an outline of a person's educational and professional history, usually prepared for job applications (L, lit.: the course of one's life). Another name for a CV is a résumé. A CV is the most flexible and convenient way to make applications.It conveys your personal details in the way that presents you in the best possible light.A CV is a marketing document in which you are marketing something: yourself! You need to "sell" your skills, abilities, qualifications and experience to employers. It can be used to make multiple applications to employers in a specific career area. For this reason, many large graduate recruiters will not accept CVs and instead use their own application form. An application form is designed to bring out the essential information and personal qualities that the employer requires and does not allow you to gloss over your weaker points as a CV does. In addition, the time needed to fill out these forms is seen as a reflection of your commitment to the career.

There is no "one best way" to construct a CV;it is your document and can be structured as you wish within the basic framework below. It can be on paper or on-line or even on a T-shirt (a gimmicky approach that might work for "creative" jobs but not generally advised!).

What information should a CV include?

Personal details

Normally these would be your name, address, date of birth (although with age discrimination laws now in force this isn't essential), telephone number and email.

Education and qualifications

Your degree subject and university, plus A levels and GCSEs or equivalents. Mention grades unless poor!

Work experience

Use action wordssuch as developed, planned and organised.
Even work in a shop, bar or restaurant will involve working in a team, providing a quality serviceto customers, and dealing tactfully with complaints. Don't mention the routine, non-people tasks (cleaning the tables) unless you are applying for a casual summer job in a restaurant or similar.
Try to relate the skillsto the job.A finance job will involve numeracy, analytical and problem solving skillsso focus on these whereas for a marketing role you would place a bit more more emphasis on persuading and negotiatingskills.

Interests and achievements

Keep this section short and to the point. As you grow older, your employment record will take precedence and interests will typically diminish greatly in length and importance.
Bullets can be used to separate interests into different types: sporting, creative etc.
Don't use the old boring clicheshere: "socialising with friends".
Don't put many passive, solitary hobbies(reading, watching TV, stamp collecting) or you may be perceived as lacking people skills. If you do put these, than say what you read or watch: "I particularly enjoy Dickens, for the vivid insights you get into life in Victorian times".
Show a range of interests to avoid coming across as narrow : if everything centres around sport they may wonder if you could hold a conversation with a client who wasn't interested in sport.
Hobbies that are a little out of the ordinarycan help you to stand out from the crowd: skydiving or mountaineering can show a sense of wanting to stretch yourself and an ability to rely on yourself in demanding situations
Anyinterests relevant to the job are worth mentioning: current affairs if you wish to be a journalist; a fantasy share portfolio such as Bullbearingsif you want to work in finance.

Skills

The usual ones to mention are languages(good conversational French, basic Spanish), computing(e.g. "good working knowledge of MS Access and Excel, plus basic web page design skills" and driving ("full current clean driving licence").
If you are a maturecandidate or have lots of relevant skills to offer, a skills-based CVmay work for you

References

Normally two referees are sufficient: one academic (perhaps your tutor or a project supervisor) and one from an employer (perhaps your last part-time or summer job). See our page on Choosing and Using Refereesfor more help with this.

Theorder and the emphasis will depend on what you are applying for and what you have to offer. For example, the example media CVlists the candidate's relevant work experience first. If you are applying for more than one type of work, you should have a different CV tailored to each career area, highlighting different aspects of your skills and experience. A personal profileat the start of the CV can work for jobs in competitive industries such as the mediaor advertising, to help you to stand out from the crowd. If used, 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…… “

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Last Updated: 01 October 2012
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