Preparing your Curriculum Vitae

Do:

• Try to keep your CV to 3 pages, but don’t panic about length provided you are sure that the information is relevant, accurate and up to date.
• Make your CV easy to read; choose a clear type face and good quality paper (white or cream).
• Make the chronology of education and experience clear by keeping dates (months and years) down the left hand side of the page. There is nothing more annoying than having constantly to turn pages back and forth to work out what happened when and where.
• Put educational details (including institution attended and qualification gained) in chronological order as this is the logical order most readers expect. A-level grades and subjects are important (unless there is a good reason why they should be omitted). Details of career experience are, however, better given in reverse chronological order, unless your career has recently taken a down-turn.
• Try to include as much important information on the first page of your CV together with some details of recent experience to encourage the reader to turn the page.
• Use headings and bullet points. Each point should, however, give reasonable detail and the CV should not simply read as a checklist of types of work undertaken. In drafting your career histories try to give an impression of your role, status and achievements in your previous positions. Give examples of interesting/relevant matters. This will set you apart from the next candidate who has the same basic experience, but expresses it blandly.
• Try to use names of clients (where permitted) or at least their sector, or other information which catches the eye. Remember that a CV gives a snapshot of your experience and therefore do emphasise your strengths. Naturally if your experience of a certain area takes up two-thirds of a page whilst other details only a third, the reader will tend to assume greater knowledge of the former area. This can be double-edged sword so don’t forget you will have to justify what you have written at interview.
• Ask someone else to read your CV and find out their impressions. This is also an essential step to avoid embarrassing typing errors.