CV Writing

FREE CV Writing Guide

Quicklinks

• Layout of a CV
• Contact Details
• Education History
• Employment History
• Additional Skills & Qualifications
• Personal Interests
• References

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Layout of a CV

When writing a CV it is important to ensure that the potential employer remains engaged, to this end the CV should be no longer than two sides in length unless absolutely necessary.

A CV should include the following sections:

1. Contact Details
2. Educational History
3. Employment History
4. Additional Skills & Qualifications
5. Personal Interests
6. References

These sections should be kept in the same order as above.

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Contact Details

When writing your CV you should ensure that the contact details section includes the following:

Name: Self explanatory

Address: Self explanatory

Telephone number: It is usually a good idea to include your mobile number so that it is easier for the potential employer to get hold of you.

Email address: It is vital that you include a "professional" email address. It can still be at a hotmail/msn/gmail etc. address but you must be sure not to use any colloquial terms e.g. littleminx@xxxxxx.com, hotstuff@xxxxxxxx.co.uk etc. It can be difficult to register your exact name as the chances are that it will have already been taken but there are plenty of permutations that you can use by placing a dot (.) or underscore (_) combination.

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Educational History

The educational history section of your CV should be listed in reverse chronological order, i.e. University (if that was the last educational establishment that you attended) should come first. When listing less significant qualifications it is appropriate to abbreviate and not necessarily list all grades achieved in each individual subject. Please examine the two examples below:

Bad CV Writing Example

This example is extremely space consuming and provides more details than the potential employer would want to see.

Good CV Writing Example

By adapting the GCSE and AS Level sections to make them more concise, the potential employer can still see relevant information but it is far more manageable and allows for more room to squeeze in more relevant information in other sections of the CV.

Please note

If you have a less significant qualification that is appropriate to the roll that you are applying for then it may be appropriate to include more detail in your CV. For example if you are going for an IT role and have a GCSE in IT then it may be appropriate to list the grade that you achieved for this specific subject.

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Employment History

The employment history section of your CV, like your educational history should be listed in reverse chronological order with your most recent employment being listed first. Each listing in your employment history should include the following elements:

• Title of position
• Length of time in the position
• Responsibilities
• Name of organization.

It is important to not only list your employment positions when writing your CV but also to give details of your key tasks and responsibilities, especially those that are relevant or transferable to the type of role that you are applying for.

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Additional Skills & Qualifications

This section of your CV includes details of additional skills and qualifications that you have accumulated over your education and employment history. You should list any qualifications that you have acquired, for example any relevant courses that you have taken, you should also list your driving licence (if you have one) in this section.

Here are some examples of titles for relevant skills:

• Computer Skills
• Organisational Skills
• Communication Skills
• Teamwork Skills
• Leadership Skills
• Analysis Skills
• Technical Skills

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Personal Interests

This section of your CV gives you the chance to tell your potential employer a bit about yourself. Write about any activities that you do in your free time, if you are member of any professional associations or enthusiasts clubs this shows initiative and leadership qualities. It is recommended that you avoid mentioning any activities related to political, religious or any other controversial topics as this could potentially alienate the reader.

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References

You should conclude your CV writing with a section giving details of two referees. It is recommended that you include the name and relationship that the person has/had with you followed by "details available upon request".

If you have any more questions about CV writing please contact us. Need some help with your CV cover letter? Visit our Cover Letters section.