Your CV is likely to be the first impression you make on an employer. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that it represents you in the best possible light. To make things easier for you, we’ve put together a simple guide to show you the minimum amount of detail that your CV should have, and the things it doesn’t need at all.
How To Format Your CV
Every CV needs to fulfil the job of giving a potential employer relevant information about you. It should include the following:
· Your name and contact details.
· Your educational history.
· Your work history.
· Your achievements.
· Your hobbies and interests.
· A concise covering letter.
The Details About You That Your CV Needs
This may seem like we’re stating the obvious, but the simplest details are often overlooked. Ensure that your CV includes your full name, your telephone number, your email address and your location. You don’t necessarily need to include your full address, but you should at least state which town or city you live in.
The Details About You That You Shouldn’t Include
There’s no real need to include your age, date of birth, ethnicity, marital status, height, weight, sexual orientation or even a photograph on your CV. Of course, if you want to, it’s fine to include a formal photograph or refer to your partner when detailing your personal interest and hobbies. However, it’s not worth overwhelming a potential employer with excessive details that aren’t relevant to the job role.
Your Experience
The section where you talk about your experience should be detailed and thorough. That’s not to say that you should pad this out with a lot of words. However, you should try to write a small amount about the skills you used to carry out each job. It’s also a good idea to include any training you had and how it helped you to achieve success.
If you’ve got past experience that isn’t particularly valuable or applicable to the jobs you’re applying for, you can choose to omit these. You also have the option to list the name of the job and dates you worked there with no further details.
If you have a long gap in your work history, it’s a good idea to explain it briefly on your CV. This will put to rest any doubts that a potential employer might have. We would never recommend lying on your CV or ‘padding out’ your work experience to make yourself look better. You’ll get caught out eventually, and this won’t be impressive at all.
Your Education
Include your education history, with the best qualifications first. For example, if your highest qualification is a Masters degree, this should be listed first. Make sure that all of the awards you list here are truthful, as employers are likely to ask for proof. Some qualifications can also be checked using internet searches, so it’s really not worth risking lying about your education.
Your Achievements
You don’t need to include huge amounts of detail in your achievement section. Simply listing the name and date of the achievement will suffice. If you have a portfolio of work, a URL to the website would be a convenient way to include this.
Your Hobbies & Interests
Keep this section relatively short. The purpose of including your hobbies and interests is to give employers an indication of what your personality is like. Listing a couple of things that you’re interested in should be enough for your CV. Be sure to include any hobbies that are relevant to the role you’re applying for, and feel free to explain a little further if you think it will help your application.
Big Mistakes To Avoid
There are a few things that you could put on your CV which could seriously damage your job applications. We recommend avoiding the following at all costs:
· Lying.
· Misleading language or information.
· Badmouthing or negatively talking about another company.
· Spelling and grammar errors.
· Overly long sections of text.
Do You Need Help With Your CV?
If you want a helping hand from a job expert to get your CV perfected, why not contact the team at Search4Local Jobs today? We're here to help, and offer a unique, personalised service that you won't find anywhere else.