CV advice

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Your CV is incredibly important. It helps you gain an edge and ultimately has a bearing on your next career choice. The advice below will help you prepare and write the CV to stand out and to help you get your next career move.

Make an impact in the first 10 seconds

Opinions vary as to how much time your CV has to convince a recruiter that you're worth short-listing for interview. Poor presentation, coloured paper, a confusing format or obvious errors could mean that a CV just needs seven seconds for an opinion to be made.

This is hardly surprising given that a recruiter could have up to 200 CVs to review. However, it does mean that all those yawn-inducing platitudes about CVs - clean white paper and paying attention to minor details - are important.

You really do have to treat your CV as if it were your own personal marketing brochure. The same goes for application forms (which are now used by four in five employers) and your covering letter. It's a bore, but every element of communication that you have with an organisation is an opportunity for them to accept or dismiss you as a serious candidate.

Getting the formula right is the first step

To be effective, your CV must provide a concise, accurate summary of your qualifications, skills and experience. Its layout, design and the words that you choose will play key roles in getting you through to the interview.

There are several successful formats from which to choose from. Most people use the chronological format, and that's the one we recommend. Recruiters are more likely to expect to see this type than any other and it's also the best format for recent graduates with limited or no work experience.

Tips on how to market your skills and experience
Do:

Keep it brief. Your CV should be on one page. Only add a second page if you have five or more years' experience.

• List your work experience before your education, in reverse chronological order. Put your most recent experience first - that's what sells you to an employer.
• Concentrate on the quality of your achievements, duties and responsibilities.
• Tailor your CV to particular jobs - making more of different achievements depending on what an employer is seeking
• List other skills that could raise you above the competition (such as languages, driving licence, IT skills)
• Include your interests and try to be specific. Don't list too many time consuming activities or your potential employer will wonder how you intend to fit a job into your schedule!
• Keep it clean. This means no shading, boxes or columns as they will be lost when your CV is scanned or photocopied.
• Check spelling and grammar. Spotting errors is a quick and easy way of weeding out weaker candidates when faced with 50 CVs.

Do not:

Tell an untruth. You will be found out. Many employers use information service companies to check out facts included in CVs. List all the one-day training courses you have ever been on; just include the relevant ones.

• Include a photo unless the employer has asked for one.
• Fax it without sending a copy in the post as well.
• Include lots of attachments unless requested.

Finally:

Ask someone to check your CV through; asking…

• Does this sound like me?
• Am I proud to send this off?
• Have I eliminated irrelevant information?
• Have I included everything that could help me get this job?
• Is it easy to read?

The most important thing about your CV is that it should leave the employer keen to find out more about you. If you think yours will do that then get it in the post before another applicant submits theirs.