Curriculum Vitae (CV) Tips. Advice on what to put in and leave out of your CV.

A good CV may be the difference between you getting a job interview or not. It is imperative that you read the following guidelines for CV presentation and follow the advice given. This advice is written by professionals who see hundreds of CV's every week and know how much a badly presented and constructed CV can have a negative influence on your job opportunities.

The following is a simple list of Do's and Don'ts laid out in point form to be used as a checklist for your own CV. If you have not started writing your CV yet dowload our CV template from the CV Layout page (see menu at top of page).

DO:

• Spend time on your CV.

• Keep it short. Two to three pages is ideal.

• Keep it relevant. Be aware that your CV may only get between 20 seconds and a minute of reading time so make it count.

• Keep it legible. Leave plenty of 'white space' and use easily read fonts like Calibri (Body) or Arial.

• Save it as a word document (.doc) to ensure that it can be opened universally.

• Use a font size of 10pt or 11pt.

• Apply the job description to your experience and highlight your relevant skills in your 'Personal Profile'.

• Check for accurate spelling and grammar.
  Do not just rely on the spell check function for this.
  "There" and "their" are both correct spellings but their meanings are totally different.

• Ask somebody else to look over your CV before you send it.

• Keep your CV current.

DO NOT:

• Write Curriculum Vitae on the top. It uses up valuable space.

• Use boxes, pictures or colour. This could cause problems if your page needs to be scanned and is an unnecessary distraction from the content.

• Use caps or red because they are both regarded as offensive.

• Lie or exaggerate. You could get caught out at interview stage if not from your CV alone.

• Have any unexplained gaps in your CV.

• Use long sentences or paragraphs. Bullet points are more effective.

• Use cliche's. For example:
  "I am a highly motivated, professional, team player with excellent communication skills...."
  Don't tell me, show me. Use examples to back up what you say.

• Do not mail your CV to multiple companies. This could appear lazy. Make each application specific.

If you need further guidance do not hesitate to contact us.