Writing a good CV is very important. How you come across on paper through your CV is the difference between being called for an interview or not so it is an important document that needs time and attention.
If you have a current CV and is needs updating then you need to gather all the information that you will need to update it, and look carefully at the main reasons as to why you have decided it needs to be updated.
It’s essential to keep your CV looking fresh and up to date but where to start is what you need to know. Detailed below in this article are some factors you need to take into consideration when writing a good CV.
Current CV/Layout
Do you have a current CV or a template that you have used as a guide? How does that feel and what do you like or dislike about it? A CV needs to be long enough to give a company the information that you need to, but not so long that someone will not read it and miss information that you want them to know.
Personal Profile
A personal profile gives potential employers an opening summary of you and your skills. Ideally this would be changed and re written so it is applicable to each role that you apply for but it is important to do this in conjunction with the job description in mind and information relating to the company and your experiences and skills.
Achievements
What achievements can you include that would impress an employer? If you have passed an exam, training course or done something exciting out of work, don’t forget to include it on your CV with your hobbies and interests.
Education or qualifications
Don’t forget to highlight your education and qualifications depending on how important this is to the company and role that you are hoping to be employed by. You will be able to assess the importance of this by the job description.
Are your jobs and skills up to date?
It is essential to keep your CV up to date through your jobs and skills and highlight areas that are relevant to the roles you are looking to apply for. List your specific skills as bullet points so that they are clear and to the point.
Maybe start by listing your skills that you can do one by one so that you know what you can do and then you can put these into an order of relevance to the company that you are sending your CV to.
What font is your CV in?
There are lots of creative fonts that people like to type in but really your CV should be in a clearly typed font that potential employers can read easily. Have a look at some examples but as a standard people tend to use Ariel, Calibri and Verdana..
Size and Colour of Font
As well as the type of font you use, it is important to look carefully at the size and colour of your fonts. Make sure that you only use a big font for headings or to outline something on your CV and keep your CV type to point 11 or 12 at the very most. You will have to judge this by the amount of skills and experience and qualifications you have on your CV as in some cases this may drop down to point 10 but you can use your own judgement for this.
Examples
Before writing or updating your CV, get some advice, look at some examples of formats, how are they laid out? Do they suit the role and company you are looking to apply for? Look at new examples to make sure that it is fresh and not out of date and adapt your CV to the company that you are applying for so doing your research is important here. If they are a young and vibrant company make sure your CV reflects this and if they are more traditional old school then likewise no fancy extras that will go unnoticed and probably be seen as pointless.
Proof reading
It is important once you have written your CV to get someone else to read through it. This could be a friend, neighbour, colleague or family member just as long as they have not helped you write the CV and can be objective. They will also need to pay attention to spellings, grammar and content when going through your CV.