We regard your CV as your personal sales brochure and your passport to finding the right position for you. It is therefore essential that your CV is clear, concise, contains up-to-date relevant information and most importantly, is an honest and accurate reflection of yourself and work attainments to-date.

CV Layout and Content

There are no hard and fast rules here but best CV’s are well spaced out and contain the most relevant eye-catching information first. You should include the following details:

• Personal: Name, address, telephone no’s and e-mail address.
• Profile: You may want to write a short introduction (restricted to 3 or 4 lines) to prime the potential employer with an overview of your skills, qualities, hopes and plans. You can also list any additional information i.e. location flexibility, languages spoken etc.
• Qualification & Experience: Best in list format, relevant to your current skills and in a logical order.
• Career History: Put in reverse chronological order with dates, company name and job title. Talk about the technical environment you worked in and include your achievements in addition to your responsibilities. Huge paragraphs of text generally will not get read, so keep them concise and relevant.
• Education: Depending on how experienced you are you may not feel the need to include more than the basic details. However if you want to include secondary or university qualifications use reverse chronological order, dates, the name of establishment, followed by grades achieved.
• Hobbies and Interests: This is optional and dependent on available space. Again it should be restricted to just 2 to 3 lines.
• Referees: Names and addresses of two suitable referees, recent employers or academic if you have only recently left education.

Do’s and Don’ts

• Do pay attention to presentation. It must be a well produced business like document. Use either 11 or 12 point style size.
• Do make clear and easy to read.
• Do make it waffle free and relevant. Omit any non-essential information such as the occupation of your partner, the names of your children, your passport or NI number, etc.
• Do include the month and year for each major entry under career history.
• Do try to keep it to two pages.
• Do explain any gaps in education and experience.
• Do not use patterned or coloured paper.
• Do not add your photograph - employers will judge the person, not the body.
• Do not use fancy graphic images, type styles or symbols.