details/requirements; these are more relevant if sending to a recruitment agency.  You do not need to include Date of Birth, it is illegal to discriminate based on age; any recruitment agency forwarding your CV will remove these details.
• Profile/Personal Statement:  This should be at the start of the CV, following on from personal details. Keep your profile concise, a couple of carefully worded sentences or a short paragraph.  Use this to summarise who you are, your background and aspirations.  This is crucial to give a strong introduction to your CV and make a positive impact on the reader.  If you are tailoring a CV to a particular position, this is the easiest part to alter.
• Education details:  You should list all educational achievements in reverse chronological order (most recent first), include dates (the year should suffice i.e. 1997 – 2000) and where you have studied.  It is not necessary to list all modules unless particularly relevant to the position that you are applying.  You should include grades/exam results, however, the detail you include will depend on what level of education you achieved and how much work experience you have.  For example, you may want to list your degree result and your ‘A’ Level results, but not all of your GCSE results (they can be summarised in one sentence i.e. 10 GCSEs at grades A-C).  However, if you left school following GCSEs and have less than two years work experience you will want to provide details of all of your GCSE grades.
• Professional Qualifications:  These are only worth including if relevant to the market or specific role that you are applying to.  Again, it is important to include dates and specific results if appropriate i.e. it is not relevant to include the result of ‘pass’ (this is clear from its presence on your CV), but if you have exceptional results, such as distinction you may wish to make the additional note.  You may also want to include relevant qualifications that you are currently studying for and when you expect to receive results, training courses or additional professional/personal development and relevant professional bodies or associations that you are a member of, as this will show dedication to the industry.
• Computer/IT skills:  Include general software packages that you use, such as MS Word or email packages, as well as industry specific software or operating systems.
• Language Skills:  Include if relevant to your market and only if you have a strong level of fluency i.e. mother tongue, fluent, semi-fluent/conversational.
• Career History:  This should be in reverse chronological order (most recent at the top).  You should include company name, your job title, the dates you worked (month and year, specific dates are not necessary) followed by a bullet point list of your responsibilities, duties and achievements within that role.  Ensure that all gaps are accounted for e.g. if you have been travelling for a year or taken a career break to raise a young family.  In most cases this will only need to be a short one line note but will prevent an employer having concerns or thinking the worst and raising questions.
• Responsibilities:  You need to demonstrate your skills, experience and achievements.  Try and quantify or give specific details and examples where possible, emphasising the technical knowledge of the industry/market that you have.  Avoid using internal abbreviations, terms or jargon that will not be understood outside your current employer.  Do not assume that people will understand your role.  Remember that your CV may be reviewed in the first instance by Human Resources before they pass on to line management.  They need to see clearly that you have the skills laid out in the job description and may be on the lookout for key words e.g. rather than ‘Work in the Pensions Administration team’, a fuller sentence would be ‘Undertake full cradle to grave administration of a closed Defined Benefit and open Defined Contribution pension scheme, including starters, leavers, joiners, retirements and deaths; competent at performing manual calculations, as well as using the automated system.’  This clearly lays out your skills and if compatible with what they are looking for, then they will be able to add your CV to the ‘interview’ list straight away.  This will give them a positive impression of you from the start. All information in the responsibilities section needs to be relevant and demonstrate why an employer should invite you for interview.  If you do refer to specific targets or improvements made, then make sure the reader understands the impact of this on the team and department.
• Hobbies/Interests:  If you want to include hobbies and interests, leave this until last (bar references) and keep it short.  If you choose to include this section, be wary of what you write.  It is far better to highlight hobbies that may show relevance to a new role, such as leadership and team work skills e.g. captain of local football team, or dedication/commitment skills e.g. running a marathon to raise money for charity.  This is sometimes a good talking point in interviews to help you relax, but details should be kept to a minimum, an employer will hire you based on your career experience and not your interests.
• References:  You do not need to list these on your CV, but do acknowledge that they are ‘Available on request’.  If you do wish to include referee details, two is adequate and should ideally be former employers. Don’t forget to notify referees that they may be contacted in the near future as in some cases you may not be able to start a new role until references have been received.  Remember to include contact numbers and email addresses to speed up the process.