Curriculum Vitae Writing - A CV Centre GuideCurriculum Vitae Writing - IntroductionWe appreciate that not everyone will be able to pay to have their CV professionally prepared, so we have provided this article to help point you in the right direction in preparing your own. In reality though, there really is no substitute for having a professional handle the job and, being the UK's leading CV consultancy, we hope you will give us the opportunity to assist you in the near future! The CVCV writing is a controversial subject - part art, part science. If you ask any two people their idea of the perfect CV, you are likely to get two different and rather subjective responses. However, there are a number of 'do's, 'don't's and common pitfalls, which most personnel professionals would agree on. If you bear these in mind when preparing your CV, you stand a much better chance of surviving the 'CV cull'! LengthFar too long - Probably the principal mistake people make when preparing their own CVs. We keep CVs brief and cut out the waffle - 2 pages is generally a maximum, and for those with little experience 1 page generally makes more sense. We also use other techniques such as bullet pointing - these help make your CV easier to read; they help make it punchy. DetailWe eliminate what a prospective employer would see as unnecessary detail, e.g. we only list years, not months (this also helps to cover up chronological gaps). We look at each piece of information which could be included in your CV and think, 'Does this help your case?' If it doesn't then we leave it out. HistoryWe concentrate on your recent history and summarise older information. If you've got A Levels then we don't list all your O Levels/GCSEs on the CV. Similarly, if you've got a degree, there's no need to include A Level grades unless they're all As or Bs. Employers are most interested in what you've done most recently, although they obviously still need to know the basics of older information. Interests & ActivitiesA common mistake is to write far too much in this section. With the CV trend moving increasingly towards the American résumé style, which precludes such a section, we recommend keeping it to a minimum. Key SkillsThe inclusion of a 'Key Skills' section in a CV is progressively less popular these days. It is now considered better to spread evidence of key skills and abilities throughout your employment history. Specific points should be addressed in the covering letter, a vitally important part of any application. ReferencesDetails of referees shouldn't be included on your CV. They clutter it up and, more importantly, you will find that your referees get pestered unnecessarily by time-wasters. By the time they have given handled their tenth enquiry of the day, they are a lot less likely to give a helpful response. Professional PreparationAt the end of the day, this is definitely the most sensible option; there really is no substitute for taking advantage of in-depth professional experience. Please Click Here to find out how The CV Centre can help you boost your career or, if you prefer, simply Click Here to be sent a FREE CV Centre Information Pack. "I would like to express my gratitude for having a CV prepared for me so quickly that was professionally written and sounded so good. I am already receiving information through about jobs that I may be interested in and have some interviews lined up within only a few days. I would definitely recommend your service and use you again myself in the near future." David Leggett, Head Waiter, Gateshead |
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