What do you need to include in making a good CV.

by XPRESS, 29 May 2011

It is one of those old comments what do you put in and what do you leave out when working on analysing CVs acknowledging good ones and improving those which are bad and assisting those who find it difficult to write a CV.

Suggestions for writing a good CV are. Ensuring the format used is capable of being uploaded onto the jobsites and online applications. Occasionally your CV can lose your Name and contact details as they are in a format that the web application does not pick up. You must also ensure your contact details are correct suggest you get someone else to read your CV as they will be able to notice if your contact details are wrong, dates are all correct and other mistakes that spell/grammar checks will not pick up on.

Always start with a good profile at the beginning of your CV this is your chance to really highlight your skills, experiences, desires and achievements to make you stand out from the rest of the CVs on the recruiting manager’s desk.

A good CV has the most recent job first working backwards through your career history. Your Dates for employment should always include the months to and from as well as the years. Within the description of your CV we would always suggest you don’t just rewrite your job description for this. To make your CV a good CV you should take a couple of sentences to describe your company, add the website, and spend time writing about your achievements and the facts and figures of your role as this is what makes you stand out against the competition. In your education and qualifications you have an opportunity to list you’re on the job training also.

One suggestion would be not to make this too long as it won’t be read but ensure the important legislative and necessary qualifications and training are included. Interests and or miscellaneous are important opportunities to show what else you commit yourself to and show any other transferrable skills you may have. If you are going to include references suggest you ensure you have asked permission from these referees first. It is also good to let the referees know what you are applying for so they are aware of who will be contacting them and realise the urgency for replying to these references.