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CV
Preparation |
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Managers
responsible for recruitment have an increasing number
of CVs per vacancy to read at any given time. What you
must do is to make your CV relevant and stand out so
that you increase your chances of being called for an
interview.
REMEMBER: CV writing is
like advertising. Your CV must sell you to a prospective
employer, and be able to compete against other applicants
who are also trying to sell themselves.
CV Layout / Presentation
There are many ways of setting out your CV as
each person will favour a different layout. What is
important, is that you use is a layout which is clear
and uncomplicated. An example layout with section headings
could be:
1. Personal Details. (Name,
address, telephone numbers day evening, Date of Birth,
marital status and nationality)
2. Personal Statement
3. Education/Qualifications
and Courses attended. (Include details of schools/universities/colleges
attended, examination successes, both academic and professional
and grades achieved, remembering to include the dates
of attendance. If the grades you have achieved are poor,
then leave them out)
4. Summary of skills. (The
technical paragraph or skills matrix)
5. Work / Employment history.
(Start from the most recent or current role and work
backwards in reverse chronological order. It is simple
as it follows your job history backwards from your most
recent job, listing dates of employment (FROM and TO)
and responsibilities. Focus on your most recent role
this should be covered in most detail. Make sure you
leave no gaps in your employment history, as these will
create suspicion with the reader. If you have been travelling
then say so)
6. Hobbies, achievements & Interests
7. Referees
Adding content to your layout
and presentation of your text:
As a Technical candidate looking for a new position
you must clearly display in your CV what your Technical
skills are and in which business environment these skills
have been attained. Readers of CVs tend to scan the
CV for just a few seconds, therefore your skills need
to be obvious and stand off the page.
- Avoid fancy fonts. They may look clever or innovative,
but they are more difficult to read.
- Presentation is important but try to avoid the
use of boxes and tables.
- Use 10-12 point size for body copy (text). 14-20
point is fine for main headings, bold or normal.
Sub-headings 10-12 bold.
- Remember your CV may look very untidy if you use
more than two different font types and point sizes.
The general rule is "The fewer fonts and point sizes
the better".
- Use of bullet points can be good as they draw
the reader's eye to the important areas of your
CV.
- Black text on a white background is the easiest
and most standard colour combination to read.
- Avoid background graphics or pictures behind the
text at all times.
- Remember that Italics and heavy bold type are
less easy to read.
- If you must break any of these font rules, do
so only for the headings.
- Use left-justified text as it's easiest to read.
Key points to remember:
- Keep your curriculum vitae simple.
- Your curriculum must be concise.
- Your curriculum vitae must be easy to read.
- Your curriculum vitae must sell you.
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