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**unfolaReemoma** · 02-07-2008, 06:02 AM

ok, sent over. Thankyou. It's been years since i last did one, that's all. The only thing that isn't complete is the second reference.

Suggestions emailed back. For those that might be interested - here is my short guide to structing a CV. I read literally hundreds of CVs a month, and am responsible for screening and selecting candidates for positions, so trust me when I say I've seen ALL sorts of CV layouts - both good and bad!

Bear in mind also that my guide is mainly UK / Europe focused.

-----------------------

1) Name and Contact details. In the UK now you are not required to provide your age (the law changed last year) – its up to you as to if you include it or not. I say do, as if you don’t, it can make a potential employer suspicious. Put your email address immediately under your phone numbers.

2) Put the skills sections before your employment history, as the first thing that an employer wants to see is a summary of your skills. Don’t just include IT skills, put “soft-skills” there also (good communicator, sales experience etc. Don’t just put sales – eloborate a bit – what kind of sales – customer facing, telephone?). Split the skills part up into two if necessary (technical and non technical skills). For the technical skills indicate your proficency level with each one (experienced / expert etc), and if possible list the number of years you have been working with a particular software package / programming language etc). This section should be bullet points only – don’t go into to much depth.

3) Education. List relevant education, dates and grades achieved. For GCSEs etc, you don't have to list each one, just putting “10 GCSEs grade C or higher” – that will do.

4) Employment History. In this section structure it as follows (example):

Oct 2001 – Nov 2003 Company blah blah

Job Title

- Key responsibilites / software used etc (bullet points). This part should link back to your skills section – so that after listing your skills, a potential employer can then see where you used them.

- Then short (3-4 lines) text giving a bit more detail about your work. Include positive aspects such as awards won, important work projects completed etc.

Do this for each job. Remember to list months as well as years for the dates. There should be no gaps in your employment history dates. If there are then explain them. Potential employers hate to see gaps on CVs – it makes us think “what is that person trying to hide?”

4) Hobbies / achievements. Remember to keep this part short, and relevant. It should give a potential employer an initial insight into what you are like as a person, - it should not scream “weirdo” !

5) References. Just give names and contact details (checking first that your referees haven given the OK for you to include their details on your CVs). The alternative is to simply put “References available on request”.

Don’t worry about the length of a CV. It’s a myth that it must not be longer than 2 pages. 2 pages is a good length to aim for, but if you need more space then do it.

The important thing once you are finished is read it through objectively and think "does this document represent me accurately?". Have a friend read it through and see if they agree that it represents you well / correctly.

02-07-2008, 06:02 AM	#5
unfolaReemoma Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 444 Senior Member	ok, sent over. Thankyou. It's been years since i last did one, that's all. The only thing that isn't complete is the second reference. Suggestions emailed back. For those that might be interested - here is my short guide to structing a CV. I read literally hundreds of CVs a month, and am responsible for screening and selecting candidates for positions, so trust me when I say I've seen ALL sorts of CV layouts - both good and bad! Bear in mind also that my guide is mainly UK / Europe focused. ----------------------- 1) Name and Contact details. In the UK now you are not required to provide your age (the law changed last year) – its up to you as to if you include it or not. I say do, as if you don’t, it can make a potential employer suspicious. Put your email address immediately under your phone numbers. 2) Put the skills sections before your employment history, as the first thing that an employer wants to see is a summary of your skills. Don’t just include IT skills, put “soft-skills” there also (good communicator, sales experience etc. Don’t just put sales – eloborate a bit – what kind of sales – customer facing, telephone?). Split the skills part up into two if necessary (technical and non technical skills). For the technical skills indicate your proficency level with each one (experienced / expert etc), and if possible list the number of years you have been working with a particular software package / programming language etc). This section should be bullet points only – don’t go into to much depth. 3) Education. List relevant education, dates and grades achieved. For GCSEs etc, you don't have to list each one, just putting “10 GCSEs grade C or higher” – that will do. 4) Employment History. In this section structure it as follows (example): Oct 2001 – Nov 2003 Company blah blah Job Title - Key responsibilites / software used etc (bullet points). This part should link back to your skills section – so that after listing your skills, a potential employer can then see where you used them. - Then short (3-4 lines) text giving a bit more detail about your work. Include positive aspects such as awards won, important work projects completed etc. Do this for each job. Remember to list months as well as years for the dates. There should be no gaps in your employment history dates. If there are then explain them. Potential employers hate to see gaps on CVs – it makes us think “what is that person trying to hide?” 4) Hobbies / achievements. Remember to keep this part short, and relevant. It should give a potential employer an initial insight into what you are like as a person, - it should not scream “weirdo” ! 5) References. Just give names and contact details (checking first that your referees haven given the OK for you to include their details on your CVs). The alternative is to simply put “References available on request”. Don’t worry about the length of a CV. It’s a myth that it must not be longer than 2 pages. 2 pages is a good length to aim for, but if you need more space then do it. The important thing once you are finished is read it through objectively and think "does this document represent me accurately?". Have a friend read it through and see if they agree that it represents you well / correctly.
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