How to write a CV

A CV is designed to provide the reader with a quick overview of your current details and as such should include:

Your name and address:

• Ensure your details are up-to-date

Your contact details:

• Include your home address
• Include both a mobile telephone number and a home telephone number
• Include a suitable e-mail address (preferably a personal one)

Education/Qualifications

• Ensure that you include relevant industry qualifications i.e. CeMap, ACCA
• Names and addresses of schools, colleges or universities.
• Most GCSE subjects are probably not of too much relevance to an employer so could be summarised as 9 GCSE’s including Mathematics and English for example.

Work Experience:

• With the changes in regulatory checks it is wise to include a comprehensive list covering the last 10 years.
• Include the name of your employer and your job title
• Bullet point the key points of your role profile.
• Highlight all relevant parts of your work history that would be useful in the role you are applying for.

Personal Details:

• Include a brief list of current interests and hobbies.
  

A well presented CV should be 2-3 pages in length.  If you been working for a number of years or for several companies, you could include a full 10 years work history, then summarise the rest in a list format.

Bullet points are easy to read and are the recommended style to use because long sentences and paragraphs are difficult to read and may be overlooked.

It is often advantageous to include performance figures and achievements, however it is only advisable to do this if you can produce evidence of your claims. 

If you are interested in more than 1 type of role then have separate CV’s that highlight your relevant experience of the jobs that you are applying for.