CV guidelines for full-time roles

• There is no ideal format or layout of a CV; these are simply guidelines to help you
• You will need to adapt your CV to every application
• Employers expect your CV to be targeted towards the job you are applying for
• Make sure you include evidence proving that you meet the employer’s requirements
• Recruiters spend on average 5-7 seconds looking at a CV- first impressions count!

Design:

• Clear headings for each section
• Professional font (no smaller than size 10, sans serif font)
• Use consistent formatting e.g. spacing, borders, fonts, headings, bold, italics
• Distribute text evenly using the full page – don’t leave large blank spaces
• Use bullet points or short paragraphs to break up block text
• Appropriate length (two sides of A4) – do not go over two pages
• Do not put ‘Curriculum Vitae’ at the top – your name should be the title

Structure:

• Order the sections by prioritising the information that the employer will be most interested in
• The first page should contain the most important information for the role
• Typically: Personal details, Personal Profile (optional), Education, Work Experience, Skills (optional), Interests and Achievements, References

Language:

• Spelling and grammar must be correct – proofread your CV carefully and read it out loud
• Avoid starting too many sentences with ‘I’
• You can write in the third person but don’t use your name, (‘A business student with retail experience’)
• Use action words at the start of bullet points (e.g. ‘managed/coordinated/liaised’)
• Write in short and snappy sentences
• Be consistent with your use of tense – it is generally much easier to write in the past tense

Personal Details:

• Name, address, telephone number, email
• Ensure that you have a professional-sounding email address
• Do not include: date of birth, nationality, marital status, national insurance number, passport number or any other personal information
• Do not include a photograph (unless requested)

Personal Profile (optional):

• A 3-5 line overview of your key selling points for the position you are applying for. You could  include:
  • Who you are
  • What you have to offer, e.g. experience / skills / knowledge / personal qualities
  • Your career aim / what you are looking for
• Avoid generic statements - do not write ‘a hardworking individual’, ‘can work well independently or as part of a team’ – everyone writes this!
• Use evidence, e.g. customer service skills developed through multiple retail positions
• You could choose the top three achievements from your CV to help you

Education:

• List qualifications in reverse chronological order (most recent first)
• List the full course title, provider/institution, dates to and from, and grades
• If you are part way through your degree then list the grades you have so far
• Include UCAS equivalency information for BTECs or overseas qualifications where possible
• Include relevant modules, projects or practical assignments – you don’t need to list all modules
• Avoid including negative information, (e.g. listing failed exams)
• List any relevant professional memberships, (e.g. RICS Student Member)

Work Experience / Employment History:

• List your job title, place of work, location, type of work (e.g. Work Experience/Volunteering) and the dates you worked there (MM/YY) in reverse chronological order
• If you have more than one example of relevant work experience, then you could have a separate section on your first page (e.g. ‘Teaching Experience’)
• Bullet point the responsibilities of the job, your personal achievements/contribution within the role and relevant industry specific or transferable skills you demonstrated
• Do not just list every duty of the job – make it relevant

Skills profile (optional):

• You can include a list of the key skills with examples of where you have demonstrated them
• Choose 4-5 skills that match the job description and order by importance to the job
• Provide a range of strong examples, including some context and emphasising your achievements
• Examples can be gained from work, volunteering, extra-curricular activities and education
• These sections are useful if you have limited work experience or extensive work experience
• If you include this, you do not need to include as much detail about skills in the rest of the CV

Interests and Achievements:

• List your most relevant, recent, interesting or impressive interests and achievements
• Provide some information about what you have achieved for each one, (e.g. Running: recently completed the Nottingham Half Marathon raising over £200 for Cancer Research)
• Could include: volunteering, being a course rep, mentoring other students, being part of a society or going to personal / professional development events, sports, charity work…
• Do not just put ‘socialising’, ‘going to the cinema’, ‘reading’ etc

References:

• Provide contact details for two referees or write ‘references available on request’
• Can be previous employers or university tutors – but ask permission first

• The purpose of CV is to show that you match their requirements – make sure you include evidence that proves you meet as many of their requirements as possible
• Use the job description to identify the skills, knowledge, experience and personal qualities the employer is looking for
• Use key words from the job description throughout your application (some companies will use computer software to scan for ke ywords first!
• Prioritise your information according to the job description – the most relevant information should always go firs
• If there isn’t a detailed job description then do your research – have a look at the company website, or similar job roles for ideas

For more help and resources use your School Employability NOW Learning Room. Never written a CV before? Use our CV Builder tool.