Contrary to popular opinion, a CV is not there to get you a job, it’s there to get you invited to an interview. It’s as simple as that.

At its most basic it is a marketing tool that sells a potential employee to a prospective employer. This in turn means that as it is an individuals first formal contact with a hiring manager, it should be written in a professional and appealing manner.

On this page we will give you tips on how to write up a successful CV (one that wins you an interview). When building a CV, Resume or Cover Letter there are certain rules that you should follow. We will show you these key points and much more.

 

Bespoke CV
Avoid the scatter gun approach of writing one CV and then sending that same one to every job you apply for. Instead put together a bespoke CV for every vacancy you are interested in. By doing this you will vastly increase your chances of success.

Just as a Hiring Managers can quickly spot a generic CV that has been written for many different roles, they can also spot one that has been written specifically for them – and will be greatly impressed by it.

 

Don’t be shy – Shout about your achievements!
Achievements are separate from responsibilities. They are things you did that had a lasting positive impact on your company and are usually things that you created, built, designed, sold or initiated.

 

Easy to read
Keep the layout of your CV simple and easy to navigate. Make key information easy to find and do not clutter it with unnecessary information.

 

Less is more
In a CV you should avoid information overload, and instead keep everything to a minimum. Avoid littering your document with trivial facts and try to keep it to a maximum of two pages.

 

Keep it relevant
Only include that information which is relevant to the job you are applying for. This will help you to save space and make your strongest skills stand out more.

 

Avoid spelling mistakes 
This can mean disaster for any jobseeker. Hiring Managers can quickly spot any spelling or grammar errors and will just as quickly bin your application. The solution is to spend a few minutes proof reading your hard work.

 

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