Everyone has a different opinion on the perfect CV and to some extent your industry sector may have some bearing on the content and presentation but there are a number of general principles that if followed can help produce an effective, professional document.

The key point to remember is that for the job hunter the CV is your primary marketing tool. It is surprising how little time many people spend on CV preparation and you should be willing to spend a few hours really working on it. It will be time well spent and although you will need to adapt your CV for individual applications once the master document is complete the bulk of the work is done.

It is very important to remember that for many recruiters a large pile of CVs received in response to an advertisement is not something they relish reading through. Sometimes the mindset will be to whittle down the candidates as quickly as possible and they will be looking for reasons to reject your CV – not accept it. It is also worth remembering that your CV may not be read in detail and if it is poorly presented it may be rejected regardless of content.

The best way to stand out is to produce a concise, well written, well presented document that is visually appealing and draws the reader in quickly. It is surprising how few CVs fall into this category.

Do's

• Use the covering letter to highlight suitability for the particular role – make it specific to that company and that role. Cutting and pasting a standard covering letter with a few amendments will not suffice.
• The CV and covering letter should be printed on good quality white paper (e.g. 120gsm+). They should not be handwritten.
• Use a sensible, professional font e.g. Times New Roman, Arial or similar. Using, for example, Comic Sans MS will make you stand out, but for the wrong reasons.
• Put your employment and education in reverse chronological order – latest first.
• Portray yourself as positively as possible – be truthful but don’t be modest.
• Adapt your CV to the position that you are applying for – you should not view the CV as a fixed document.
• Try and keep it to 2 – 3 pages. Although it’s good to be concise, ensure you fully document your relevant experience for the position. Do not assume the reader will know your capabilities from your job title.
• Focus on your most recent positions – if you are currently a Finance Director, half a page on an accounts assistant role 15 years ago is unnecessary – dates, employer and job title is all that is required for roles in the dim, distant past.
• Bullet points are preferable to paragraphs of text.
• Highlight and if possible quantify achievements e.g. implemented cost saving measures, which increased profitability by 10%.
• Spell check the document and ensure it is grammatically correct.
• Proof read it thoroughly
• Show it to friends and family to get their opinion – the immediate impression it makes as a document regardless of content can have a significant effect on whether an employer gives it the attention it deserves
• If your academic record isn’t strong put your education details after the career history part of your CV – if your experience is good the reader will have a positive image of you by the time they read your exam results and will not attach as much weight to them
• If emailing your CV then Word or RTF format is usually best – don’t use Excel or send it as a PDF as it just leads to the question – ‘Why?’

Don'ts

• Try and be too original unless you work in a creative field – strange fonts, different coloured paper and worst of all, clip art create the wrong impression.
• Use clichés if you are including a ‘Personal Profile’ style paragraph. Phrases such as ‘dynamic agent of change’, ‘hit the ground running’ etc ultimately mean nothing as so many people use this type of language.
• Print your photograph on the CV – rarely flattering, never recommended. Only include a photograph if an employer asks for one.
• Have a title page that just has your name in the middle of it – the aim is to be concise.
• Be verbose and use a conversational tone.
• Avoid making your CV a series of generic job descriptions that could apply to anyone – you need to describe your duties (briefly) but focus on the differences you have made.
• List all your qualifications in excessive detail – particularly as you become more senior e.g. if you have a degree then the title, result and name of the institution is fine – you don’t need to list every module and every grade individually – the same applies for professional qualifications.
• Do not leave gaps in your career history – but try and be as positive as possible when explaining those gaps – ‘1998 to 1999 Unemployed’ or ‘Tried to start my own business but failed’ are not good. You must avoid generating negative thoughts in the reader’s mind.
• Lie – Do not exaggerate your ability or make false statements, as this will become at apparent at interview. Only list hobbies or interests that are genuine if you list them at all.
• Include irrelevant personal information such as children’s names, ages etc.
• For marital status do not use ‘separated’ or ‘divorced’ – you are either married or single, but think if marital status is relevant in the first place.
• Include your salary details unless specifically requested.
• Include the names and addresses of your referees – provide these details when asked. This way you retain control over when they are approached and by whom.
• Generally avoid any information that allows the reader to make a non-professional judgment about you – this is particularly true in the hobbies and interests part of the CV.
• Include hobbies and interests at all if they are of the ‘reading, walking, cooking’ variety. Listing what for most people are normal activities of daily living does not add depth or colour to the CV.