CV writing

CURRICULAM VITAE

Curriculum Vitae An outline of a person's educational and professional history, it is usually prepared for job applications. Another name for a CV is a r�sum�.

A CV is the most flexible and convenient way to make applications.It can convey your personal details in the way that presents you in the best possible light and can be used to make multiple applications to employers in a specific career area. 

There is no "one best way" to construct a CV. It is your document and can be structured and presented as you wish within the basic framework set out below.

When should a CV be used?

• When an employer asks for applications to be received in this format
• When an employer simply states "apply to ..." without specifying the format
• When making speculative applications (when writing to an employer who has not advertised a vacancy but who you hope my have one)

What information should a CV include?

• Personal details
• Education & qualifications
• Work experience
• Interests and achievements
• Skills
• References (if required)

The order in which you present these, and the emphasis which you give to each one, will depend on what you are applying for and what you have to offer.

The Personal details should be correct and accurate so that they don’t have any difficulty in getting in touch with you.

Your Professional profile should be relevant to the kind of job you are applying. And the best served and successful ones should head the list.

A personal profile at the start of the CV can sometimes be effective for jobs in competitive industries such as the media or advertising, to help you to stand out from the crowd. It needs to be original and well written. Don’t just use the usual hackneyed expressions: “I am an excellent communicator who works well in a team…… “

You will also need a covering letter accompany your CV, you should personalise the covering letter - e.g. by putting in a paragraph on why you want to work for that organization.

What makes a good CV?

There is no single "correct" way to write and present a CV.The following general rules apply:

• It is targeted on the specific job or career area for which you are applying and brings out the relevant skills you have to offer
• It is carefully and clearly laid out: logically ordered, easy to read and not cramped
• It is informative but concise
• It is accurate - in content, spelling and grammar

How long should a CV be?

There are no absolute rules on this but, in general, a new graduate's CV should cover no more than two sides of A4 paper.
If you can summarize your career history comfortably on a single side, this is fine and has advantages when you are making speculative applications and need to put yourself across concisely. However, you should not leave out important items, or crowd your text too closely together, in order to fit it onto that single side. Academic and technical CVs may be much longer upto 4 or 5 sides.

Tips on presentation

• Your CV should be carefully and clearly laid out - not too cramped but not with large empty spaces either. Use bold and italic typefaces for headings and important information
• Never back a CV - each page should be on a separate sheet of paper. It's a good idea to put your name in the footer area so that it appears on each sheet.
• Be concise - a CV is an appetizer and it should make the reader want to know more about you. Don't feel that you have to list every exam you have ever taken, or every activity you have ever been involved in - consider which are the most relevant and/or impressive.
• Be positive - put yourself over confidently and highlight your strong points. For example, when listing your A-levels, put your highest grade first.
• Be honest - although a CV does allow you to omit details (such as exam resets) which you would prefer the employer not to know about, you should never give inaccurate or misleading information.
• If you are posting your CV, don't fold it - put it in a full-size A4 envelope so that it doesn't arrive creased.

Fonts

• Times New Roman is the standard windows "serif" font. A safe bet - law firms seem to like it! A more interesting serif font might be Georgia.
• Arial is the standard windows "sans" font. Sans fonts don't have the curly bits on letters. As you can see it's cleaner and more modern than Times and also looks larger in the same "point" size (the point size is simply how big the letters are on the page.) However Arial and Times Roman are so common that they're a little boring to the eye.
• A more classy choice might be Verdana or Geneva - these are both common sans fonts.

Font size is normally 12 points for the normal font with larger sizes for subheadings and headings or 10 points. The most popular CV font is 10 point Verdana with 12 or 14 points for sub headings.

• 14 points is too big - wastes space and looks crude.
• And 8 or 9 points too small to be easily readable by everyone, especially in Times New Roman.
• Although many people use 12 points, some research on this suggested that smaller point size CVs were perceived as more intellectual!

Different Types of CV

• Chronological - outlining your career history in date order, normally beginning with the most recent items (reverse chronological) . This is the "conventional" approach and the easiest to prepare. It is detailed, comprehensive and biographical and usually works well for "traditional" students with a good all-round mixture of education and work experience. Mature students, however, may not benefit from this approach, which does emphasize your age, any career breaks and work experience which has little surface relevance to the posts you are applying for now.
• Skills-based - highly-focused CVs which relate your skills and abilities to a specific job or career area by highlighting these skills and your major achievements. The factual, chronological details of your education and work history are subordinate. These work well for anybody whose degree subject and work experience is not directly relevant to their application. Skills-based CVs should be closely targeted to a specific job.

When and why are job references used?

Job offers are often made subject to receipt of references satisfactory to the employer. The purpose of a reference is to give the prospective employer information to support their decision that you are suitable for the job. They generally seek factual information (job title, brief details of responsibilities, dates of employment, reason for leaving, qualifications, attendance record etc) and may ask for comments on your suitability for the post.

Employers contact referees either after the job has been offered or before interview, after seeking your permission. Generally they want references from your current and most recent employers, but may also want an academic reference if you have recently been in higher education.

You should choose the most appropriate people to give you a good reference and always ask their permission before giving their contact details.