CV Writing Tips from Experts

With such a competitive jobs market it pays to get your CV to standout for the right reasons. By following this list of advice, given by recruitment experts, you will have all the support you need to land your dream job.

Be brief and to the point. There is no need to discuss all your daily tasks, especially if they are not that impressive. Instead focus on what you have learned and on the parts of your role you particularly enjoyed and the things that will relate more to the job you are applying to. That being said it is fine to include more information about clubs, interests etc. so long as you don’t focus too much on them and keep it towards the end of your CV.

Boasting is best. Never be afraid to talk yourself up and sell yourself. You may feel foolish bragging about your achievements, but you should not try and be subtle about your skills and experience. Employers want people who are confident and don’t want to have to read between the lines to work out what you can bring to the role.

Make sure you use keywords. Some companies HR departments, and some recruiters, will use software to scan the CVs they are sent for particular key-terms and phrases. For example, if you are looking at securing a teaching assistant job then a specialist teaching recruitment company like EduStaff, who focus on the best quality graduates, should make sure your CV mentions the subject you are interested in teaching most a few times to ensure they consider you for the right role.

Your applicable skills and experience can also be emphasised through the layout of your CV. By putting all the most important information at the top, perhaps in the opening paragraph, you can make it obvious to your employer what you can offer straight away. Evidence suggests that recruiters only look at you CV for an average of 6 seconds. This is why you will need to ensure that your CV is well presented and easy to read. Don’t use a crazy font, use Times New Roman or Calibri, keep it to size 12, and make sure the text is broken up by spaces. Ensuring each new section has a subtitle, will mean that employers can recognise your skills and abilities in just a few seconds.
Be careful about what personal information you give away. There is no need to include your national insurance number of social security number is on your CV. Similarly there is no need to link to any personal social media accounts, as you probably don’t want to make it too easy for employers to find all your embarrassing photos. You also should not put your work phone number on the CV, make sure you only use your personal number, it may seem obvious but it is easily done and could get you in trouble with your current employer. For more information on what you should avoid mentioning on your CV, here is a useful guide.

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