When looking for a job, a great CV has the power to create the right first impression and help win you an interview. Your CV is how you sell yourself to prospective employers and should summarise the skills and experience that set you apart from other candidates, and with employers only spending an average of six seconds reading a CV, you haven't got long to grab their attention. So it's important to get the format, layout, and of course the content just right. From the different types of CV to the essential dos and don'ts, read our expert i tips on how to write or update your CV. You can also download our free CV i template here. Which is the best CV format to use? How you structure your CV and the amount of space you devote to each section will depend on your level of experience, the role requirements, and what you feel are your strongest selling points. There are two main types of CV: chronological and skills based. Let's take a look at each one.
The chronological CV — also sometimes known as a graduate or traditional CV — is probably the CV format you're most familiar with. Chronological CVs work in reverse chronological order, meaning that your most recent qualifications and experience are listed first. Chronological CVs make it easy for employers to identify and shortlist potential candidates, as you can closely match your work history and qualifications with the requirements of the job role. The reverse chronological structure allows you to highlight the skills and experience you've gained throughout your career. When should | use a chronological CV? A chronological CV is great when you have recent, relevant work experience for the job you're applying for. Most chronological CVs include six main sections:
1. Contact details Include your full name, address, telephone number, email address and the Iinki for your LinkedIn profile if you have one. Read our blog on maximising your ‘ LinkedIn profile. 2. Profile Keep it concise - not more than 2-3 sentences long. Summarise relevant experience and qualifications, along with your career objective. 3. Education Start with your most recent qualification first and work backwards. Provide the title of your qualification, the grade you were awarded, where you studied, and the date you achieved it. 4. Work experience Consider splitting this into two sections: ‘Relevant Work Experience’ and ‘Other Work Experience’, to really highlight the industry experience you would bring to the role. If you're going for a customer service role for example, you could have a ‘Customer Service Experience’ section, which quickly signposts recruiters to your most relevant experience. Including an ‘Other UJork Experience’ section will also help to explain any gaps in your work history without distracting the recruiter from your suitability for the role. 5. 5. Interests (optional) Keep this section brief and consider the impression your hobbies will create. Include any hobbies or activities particularly relevant to your chosen job sector. as it helps to demonstrate your interest in the industry and any additional knowledge you'd be bringing to the role. If in doubt, miss this section out. 6. References Simply writing ‘available on request’ will do here unless the job advert i specifically asks you to include them.
Just like a traditional CV, you should include your name and contact details right at the top, along with a concise profile. Including your social media links like LinkedIn can help boost your chances of landing an interview — read our blog post on how a strong social media profile can help get you hired. In addition to your contact details and profile, your CV should also include these five sections:
1. Key skills List your skills relevant to the job you are applying for. Go back through the job advert to narrow down which skills you should highlight. You could list your key skills as bullet points with a concise description for each, or simply list your skills as keywords, grouped by category, like this: Software Skills: JavaScript | Python | HTML5 | Ruby | C++ | Maven | SQL 2. Experience This is where you list out your past work experience along with your achievements in those roles. If you have had multiple jobs or a varied career i path, it's usually a good idea to trim this section down to only relevant work experience and label it to reflect this. 3. Education This is where you list out your past work experience along with your achievements in those roles. If you have had multiple jobs or a varied career path, it's usually a good idea to trim this section down to only relevant work experience and label it to reflect this. 4. Interests/Additional experience (optional) This section is optional but can be used to list out other skills or to talk about any charity work, volunteering experience etc. that you have been involved in. 5. References As per the other CV formats, writing ‘available on request’ should do here - unless the job advert specifically asks you to include references.