How to write a CV

How to write a good CV

If you are looking for a job, then it is very important that you understand how to offer yourself in the best way to an employer.

Therefore, your CV must be as good as you can make it.

GENERAL ADVICE
If you are a student, there is probably a career advice office in your place of study. They are there to help. They may have fact-sheets of advice on how to prepare a CV. Make full use of them. However, employers do not want to see CVs which are all written in exactly the same way. Therefore, do not just copy standard CV samples! Your CV should be your own, personal, and a little bit different.

A CV should be constructed on a word-processor (or at least typed), well laid out and printed on a good quality printer. Do use bold and/or underline print for headings. Do not use lots of different font types and sizes. You are not designing a magazine cover! Do use plenty of white space, and a good border round the page. Do use the spell-check on your computer! (Or check that the spelling is correct in some way) Consider using 'bullets' to start sub-sections or lists.

Because you are using a computer or word-processor, you can easily 'customise' your CV if necessary, and change the layout and the way you write your CV for different employers.

Picture yourself to be a busy manager in the employer's office. He (or she) may have to read through 100 CVs in half an hour, and will have two piles - 'possibles' and 'waste-bin'.

So yours must be easy to read, short and attractive.

Before you start
Sit down with a piece of paper. Look at the job(s) that you are applying for. Consider how your skills, education, and experience compare with the skills that the job requires. How much information do you have about the job description?
Sometimes employers do not give enough information. Ask for more detail if needed. Spend time researching detail about the job(s) that interest you and information about the employer - their structure, products, successes, and approach - from:

Their own publicity, reports and publications

A library (business reports, trade papers)

College career office

Newspaper reports

The Internet

WHAT TO INCLUDE
Personal details
Name, home address, college address, phone number, email address, date of birth.

Do you have your own web homepage? Include it (if it's good!).

If your name does not obviously show if you are male or female, include this!

Education
Give places of education where you have studied - most recent education first. Include subject options taken in each year of your course. Include any special project, thesis, or dissertation work.

Pre-college courses (high school, etc.) should then be included, including grades. Subjects taken and passed just before college will be of most interest. Earlier courses, taken at say age 15-16, may not need much detail.

Work experience
List your most recent experience first. Give the name of your employer, job title, and very important, what you actually did and achieved in that job. Part-time work should be included.

Interests
They will be particularly interested in activities where you have leadership or responsibility, or which involve you in relating to others in a team. A one-person interest, such as stamp-collecting, may be of less interest to them, unless it connects with the work you wish to do. Give only enough detail to explain. (If you were captain of a sports team, they do not want to know the exact date you started, how many games you played, and how many wins you had! They will ask at the interview, if they are interested.) If you have published any articles, jointly or by yourself, give details.

If you have been involved in any type of volunteer work, do give details.

Skills
Ability in other languages, computing experience, or possession of a driving licence should be included.

References
Usually give two names - one from your place of study, and one from any work situation you have had. Or if this does not apply, then an older family friend who has known you for some time. Make sure that referees are willing to give you a reference. Give their day and evening phone numbers if possible.

Length
Maybe all you need to say will fit onto one sheet of A4. But do not crowd it - you will probably need two sheets. Do not normally go longer than this. Put page numbers at the bottom of the pages - a little detail that may impress.

Style
There are two main styles of CV, with variations within them.

Chronological
Information is included under general headings - education, work experience, etc., with the most recent events first.

Skills based
You think through the necessary skills needed for the job you are applying for. Then you list all your personal details under these skill headings. This is called 'targeting your CV', and is becoming more common, at least in UK.
But it is harder to do. So take advice on whether it is OK in your country and culture, and how to do it best.

Optional extras
It can be good to start with a Personal Profile/Objective statement. This is a two or three sentence overview of your skills, qualities, hopes, and plans. It should encourage the employer to read the rest.

You could add a photo of yourself - either scanned in by computer, or stuck on. But make sure it is a good one. Get a friend (or a working photographer) to take a good portrait. The pictures that come out from automatic photo-machines usually make you look ill, like a prisoner, or a little "devil" or all of them!

Presentation
You may vary the style according to the type of job, and what is accepted in your country and culture. So a big company would normally expect a formal CV on white paper. But, just perhaps, a CV applying for a television production job, or graphic designer, could be less formal - coloured paper, unusual design, etc!

Consider using a two column table to list your educational qualifications and courses taken.

Covering letter
When sending in a CV or job application form, you must include a covering letter. The purpose of the letter is:

To make sure that the CV arrives on the desk of the correct person. Take the trouble to telephone, and find the name of the person who will be dealing with applications or CVs, and address your letter, and envelope, to that person by name. (In a small company, it may be the managing director. In a medium size company, it may be the head of section/department. Only in a large company will there be a Personnel or Human Resource Department.)

To persuade the person to read your CV. So it must be relevant to the company, interesting, and well produced.

To clearly say what job you are interested in. If you are sending in a 'speculative' CV hoping that they may have work for you, explain what sort of work you are interested in. Do not say, 'I would be interested in working for Widgets Ltd', but say 'I believe my skills equip me to work in the product development department/accounts office/whatever'. When sending a speculative CV, you may try telephoning later to push your enquiry further.

To say why you want that particular job with that particular employer

To draw attention to one or two key points in the CV which you feel make you suited to that particular job with that particular employer.

Start your letter with an underline heading giving the job title you are interested in. (If you saw the job advertised, say where you saw it.)

Use the style and pattern of a business letter suited to your culture and country. Ask for advice about this. Try to find sample business letters so that you can follow style and layout.

Your career office may have a sheet about this, or show you a sample. The letter should only be on one side of A4 paper. It must be polite and easy to read.

Also mention when you are available for an interview. Ending your letter with a request for specific extra information may give a positive response.

Application forms
To apply for some jobs, the employer will send you an application form. You should still use a covering letter, and send your CV also unless told not to. Application forms need as much care to write as CVs. Remember the lessons earlier on this page. Here are some short guidelines:

Plan everything you will say on a separate piece of paper. Or make a photocopy of the form, and practice completing it first.

Only complete the real form when you are exactly sure what is the best thing to say.

It must be very neat and clear, and in black pen so that it can be easily photocopied.

You should 'angle' your answers to the company, in the same way as explained for your CV.

Do not say in answer to any question - 'see my CV'. They do not want to try to read both at the same time.

Take a photocopy to keep, so that you can remember exactly what you said. If you are called to interview, take this copy with you into the interview.

Other points
Keep copies of all letters, applications forms, and CVs sent, and records of telephone calls and names of those you spoke to.

The interview
Learning how to handle an interview is also very important. Your college career office or library may have a sheet or booklet on interview technique. Take as much advice as you can. Try and 'practice' an interview. Ask a friend, or college teacher, to pretend to interview you.

Be positive, and confident (if you can!) but not over-confident. Be well-informed about the company, its record and achievements, about the job and why you want it. Have questions ready to ask about the company and the job. If you are not accepted, some employers may be kind enough to look at your interview notes, and explain to you how you could improve your CV and interview technique. Ask - you can only be refused, and it shows you are prepared to develop and learn; they may make a note about you for future reference.

May you have good success!

Your future life
You are probably now standing in the doorway of adult life. Choices you make now will affect your whole future.

Here are some questions to consider:

How can I choose the best career for my life?

What are the best ways of making choices and decisions?

What is the real purpose of my life, and what do I want to achieve?

Do I have the inner resources to handle these things?

Our student help page is designed to suggest some new and revolutionary options for facing these questions. Take five minutes to check it out and maybe change your whole life! Or wonder what you missed!

Did this page help you? Could we make it better? How could we make it apply more to your particular country? Write to us.