Do's and Don'ts for developing a CV

A Curriculum Vitae is a self-marketing tool and getting an interview can depend on how good your CV is. You will need to consider what to include, how much detail is needed and how to make your CV stand out from all the others. 

Your CV is your chance to show an employer you have the skills and experience needed, and that you are the right person for the job. However, the way you present your CV can have an overwhelming influence over whether your CV is even read, let alone get you that all important interviews. You will need to consider what to include, how much detail is needed and how to make your CV stand out from all the others.

Even the finest CV's can be let down by poor presentation and grammar

• Keep it brief and relevant. The most successful CVs aren’t just explanatory, they’re also succinct. Get straight to the most appropriate points, and preferably no more than two sides of A4.

• Choose the right font. A font that your CV can be read easily and simply scrutinize.

• Present things in an objective way.Use plenty of space, clear headlines (e.g. previous work, education). Always make sure you feature your most recent accomplishments.

• Highlight your strengths. Design your CV to maximise the influence of your application. For example, if you don’t have enough experience within a role, alternately start with your education. As long as your CV relates back to the role you are applying for, how you structure the sections is up to you.

• Bullet points. They are a remarkable way to standout any key facts or relevant information, allowing the employer to glide through your documents easily and efficiently.

• Little factors to do: Include contact details, keep email address professional (hellokitty@email.com does not count), keep the same format throughout, ask a colleague to check for common spelling and grammar mistakes.

• Be afraid of space. Don’t worry about gaps. Even if your CV looks bare, as long as you’ve included all the relevant information, qualifications and achievements, you shouldn’t worry, sometimes less is more.

• Try to include too much. The perfect CV should be a checklist of all of your achievements. It should not be an essay. Design your CV to the role is an exceptional way to stop the chatter and keep it to the bare minimal.

•  Include unrelated information.Before adding any information in your application, ask yourself the question: will this help you get the job. If the answer is no, remove it. Hobbies and interests are a big example. If they don’t help you stand out, don’t include them.

• Forget your cover letter. Although it is pictured as a different part all together, your cover letter is connected to your CV and both are important in helping you secure the right job. If it doesn’t say include one? Still do. Any extra opportunity to promote yourself should be grasp.

• Font size. Thinking that altering font size is a good way to fit your CV onto two pages. But either way using larger font to make your CV seem longer or using smaller font to make sure everything fits doesn’t look professional.

• Little factors not to do: Use different colours, use different fonts, include unnecessary references, include a picture.