The thought of writing a CV can be quite daunting: you’re sat in front of a blank piece of A4 paper which is waiting for you to type down all your life’s achievements to date.. Sounds hard right? It doesn’t have to be!
If you want to land that dream job, then you need to have the perfect CV, and these tips will help you create one!

Tip 1: Don’t Ramble on!
Probably one of the most important rules of CV writing – don’t ramble on. Simple and to the point is always the way to go. After posting a job advert, employers can go through hundreds of CVs, the last thing they want to see is a 5 page essay on why you have great communication skills! 2 A4 pages is more than enough.

Tip 2: Be confident – but don’t be cocky!!
It’s perfectly acceptable to big yourself up in your CV, you are selling yourself after all, but don’t come across as cocky. There’s a thin line between confidence and cockiness, and your CV needs to stay on the side of confidence; employers are extremely put off by arrogance.  Focus on your strong points, and why they make you the perfect candidate!

Tip 3: Sugarcoat Responsibly.
This one ties in with Tip 2, we all like to sugarcoat our skills and abilities when we need to sell ourselves – it’s natural, we want to make ourselves look like the best candidate for the job. However, if you state you have ‘excellent IT’ skills on your CV, when in reality you haven’t seen a single spreadsheet since your IT classes in year 11, then you need take it down a notch. It’s perfectly fine to not be the best at everything, no one is (not even your tutor… despite what some may say)!

Tip 4: Structure & Content 
 There’s only one place a messy looking CV is going, and that’s the bin. First impressions are everything, and a well tailored CV will instantly get you off to a good start.
Start with the basics:

FULL NAME
CURRICULUM VITAE
Home Address
Home no. & Mobile no.
Email Address.

Additional information you can include is your date of birth, and whether you have a full clean UK driving licence.

Bonus Tip:  if you’re still using your old email account, then it’s best to setup a new one for the job search. In most cases, the first email address you ever setup won’t be suitable for your CV, i.e [email protected] – don’t worry, we’ve all been there! Use platforms like Gmail rather than Hotmail/Outlook, as this is actually seen as more professional.

Next, you’ll want to include a Profile section. This is just a short paragraph which will tell the employer what your skills are. For example: “I am hardworking and self-motivated with exceptional organisational, communication, and people skills. I have a positive attitude, a fantastic work ethic, and work well individually or as part of a team.” and so on. Focus on your strong points, and tell the employer what skills and abilities you have. Remember not to ramble on though, keep it short and to the point.

After your personal profile comes your work experience; always start from your most recent job/work experience, and go backwards.  Include the full name of the employer, your job title, and the date you started & ended. If you’re still in your current employment, just put ‘start date – present’. Then bullet point  your main duties; you don’t need to include every single thing you do, just the important/essential things.
If you have no work experience whatsoever, then just go straight to the next section.

Next, Education. This is the same layout as your work experience, always start with your most recent qualification. So if you’re currently working towards your BTEC Level 3 qualification, you’ll start with this. Don’t go any further back than GCSE’s achieved, as 99.9% of employers won’t care about your Key Stage 3 & Primary School results.  Again, include the title of the course, the qualification, date started, and ended; if you’re still doing the course, include your expected end date and projected grade (what your tutor expects you to get). You can include any other qualifications/certificates here too, i.e, First Aid, FA Badges etc.

Once you’ve completed the profile, work experience, and education sections, you can add a section on your hobbies and interests. This helps the employer get a better idea of what you’re like as a person, and gives you the opportunity to give your CV some character, instead of it consisting of strictly academic/work related stuff. This section only needs to be a few sentences about what you like to do in your spare time. For example if you like football, you could put something like, “I am a keen footballer and a member of the first team in college. As well as this, I like to attend matches when possible”. Keep in mind that this is a CV, so don’t put things like “I like going on nights out with friends” etc, instead, word it like this, “I enjoy socialising with friends and family”.

References: You can include references on a separate sheet, 2 or 3 will be enough as employers usually ask for 2, or you can state ‘references available upon request’ at the bottom of your CV, (make sure you have them ready though). You can ask past/current employers, teachers, or college tutors to provide a reference for you. Employers will most likely need to know their full name, company, job role, phone number, and email address.

 
Tip 5: Tailor your CV.
 It’s a good idea to tailor your CV for each job you apply for, as this will give you a better chance of standing out as a good candidate. Sum up the key skills and abilities that you know the employer wants to hear. Don’t include things that are not relevant to the job you’re currently applying for. You can even write a short career aim in your profile section which relates to the industry you’re applying for a job in. Take the time to read the job description carefully, and customise your CV to fit. You can even tailor your hobbies & interests section as it’s helpful to show that you have a passion for the chosen area outside of the workplace.

Additional tips:

  • Always proofread!
  • Use fonts which are easy to ready, such as Verdana or Tahoma. Stay away from outdated fonts like Times New Roman.
  • Never fold your CV if you’re handing it to an employer, always put it in an A4 envelope.
  • Don’t lie!
  • Always keep your CV up to date

There are endless amounts of tips & tricks which will help you enhance your CV, but as long as you keep these 5 tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to creating a CV which will hopefully land you that dream job. Don’t be put off by knock-backs, and unresponsive employers, job hunting isn’t a one day thing. Have patience, be ambitious, and don’t give up – you’ll get there!