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The CV (Curriculum Vitae - lit. record of life) is a personal marketing tool presenting your qualifications, skills and attributes to the employer in a way that demonstrates your suitability for the job. As well as providing an insight into your previous qualifications and experience, it should show the employer the skills and qualities you have that will match the role being applied for. Additionally, it should act as a guide to where your aspirations lie for the future. In compiling your CV you have one objective only - to get an interview in order to get the job.

A CV must be accurate, interesting and up-to-date. It must be presentable so that it makes the best impression possible and gets noticed by the right people. It should be relevant - targeted to the needs of each particular position. This means it should be reviewed and, if necessary, revised rather than re-cycled repeatedly for multipurpose use. Furthermore, your skills and experience are evolving all the time and you need to keep making the most of these.

 

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You need to bring together:
• details of your qualifications - dates, grades, course options covered, etc;
• details of the job itself - job description;
• details of the qualifications and skills required -person specification;
• evidence from your personal profile that matches the employers' criteria. This information will help you to priorities the detail that should be included in your CV.

 

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The CV must be accurate, brief and clear. The layout and style should be neat and consistent with separate sections of the CV for particular topics. Aim to convey your skills and achievements as positively as possible. Use the power word list (see The power word list) to help you describe and maximise your achievements. Bullet points are often a useful way of achieving an impact; they present your main selling points concisely.

 

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There are no hard and fast rules about providing a CV, only general criteria as to what it should achieve in terms of matching your skills and promoting your suitability for the job.

For most finalists, a two-page document is the most appropriate; employers will not read through reams of text! It is most usual to lay out qualifications and work experience in reverse chronological order, so that the emphasis is upon the most relevant information. Although there are various ways of presenting the information required in your CV, it is recognised that all CVs should include the following information:

 

Curriculum Vitae (Don't Bother!) Your Name Address Email         Term-time address                                                                                                                       Home address         (Dates when there)                                                                                                                       (Dates when there)         Tel. No                                                                                                                                             Tel. No

 

Worry less about stipulating gender except when your first name does not necessarily indicate this. Nationality is only relevant when it indicates that clarifying your work permit status might be a good idea. Date of birth is less necessary, as is marital status.

Career objective or personal profile: This is optional and short, but usually interesting and often helpful overall. It should tell something of what it is you are aiming for at this stage and what skills you have to offer in relation to your objective. Stating your career objective at the outset makes your job aspirations clear and may encourage the employer to read further.

Education: Clearly very important, especially to the new graduate/finalist and critical where the job applied for is discipline-specific.
• Profile your course - its length, content and your performance. Grades are important but also projects. If you have completed a dissertation, state the title in full, especially if it is relevant to the job being applied for.
• If you spent time studying abroad, include the name of the university and the content of your studies.
It may be useful to refer to the skills or learning outcomes you have gained from your studies, for example you could include reference to your:
• ability to assimilate large amounts of data and extract relevant information;
• ability to understand and interpret statistics and tables;
• ability to construct a database and use a variety of computer packages.

Provide a specific example of how the abilities were obtained in each case.

Your studies are a rich resource, so do not skimp on this part of the CV. It can be tempting to try to cover up a poor grade by not mentioning it at all, but there may be ways of limiting the damage on paper. If you are unsure about how to approach this, then consult your careers adviser.

Work experience: Include all relevant jobs whether casual, vacation work, voluntary or unpaid work. What matters only is that they demonstrate your suitability for the job and potential for success in that career area; that the skills mix shown is one that matches that sought by the employer for the job.

Interests/responsibilities/achievements: Speak of these in an affirmative and confident way, avoiding simply listing activities. Instead, outline your involvement and the extent of your interest. Recognise that any activity successfully completed represents an achievement.

Once again, using the skills-based interpretation of what you have achieved through your range of interests will underline your suitability for the job.

Referees: Usually two are given, one academic and one work related, or a character referee. Give their phone number and e-mail along with their title and full contact address. Always ask for their permission first and remember to keep them in touch with your pattern of application, evolving aspirations etc.

 

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The style of CV you choose can be dictated by your own personal preferences. Alternatively, you may feel that a particular CV will highlight specific points that you wish to bring to an employer's attention.

You are provided with three different styles here -you may find alternatives that could be equally appropriate.

The chronological CV
You may be most familiar with this format. It lists jobs and education by date, showing what you have undertaken and your major achievements. This has been the standard format and is easy to organise. It is useful in that it shows your progression, but it may not be suitable if you have changed jobs frequently or have gaps in your history. If you are changing career direction you may find one of the other styles more appropriate.

An example of a chronological style CV is on An example of a chronological CV.

Commentary on Sabina's CV and useful tips:
• Give both of your addresses - make sure to point out which is which and when you will be there.
• Give mobile number - remember it can ring at any time - take care with your pre-recorded busy messages.
• Start with what you are doing now and work backwards - employers are more interested in your present activities.
• Explain how you've developed useful skills through your course - relate to learning outcomes.
• Priorities university over school record - the more recent is generally more significant.
• No need to give full employer addresses -employers are more interested in name of company and what you did.
• Use bullet points - it makes the CV easy to read.
• Interests can indicate relevant skills - make sure you say what they are and how long you have been interested.
• Give full contact details for referees - seek their permission first.

Skills based or functional CV
This style of CV (An example of a skills based CV) is now preferred by many employers as it highlights your skills and achievements rather than your work/education history. It will show how you have considered the needs of prospective employers and how you might meet their requirements as well as highlighting experience that is particularly relevant. This style of CV is more difficult to organise, as it needs to convey precisely what is relevant.

Targeted CV
This CV (Example of a targeted CV) is more specifically related to the needs of a particular employer. A good targeted CV will show that you acknowledge and clearly understand the requirements of a specific organisation.

Candidates applying for managerial type jobs may find these CVs useful as the information is presented in such a way that your skills and qualities are made immediately clear. The targeted CV can and should be adapted to meet the needs of different employers so it may need to be revised frequently.

 

This CV may be useful, such as:

Example of a PhD's CV when applying for an academic post
Example of a PhD's CV when applying for a non-academic post

Some final tips:
• Your CV should look neat and tidy, uncluttered and with all the information easy to find.
• Compare your CV with the job description and ensure that your skills match those required by the employer.
• Use good quality paper and a printer, which produces clean output.
• Don't fold it - use an A4 envelope.
• Get a friend to check and give a second opinion. Arrange to see a careers adviser to suggest improvements.
• Keep a copy of your CV for reference.

Writing a CV for scanning
Always read an employer's instructions and follow them to the letter. It is vital that your CV can be read by their scanning equipment and this will usually mean using standard type faces, keywords and clear descriptions, so that your key attributes can be easily identified and entered into the database. It is not advisable to underline words or use italics.

Sending CVs electronically
Before hitting the send button you should be aware who is to see it - the employer, other employers as well, all web browsers? You need to find out, along with the likely cyber life of your application, the policy regarding the privacy of personal details you are supplying.