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Careers
Corner: CV Advice and Sample Layout
Your CV is a very important document. Employers and Employment
Agencies
often receive a lot of CVs for each advertised position—jobs advertised
in national papers and Web sites can often attract hundreds of applicants. The
CV
should be well structured to help it stand out and attract attention.
Your CV has to project attainment of skills required by the employer. Most
employers use the CV as a focus for the structure of the interview. You should
use it to direct the interviewer's mind to your good points and your achievements.
It should continue to work in your favour after the interview as the interviewer
will probably reread it before making a decision on who should be invited to
the second interview stage or to whom the job should be offered.
Why Are CVs Rejected?
- Poor Visual Layout and Lack of Organisation
Not only should your CV be aesthetically pleasing, people should be able
to find the information they want quickly. There should be a logical sequence
to the information you are giving.
- Length and Layout of CV
It is usually best to try and keep your CV to two pages of A4: this forces
you to be concise and only include relevant information. Keep your sentences
short and punchy, and use bullet points to break up the text under section
headings. Limit description of work experience to four-six bullet points.
- Too Little / Too Much Information
Insufficient detail about duties and achievements within positions doesn't
allow the reader to make a proper judgement on your abilities. An employer
will only want to employ you if they can see a benefit in it for themselves.
- Spelling Mistakes & Poor Grammar
Your CV should be carefully checked for such errors before you send it to
employers. Tiny errors in your CV can detract from an otherwise good CV
and make you look lazy or careless. Always use the UK spelling check option
on the computer before printing, and it is usually a good idea to get someone
else to read over the CV & letter.
Click here for tips on CV layout.
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