5._CV_Basics

Career Futures Series

5.

CV Basics Key points to help you create a personalised CV

A message about CV Basics: Our aim through CV Basics is to provide you with key points when starting to create a personalised CV. For an in depth guide to CV writing plus CV examples, please refer to our publication, ‘Writing a Winning CV.’ Good luck!

If you require a copy of this publication in large print or another format, please enquire at Futures Reception.

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Futures Team University of Central Lancashire Revised 2011/Version 7

Purpose - what is a CV? The term Curriculum Vitae means ‘Course of Life’. A CV is not simply a list of your experiences and achievements. It is your personal marketing tool and the first thing an employer will know about you. A CV is never ‘done’. It needs to be tailored to the particular job which you are applying for. It’s a tool you use to market yourself, your skills and your abilities. It should focus on your strengths and not draw attention to any weaknesses and change as you progress through your working life.

CV Styles

There is a variety of styles which can be used depending upon your past history and current situation. For some jobs, a skills-based CV may be the better choice, whilst on other occasions it may be more suitable to use a reverse chronological (most recent education/qualifications, work experience first) or combine the two styles to create a hybrid one. Remember, whichever style you use, you must tailor it to the job you are applying for.

Presentation - what should it look like?

No more than 2 sides of A4 in clear font, preferably 11 or 12 point. Employers may only spend seconds looking at it, so presentation matters. Use underlining and bold for emphasis. Clear font, spacing and concise, easy to read text are essential (bullet points can help) – hopefully a bit like this document! Keep dates listed on the same side of the page for your education and work experience – it means they are easier to follow, and employers like a clear sequence of dates. Use a consistent approach throughout.

The Content - what goes in it?

A CV should be written in the third person ( i.e. not using ’I’). It needs strong language – you never just do something, you do it well, or effectively, or you are highly skilled in… … … There is a list of ‘power words’ as well as general advice about CV writing at http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cvs.htm.

The key sections you should include, but not necessarily in this order, are: 

Personal Details



Personal Profile



Education and Qualifications



Employment History



Skills Profile



Interests and Achievements



Referees

Also, consider the following sections which may be relevant, more appropriate and draw emphasis to specific aspects of you: 

Additional or Professional Qualifications



Personal Achievements



Extracurricular activities



Additional Personal Details

What does each section cover?

Personal Details: Your name, address (both home and term time if necessary), phone numbers and email address. You don’t have to put your date of birth or nationality unless you want to.

Personal Profile A maximum of 3 or 4 lines saying who you are in positive language, e.g. ‘a motivated Business studies undergraduate with excellent communication skills’, and what you are looking for, e.g. ‘a challenging role or an opportunity to use (certain) skills’.

Education and Qualifications You need to list the dates of your study, the institution, and the qualification. You may want to put some or all in bold or underline them, to stand out on the page.

Start with your most recent achievement, including your current studies, and work backwards. If possible, give an estimated grade, e.g. 2:2 (predicted).

Only give details of your studies if they are relevant to the jobs for which you are applying.

To save space, you can list your A levels and GCSEs across the page.

It is not necessary to list all your GCSEs, so you might want to say: ‘8 GCSEs (grades A-C), including English, Maths and Science’.

Employment History Again, clearly list the dates, employer name and job title, starting with the most recent and work backwards.

As well as listing the actual tasks you undertook, try and include the skills and abilities that you used in each role.

If you haven’t much paid work experience, you can include any unpaid work.

Include what is relevant, but if you have lots of experience you may just want to include the most recent, or group stuff together under a heading, for example, ‘Vacation Work’.

You can also list things like ‘career break while raising family’.

Skills Profile This is a major section for selling yourself and what you have to offer to an employer.

It helps to think about the roles you hope to go into, research the skills required, and then try and match those skills.

Usual skills to list include Communication, Team work, Organisational, Numeric and IT, but it depends on what you want to emphasise.

You need to give substantial evidence for each skill listed, citing specific situations where you have gained/enhanced/applied them– and preferably giving positive outcomes.

Interests and Achievements Here you can include things like having a driving license, first aid qualifications, having been a prefect, having run the family home on a small budget etc.

You should also describe any hobbies and interests. Employers want to have some idea of the sort of person you are.

Referees You should include the name, job title and contact details for each referee, preferably one academic and one work related.

If you are short of space, it is acceptable to say: ‘References available upon request’.

What layout to choose?

You might want to write each of the above sections before deciding where to put them on the pages. Decide what you want to highlight. In a UK CV it is usual to have your personal details at the top of the first page, and your referees at the bottom of the second.

The most prominent spaces on the page are the middle/top of the first page, and the top of the second, so avoid putting the bits you want an employer to focus on at the bottom of the second page.

Ideally, try not to have one section starting on the first page and continuing on to the second.

Further Information: This is just a very brief guide to writing a CV. You can find much more detail, including examples, in the handout ‘Writing a Winning CV’, available to download at www.uclan.ac.uk/careersbooklets.

There is more information, again with examples, on the Prospects site at http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cvs.htm The Futures website contains a range of careers booklets, offering advice and tips to help you, at www.uclan.ac.uk/futures. You can also find information on the site about relevant events, elective modules and the Futures Award.

You might also want to check out the recorded online events, covering a number of topics at www.uclan.ac.uk/futuresondemand

Final tip At Futures, we will be happy to give you further, personal advice about how to improve your CV. Just put a draft together and contact us on 01772 895858 or use our e-guidance system on the Futures website to send it to us for checking.