What makes
a good CV?
There are a few schools of thought suggesting you should shy
away from an arty or funky design that may distract employers from the content
of your CV in favour of a more conservative and clean format. But, you can have
both; albeit with a bias to the conservative style.
Employers spend around 20 to 30 seconds scanning your CV, so
it needs to remain clutter-free and easy to read. The last thing a recruiter
wants to do is to go hunting for the information that they are looking for and struggle
to find it amongst the array of elaborate graphics.
Therefore, taking the graphics out of the equation, the one
element that you have at your disposal is your CV's typography.
The first opportunity you have to be conservatively creative
is the way that you display your name. This should be the only time that you
can be slightly flamboyant and add flair to your CV. Mistral and Copperplate
are two of the preferred fonts that enable your name to stand out amongst the
traditional Times New Roman style employed by 99.9 per cent of job applicants.
Getting separated:
Try to use clear differentiators for each part of your CV –
a simple line breaks the page up neatly and allows the reader to find specific
areas quickly and easily.
For each section heading, use bold and contrasting text from
the main body text. For example, use Helvetica for the title of the section and
use Times New Roman for the subsequent text.
When deciding upon your choice of font, be mindful that some
computers may not have the same capabilities as yours and, as such, the text
you use may be substituted for a different font that could alter the entire
look and feel of the original document.
Keep your CV to a maximum of two pages - anything more than
that and it starts to resemble a chapter from War & Peace; worse still, an
employer is likely to throw it away without even looking at it. And, ensure
that the layout of your CV remains constant throughout and avoid trying to cram
as much information as possible onto two pages. Employers don't want – nor do
they have the time – to strain their eyes reading your details because of a
poor choice of text size or font.
Follow a story:
Finally, your CV is a working document that has a beginning,
middle and an end so it needs to follow a logical structure and keep the same
theme throughout. Keep your eye on the detail of your CV: if it is cluttered,
the text is too big or small or the appearance is inconsistent, your chance of
getting invited to attend an interview is dramatically reduced.
After all, if you can't keep your own house in order, why
would an employer trust you with theirs?
If you're having trouble getting started, take a look at our
range of free CV templates.
Here is the Monster
CV Template:
Your Name
email@address.co.uk - 07712 345678
99 Example Street, Example Town ,
EX4 3PL
PERSONAL
STATEMENT
Here you should take a few
lines, not a few paragraphs (save that for the cover letter) to quickly outline
your interest in the role and why you’d be a good fit. Do not list out your
skills here as they will be more relevant to employers searching for your CV
within a job role listed under “WORK EXPERIENCE”.
The aim is to highlight your
professional attributes and goals, summarising why someone should consider your
application. Find out how to write the perfect personal statement.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Job Title – Dates of Employment (date
format should be Month YYYY e.g. November 2011 – May 2012)
Company Name - www.examplelink.co.uk
Location
It is very important to include your dates of employment regardless of whether you are still in the job you have listed. This is because Monster’s CV Search will use these dates as well as the skills obtained/utilised in this time period to determine if you’re what an employer is looking for.
Responsibilities:
·
Provide
key achievements within a role and try to highlight the skills used to obtain
your goal
·
Try
to avoid soft terms like “high energy” and aim for skills used within the role
– such as “programming using C++”
·
Provide
enough information to entice your potential employers to call you
·
Always
keep examples relevant to the role you are applying for
Job Title – Dates of Employment
Company Name - www.examplelink.co.uk
Location
For older jobs you should keep the details slightly
shorter, remembering to include your dates of employment and key skills
obtained/applied to achieve your goals.
Responsibilities:
·
Try
not to waffle if you feel like you don’t have much to write in this area.
Succinct to the point CVs will be preferred as they are quick to read and won’t
be generic
EDUCATION
If you are looking for your
first job and do not have much or any work experience at this point – do not
fret. Expand on your education responsibilities and apply them to real life
scenarios so an employer has an understanding of what you have achieved and the
means used to get these achievements.
BA (Hons) 2:1, Subject Name -
September 2008 - June 2012.
University of Example-town
·
You
can help sell yourself with a few bullet points on what were some of your goals
and achievements during your time at university
·
If
any skills were learnt that relate to the job you’re applying for, it would be
a good idea to mention those to further align yourself with their criteria
A-Levels, June 2006 – June 2008
College Name,
Location
Business Studies: A
Maths: A
Chemistry: B
GCSE’s, June 2003 – June 2008
College Name,
Location
English: B
Maths: A
Physics: A
Chemistry: B
Biology: B
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Feel free to list these out in bullets or in a table. If you lack
experience for a role that you are deeply passionate about, you may want to
mention how you use your spare time to pursue this passion. Be it in reading
around the subject matter or expanding your technical skills. Find out more about what to include in
you personal interests section.
REFERENCES
References
are available on request. Find out more about
deciding your references.
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