CV Generator

01. Keep it short – the main body of the CV should be no more than 2 pages and check that it is free from errors.

02. Start with your personal details – name, address and contact details, including email address.

03. Follow with a one paragraph personal profile which sums up what you can do, such as – “A multi-media designer with particular expertise in Dreamweaver and Web Authoring” but do not make this more than 3 lines. Avoid unquantifiable skills such as “team player” or “good communicator”.

04. Detail your work experience in “reverse chronological order” – putting your most recent experience first. You should reduce the amount of detail you provide about previous jobs as you work back through your employment history.

05. For each position provide (in bold) a job title, the name of the employer and the dates you were (are) employed there, both start and finish. Detail key responsibilities and any major successes or achievements during that time.

06. Avoid making your CV too complicated in layout and design unless you are applying for a role in which it is important to display your design skills.

07. Details about education should be limited to the most advanced qualifications obtained, including professional qualifications and memberships. You do not need to list the schools you attended or each individual GCSE with its grade.

08. Finally include a brief overview of your life outside work – hobbies, sporting activities and personal interests. These can often be used as a point of discussion in an interview so that employers get a sense of the real you and what makes you tick.

09. Keep your CV up to date. Add new experiences, skills and qualifications which will improve your value to future employers.

10. It can be a good idea to attach a skills summary to the end of your CV or else include a section on the first page (as long as it is not too long). This should detail any technical accreditations you have obtained, key technology strengths and the various packages and hardware you are familiar with. Show the degree of proficiency you have acquired or the amount of experience you have of each item.