CV Content
There is no universally accepted format for a CV, but you should always include the following information:
Personal Details - This should always include your address, contact number and email address. Don't forget to have your name at the top of the CV as well!
Profile - Use a short statement to describe your main skills and strengths and to give an idea of your career ambitions. It is important to make sure that the content of this is relevant to the job for which you are applying. For instance, stating that you have excellent IT skills and would like to develop these further will not help you to get a job as a waitress or hostess!
Employment History - Start with your most recent employment and work backwards chronologically. For each period of employment, you should detail the employer, your position and the dates that you worked there. You shouldn't write too much description for each job as an employer may have many CV's to review and needs to be able to recognise your relevant skills and experience quickly and easily. A good format to use is a few sentences giving an overview of your role and then listing your main responsibilities and key achievements. Bullet points are a good way of showing this information in a clear and concise manner.
Education/Qualifications - List the dates that you achieved each qualification. You can also list any relevant courses or training you have completed here. It is not necessary to detail every subject qualification, for example you can say 5 GCSE's A-C grade rather than listing each individually.
Skills - Use this heading to note any additional skills such as computer skills (ie proficient in Word, Excel etc), foreign languages and any relevant general training.
References - It is best to write 'references available on request' and have reference details ready to give when they are requested. This protects the referee's personal details from mis-use if you are sending your CV to many places. It is usual to have one professional and one personal reference.
