One of those things that seems like a ‘no brainer’ yet still so many forget to do simple things. Our top tips for putting together a CV are below:
- spell check – often we can’t spot the simplest things when we’ve been staring at a document for hours. Hit spell check just to double check your spelling and grammar before you hit the send button!
- Presentation – avoid large paragraphs, you want your CV to be easy to read and highlight your key strengths, achievements, and skills. If a prospective employer needs to look for that information and it’s not easy to find, the chances are they’ll move onto the next CV. Bullet points are clear, concise and easy to read.
- Font and formatting – our CVs are documents that we frequently revisit and amend over the years. Sometimes standard fonts or font sizes change and additional information is not in the same font. Always check your font, sizing and formatting. Don’t try to over complicate things – when CVs are sent and reopened several times across different email and word programs, the formatting can go awry so keep it simple
- Key details to include which are useful for potential employers: Qualifications, IT skills including any specialist software or back office systems, dates of all employment and details/explanations of any gaps in employment, brief summaries of your job specifications particularly including relevant tasks for the role which you are applying for
- Keep it short – nobody wants to Reed a CV that is pages and pages long. For older roles that are perhaps less relevant to the work that you are doing now, you can remove the detail and keep it concise with job title, firm and dates. Try to keep your CV to 2 or 3 pages long or you risk the hiring manager losing interest after the first few pages.
- And finally – personality – your CV is YOU on a few pages. You want a potential employer to get a feel for who YOU are and what YOU can bring to the role. People buy into people so all of the above tells a short story and history about you, who you are, how you present yourself and your values. Think carefully about how you want to present yourself based on the industry and role. If you’re a Paraplanner you are likely to be analytical and highly organised so your CV needs to reflect this and be about the detail, whereas if you’re applying for a creative/marketing role, you may want to show some of your creative flare
