Writing a CV

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Your CV needs to promote your skills, knowledge, qualities and work experience. You need to show how you will bring these to a particular job and try and encourage the employer to want to invite you to interview so that they can find out more about you.

Research Your CV

There is no uniform CV unfortunately and you will need to tailor your cv to the individual job role. Before you start to create your cv you need to research the company and industry you are applying to. If you are applying to a specific job study the job description and ensure that your cv covers all of the necessary points and that you demonstrate evidence of all of the qualities they desire.

Self Analysis

It is then good to have a brain storm of all of the points you want to get across on your CV- think of concrete examples of actions you have taken rather than simply listing I can negotiate - use some examples of some really good meetings you have had. Also think of the type of language you want to use on your CV- you need to be professional but bright and enthusiastic at the same time.

Type of CV:

Next you need to decide how you want to present your CV - there are a number of ways - these are listed below:

Chronological CV

This is the most common type of CV - you list all of your jobs and qualifications in the reverse order of when you started them. The CV tends to follow this pattern:

1. Personal Details -Name, address, phone number, email
2. Qualifications and Education
3. Employment history - Name of employer, dates employed, positions held, key responsibilities
4. Interests

Skills Based/ Functional CV

This CV emphasizes the skills of the individual as well as their achievements - it is particularly useful if you are trying to start a new career and want to give a wider view of you and your skills. Your CV useful if you have worked in lots of different job roles and do not have a specific career path.

Please see attached skills based cv

You will need to assess which are the key skills that your prospective employer could be looking for and then try to think of concrete examples for each skill. You will still need to list your employment history but the focus of this cv will be on you and your skills rather than the employers you have worked for.

Types of skills you may wish to list on your CV:

• Communication
• Numeracy
• Leadership
• Negotiation
• Teamwork
• Problem solving
• Analytical Skills

Hybrid CV

This type of CV combines both the skills based cv and the chronological cv. This starts with a summary of your key skills and then lists your job roles and has a summary of skills involved in each role too. This is a good type of cv to present as it has a strong structure and generally provides the right level of information - skills and career history.

See attached CV which shows an example of a Hybrid CV

Presentation of your CV

• CV'S shouldn't really be longer than 2 A4 pages
• Use good quality paper and make sure that you have formatted the document neatly
• Run a spell checker!
• Don't use long paragraphs - keep sentences punchy
• Make sure the headings and dates are consistent
• Use point 10- 12 font size

What can I leave out of my CV?

• You do not need to list every single GCSE on your CV, the number and the grades that you have achieved is sufficient
• Don't lost your marital status
• Don't list qualifications that are not relevant to the job role
• You do not need to title your CV
• You can list referees if you want but it is acceptable to stat ' available on request