Struggling with your CV? These tips will help you write the perfect CV

By Craig Abrahart

Your curriculum vitae, or “CV” /resume is a summarised portrayal of you. Coming from the term “course of life” in Latin, the CV displays your professional, and personal achievements. When a possible employer views your CV, they should be able to get an exact idea of your qualifications and experiences, previous to them meeting you.

CV’s have a whole host of legitimate purposes, but they are usually used for employment reasons. Hence, when a job advert is posted, candidates submit their CVs to be considered by the employer. As you would think, the employer receiving this large intake of informative documents must be able to wade through them quickly and resourcefully. It is for this reason, as well as many others that having a well written, structured and comprehensive CV is of the highest importance.

There is no definitive way that a CV must be put together, however there are some main items that your CV must contain: contact details, personal information, academic and professional history, the skills you have that are related to the job, interests and references. When submitting a CV it is crucial that you also send a covering letter; this complements the CV. A cover letter gives you the opportunity to introduce yourself to the employer you wish to work for, give details of your background and degree of expertise and highlight your strengths which you can bring to the job. Ensure that your letter elaborates on your CV including your key strengths.

The Do’s and Dont’s that we at notgoingotouni.co.uk advise when writing your CV are:

DO keep it short and clear- The most important information, such as your key skills and recent experience, needs to be near the top, where it can be seen straightaway. Your CV should normally be two pages in length; if you haven’t caught the recruiter’s interest by page two then they probably won’t read any further pages anyway.

DO make sure it looks good- Clear, attractive presentation is also important if your CV is to stand out. Ensure that it’s uncluttered, with key points easy to spot by using bullet points and short sentences.

DO use chronological order – your history of employment should be in date order, starting with the most recent place you have worked. Try not to leave any spaces, so if you’ve had some time off, for a gap year or volunteer work, be sure mention this and use reverse order to state your qualifications, with the most recent coming first.

DO include facts- List your job duties beneath each position. List your achievements, responsibilities and results. Talk about results – what difference did your presence make?

DO include a covering letter – Unless the advert shows that a covering letter is not required, always send one. This should show the two or three most important experiences from your CV that are directly related the position being applied for. You should never send out a CV by itself.

DON’T lie – If you overstate information about the extent of your experience, or the abilities that you have and your employer finds out, it could result in you being sacked.

DON’T list lots of details about your hobbies, unless they’re related to the job or show a quality for the job, such as the ability to work in a team and on an individual basis.

DON’T forget to put your correct contact details in a place which is clearly noticeable. You wouldn’t want to let an opportunity pass you by due to the fact that an employer wasn’t able to contact you.

Notgoingtouni.co.uk helps young people with their future by highlighting jobs and training that exist outside of university. There are several student CV tips and apprenticeships available in addition to free career guides and over 300 videos on distance learning, foundation degrees, gap years, voluntary work and advice on getting a sponsored degree.

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