CV WRITING TIPS

Crafting a compelling curriculum vitae is essential for standing out in the competitive job market. Here are some expert tips to help you create a powerful CV that showcases your skills and experience effectively:

- Keep your CV concise, ideally limited to 2 or 3 pages, to ensure it is impactful and easy to read.
- Use a clear and professional font, maintaining a readable size without being too large.
- Employ bold and underlined section headings to enhance clarity and organization.
- Use bullet points to present qualifications, duties, and achievements.

What to Include:

- Full name
- Location
- Contact details (phone numbers, email address, preferred method of contact)
- Updated LinkedIn profile, if available
- Summary highlighting experience, skills, and achievements, with the option to use bullet points for key skills
- Detailed employment history, starting with the most recent role, including duties, accomplishments, equipment worked on, employment dates, and any promotions
- Educational background, listing highest qualification first, along with vocational and academic achievements, relevant training, and dates

What not to Include:

- Personal information such as date of birth, marital status, ethnicity, or religion, as these could lead to discrimination
- References, which should only be provided when an offer is made
- General hobbies and interests, unless directly relevant to the role

Other Tips:

- Maintain professional language and positive phrasing, while consistently checking for spelling and grammar errors
- Tailor your CV for each application, emphasizing skills and experiences that are most relevant to the specific role
- Address any career gaps, providing brief explanations for periods of illness, travel, caregiving, unemployment, or sabbaticals