How to write your CV

Putting together your CV needn't be as daunting as you might think...

Do...
► Keep it short. If you've got more than two pages of A4 then you need to do some serious editing.
► Type your CV. Most employers probably wouldn't even bother to give a second glance if it's hand-written.
► Send your CV by post. Oddly most employers still prefer to read CVs on paper rather than sent by email, though if you are emailing your CV, send it as a Microsoft Word file. Find out exactly who or which department you should send your CV too.
► Use bullet points, headings and short snappy sentences. This makes the CV easy for the reader to find the information they're looking for.
► Use a consistent style. If you're putting course names in bold, ensure all the course names are in bold.
► Update the CV regularly. It's important to keep your CV up to date, plus you're always likely to find bits that make you cringe if you've not read it in a while.
► Send your CV in an A4 envelope. It's an stupid little detail and yeah, it'll probably cost you another 5p, but it means the reader sees a clean flat sheet of paper rather than a scrumpled up folded one.
► Make that the past employers you choose as referees are aware that you've picked them. And remember to choose ones who are most likely to speak positively about you! (So probably not the one you fired you for turning up two hours late hungover, throwing up on a customer, and having a wank in the stock room.)

Don't...
► Use bright colours or fancy fonts. It should be the content of the CV that grabs the reader's attention, not how it looks. While WordArt may look very pretty on a birthday party invite, on a CV it's just distracting. Black text on a clean sheet of white paper is perfect.
► Lie about work experience, qualifications, your education, etc. Lying on a CV in order to get a job counts as fraud, so it's really not worth it.
► Use a tiny font size to try and cram in more text. The smaller the text is, the more tempting it'll be to skim-read through it, so preferably stick to 12pts for the main text and perhaps 14pts for section headings.
► Leave any substantial time periods unaccounted for. This can make the reader suspicious about what exactly you were getting upto during that time.

Here's the traditional way to divide up your CV...

Personal Details
Start off with your given forename and surname, followed by as many methods of communication as possible (address, landline number, mobile number, and email address). Remember to check that your email address is appropriate too. Your old "sparkly-glitter-princess" Hotmail account from when you were at school might not give the right impression for the legal assistant job you're after.

Education & Qualifications
Starting with your most recent qualifications, list grades and details for the courses or degree you've taken, and the name and rough location of where you studied. Also include details of any courses or degree you are currently taking, and your predicted grades if possible.

Employment History
Again starting with the most recent jobs, include the company name and rough location, your position/role/job-title and the responsiblities you held.

Skills
List any skills that are relevant to the particular job you are applying for. This can include driving licence, computing skills or qualifications, languages you can speak, etc. Don't exagerate though - if you know how to order a beer and a kebab in Spanish then that doesn't technically count as being fluent.

Interests
Mention a few interests or hobbies to give the reader more of an idea of your personality. These don't necessarily need to be relevant to the job you're applying for, and should be as varied as possible.

Referees
Include the basic contact details of past or current employers. Make sure the names and phone number of your referees are up to date.

Personal Statement
Ideally keep this under fifty words, and don't waste space mentioning information that you've already included elsewhere on the CV. It's a renowned nightmare trying to find the perfect balance between under-selling yourself and sounding arrogant, so it's best to get a second opinion before you send off your final version.