What goes in a CV nowadays - can anyone help me?

[ScreamEagle]

It's been 17 years since I've had to do a CV (am I really that old?!

Can you wise mumsnetters give me a few clues/reminders as to what I should include and in what sort of order please?

I would really appreciate it - thanks

Anyone?

conatct details

education

previous employment

referee conatct details

don't go int oages and pages tho, if its more than 2 pages it looks like u can't stick at a job for long!

have a look here

Absolutely don't put referee details on. Companies are only interested in this once they've decided to give you the job, and then they'll ask. Whenever people put them on CVs which I've received it just screamed out that they didn't have enough interesting experience to fill 2 sheets of A4!

Focus on experience that is relevant for the sort of position that you are applying for. What sort of work are you after SE?

I'm after a fill-in job in the short term just to get me out of the house and mixing with other adults. Not worried about the money. Will think about a more fulfilling job in 4 years time when my youngest starts school.

dh and me sat down the other day and decided between 7-11pm in the eves would be best. I noticed Tesco were after del;ivery drivers for precisely those hours so thought I'd have a shot.

Be good thought to use this as experience with cv's and interviews etc.

What sort of a job is it for?

As an amateur reader of CVs (nannies, consultants dh is looking to hire, dh's own) I would expect, in order:

• name/address/dob/nationality/contact numbers at top;

• then recent relevant professional experience, starting with most recent with v specific dates when/to (very specific, want to be able to check no gaps), bullet-pointed summary of each;

• education - how far back you go, and detail, depends on age and what sort of job the CV is for. Eg for dh it should be only college-level - school-leaving qualifications would look weird;

• other skills (languages, IT skills); maybe interests, depending on circumstances;

• referees.

Get it into 2 pages max. Not sure what you do about work experience that's not recent/relevant (where do I put my Saturday fishmonger job?)

There's bound to be lots of CV helper websites around ... ?

btw I have been a foster carer for 11 of the 14 years I have been a sahm. Also was accepted in the police as a special constable 3 years ago but not doing either now due to family commitments (and a serious knee injury).

If it would help then I could send you a copy of my CV. It's 18 months out of date, and is longer than most should be because of the specific type of work that I do (for contract roles I just give them the most relevant pages), but should give you a good idea of the sort of layout that works. Don't think I've ever been rejected for a role on the basis of my CV, so I figure it must be ok!

You certainly won't need as much detail for the sort of work that you're after at the moment, but might also be handy in a few years when you want more 'serious' employment!

Just CAT me if you want a copy.

Just a quick note - make sure you don't put in marital status - whenever I see that in a CV i think 'why the heck are they putting that in', always makes them look about 30 years out of date!

Bewitched, you've started me thinking on the referee things. If I get a CV that says "references on request" I think, hmm, they haven't organised them yet. What I want to see is the names of the referees, and the relevance (eg, "line manager, [most recent job]") - but no phone/e-mail details - those come later, I agree.

I'm not sure how relevant this is to a SE's p/t job though.

Agree Binkie - Tesco probably won't be bothered one way or the other - I don't think they take up references for this sort of role (mum got a job with them last year and pretty sure they didn't ask for any).

Actually ScreamEagle - if your reason for taking a job is to get you out mixing with other adults, then not sure that sitting in a delivery van on your own all night will help! Might be better to try and get a role with them on the checkouts or filling shelves. I worked for them as a general assistant whilst at uni and had a whale of a time!