CV WRITING TIPS

In the current employment market, a quality curriculum vitae (CV) is more important than ever. Your CV is often used as the first selection criteria. The way you describe your skills and work experience will often determine if a potential employer wants to meet to learn more about you. A good CV will be appealing to the reader, thought provoking and invite further questions.

A CV is essentially an outline of your work history, related experience and education. It should never be exaggerated but should have a positive 'upbeat' and results driven tone.

When writing your CV we suggest you follow these basic guidelines:

· Personal information should include your name, address, home and mobile numbers and email address if applicable.

· Physical characteristics such as age, sex, marital status, number of dependants and health are not necessary.

· The 'objective' section of your CV, usually appearing at the beginning of the document, is a statement of your career direction and may be specific or general.

· Describe your qualifications, skills and abilities that are relevant to the positions your are seeking.

· Education should be expressed in terms of courses, programs and degrees completed, with graduation dates optional.

· Turn your transferable skills into accomplishments! Detail work history or experience in the form of job titles, specific responsibilities and accomplishments.

· List company names and dates of employment. You may wish to combine several short-term work under one heading. Address most recent accomplishments and responsibilities first and work backwards.

· The interests, activities or awards section is the best place to highlight relevant personal and professional accomplishments.

· State that references are available upon request. Prepare a neatly typed list of references with names, titles, addresses , phone number or email addresses. You can give this to a potential employer at the time of your interview or upon request, but do not attach to your CV.

· When applying for a specific position, be specific! Demonstrate clearly and concisely that you are qualified for the position for which you are applying.

· If applying for positions in different industries, write a different version of your CV to target each industry or sector.

· Demonstrate your professionalism with neat presentation and perfect grammar and spelling.

· Think about your use of language throughout the CV - try to use ' action verbs' for maximum effect.

Format and layout

A CV can either be chronological (date order) or topical. In either, you should begin with personal information and end with your reference statement.

Highlight important features; your name, job titles and subject headings will stand out if bold type, underlined, upper case or italics are used.

Use 'white space' effectively: keep the space balanced and pleasing to the eye.

In general the length of the CV should not exceed 2 A4 pages.

Always get an objective opinion on the look and content of your CV and be sure to proof read it several times before printing the final version

…Get the job you deserve…