How to create the perfect CV

The aim of a CV is to open doors and get you in front of a prospective employer for an interview. It therefore needs to be a brief, factual account of your employment history and qualifications to date. It is your opportunity to demonstrate you can clearly communicate what you have to offer an organisation. You also want to get over in your CV that you can do the job, that you have a good approach to work and that you will fit in with the company's culture.

The most commonly used CV is the one that follows a chronological order. Most companies and recruiters expect to see the information in this format. The aim is always to get the necessary information into two pages.
Content

A CV can end up being a very dull, chronological list of your working life, so it is important to be focused on what is relevant to the particular job for which you are applying. This will help you decide what goes into the document and in what order. A good approach is to organise your CV as follows:

Personal Details - Name, address and contact telephone number
Personal Profile

Remember that the organisation or person you are targeting will have a number of CVs hitting their desk, so yours has to get the message across quickly. An eye-catching summary about yourself and your work experience will provide the reader with an idea of what you are looking for and will help your CV get noticed.

Skills

A summary of the skills you have acquired during your working life.

Employment history

Starting with the most recent job and then working backwards, list your career to date. Include the name of your employer, the start and end dates and your job title. Try and quantify your achievements where possible and show what you accomplished in each position.

Education – A brief summary; more if you are aged under 25
Professional Qualifications/Membership of professional bodies/courses you have attended
Personal Interests

List only those about which you are genuinely enthusiastic up to maximum of 3
Your CV should also be tailored to the organisation you are targeting. This may involve only changing a small part of the CV, but it gives the impression that you have thought about the job for which you are applying.

Appearance

Presentation is all-important. If you think about it, the easiest way for prospective employees to screen through a pile of CVs is to find reasons to reject them, so poor presentation will make yours an easy target. You should follow the golden rules:

Do:

Use clear, simple language and avoid using jargon or clichés, eg 'seasoned self-starter'.
Use short, indented sentences in each part of the CV.
Ensure it is fewer than two pages long.
Ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors.
Make it attractive so that it differentiates you from the others without being too showy.
Use good quality paper.

One of the best ways of ensuring that your CV is perfect is to know what you should not do:

Common mistakes:

It is rambling on about trivialities.
CV is not focused on results
Be too sparse so that only the bare essentials are given and therefore not enough information given
Have a disorganised layout.
Make it difficult to read due to poor typing or photocopying.
No need to enclose a photograph, unless specifically asked for one.
No reason to give referees at this point. Wait until you are offered the job and select those people who will give you a reference appropriate to the position.
Give salary details unless specifically requested. Some employers will use this to gauge whether you are suitable for the job.
Be gimmicky, unless you are applying for a creative job where this might be more acceptable.
Misspelling; poor grammar; gaps in dates; incorrect contact details

If you are unsure of anything when putting together your cv, just ask! Fusion run successful CV Writing workshops that enables you to leave with a fully formatted CV to suit your applications. For dates and more information on the CV Writing Workshops feel free to contact Gina van der Westhuizen on 01306 745050 or email: gina@fusionpersonnel.com