Here are some general tips for writing a CV, its best to keep it simple, easy to read and to the point:
- Use normal fonts that are easy to read e.g. Arial, Times New Roman etc. and use a font size of 11/12 with the colour set as black.
- Try not to use complicated tables or graphics, the best CVs are simple and to the point – not everyone has the most up-to-date software on their computer so you need to make sure it’s easily compatible. Gimmicks and novelty CVs may stand out for the wrong reason.
- Try to keep your CV between 1-2 pages in length.
- Get someone to proof read it for spelling or grammatical errors, it’s amazing what someone else can see that you don’t even after spellcheck!
- Always write your employment and education in chronological order, most recent first.
- What comes first – Education or Employment? Well this all depends on what is most relevant to the kind of role you are looking for. If you are a fresh graduate with no relevant experience then put your education first and go into detail into the modules you took and any work placements\final year projects you did. If you are experienced in your field then your employment should go first (most recent employment at the top) and expand on your duties, skills and projects that you have worked on.
- As a general rule, the more relevant the information is, the more detail there needs to be. If you have 10 years’ experience as a Town Planner then we don’t really need to know in-depth details of the part time job you did whilst at University but will want to know a lot about your most recent jobs working as a Town Planner.
- And above all else keep it honest, people who lie on their CV will be caught out!
A good CV may not guarantee you a job but a poor one will certainly end in rejection, for a look at a template CV click here.