Your CV is a very important document to give employers the best impression of you, so here are a few tips to consider:
· Main elements of a CV to consider:
o Personal summary - highlight skills and positive traits about you that are relevant to vacancies
o Employment history - starting from most recent first, give an outline of duties and achievements for each position
o Education - again, most recent first is the most relevant way to document info
o Interests – give the potential employer an insight to your character, e.g. if you are captain of a sports team this will show leadership skills
· A concise, bullet pointed layout that is chronologically laid out is much easier to read than writing an essay/story style format. Employers may receive 100’s of CVs for a vacancy so you want your details to be eye catching and to the point.
· Select where to place your emphasis: e.g. if you’re applying for a graduate position you may want to put your knowledge and education details at the top, highlighting your degree. Or, start with your experience if the role requires applicants to have previous experience. You want to generate immediate interest to a potential employer.
· Always check for errors. Run a spelling and grammar check and ask someone else to read it for you. Read it aloud to the dog. The employer may question your communication skills if your CV is full of mistakes.