CV Format - dos and don'ts

[SevernEleven]

I've been filling in online application forms and until now haven't had to attach a CV. I have all the info, I'm just not sure how to structure it.

What makes a good, strong well structured CV?

What would make you instantly discard a CV?

How much personal information should I provide?

Keep it to 2 sides most recent experience at three top. You don't need to tell a prospective employer everything - firstly - you don't have the space, they have limited time to study through CV's - you just need enough info to tempt them to get you to interview where you can flesh out things if asked.
Depending on your work experience you may not be able to use only one CV - I had 5 different ones at one time depending on what sort of work I was applying for - of I was applying for a project management role they didn't want the details of the very low level technical things I did writing software or designing electronic hardware and vice versa. I worked in other completely unrelated fields to technology - in 3 different areas of education. So you need a bank of statements about various roles you had - what you personally contributed and you have to give your CV the once over before submitting it to see if you need to tailor it to the job you are applying for - emphasizing or deemphasizing certain aspects to resonate with there person reading it. The CV isn't everything - don't neglect the covering letters which also have to be tailored to your application. Also do some homework on the place you are applying to. Take a notepad to the interview with some bullet points about things you might have wanted the chance to mention our didn't want to forget - take your time answering questions and look at your notes and questions if you need to - I think this creates a good impression - that you have planned for the interview, that you are organised and that you are taking it seriously. It's useful to look at your bullet points of you wanted to add something that you didn't get a chance to say in the interview... so - it's not all about the CV.
Personally I think it can take you a few interviews to get good at them, for your confidence to grow so don't be hard on yourself if you don't get the job offers - there can be all sorts of reasons that you're completely unaware of that will influence who gets the job offer - annoyingly sometimes you can be there to make up the numbers - they may be interviewing someone they know well who has worked for them before. I've also been offered and accepted a job when I want the first choice - the job had been offered to another candidate first but they declined. Another job I didn't get but I was told it was a tough decision. They rang me back only a week or two later to offer me a job because someone else had unexpectedly resigned and they didn't feel the need to re-advertise and re-interview: I accepted and worked there for 2 years... Alongside the person that pipped me at the interview - a good guy, a good candidate but we had different skillsets and I know I made a mark on the place.

Good luck.

Personal info - hobbies and interests - less than 2 lines for many jobs. It was more relevant for my teaching jobs as I had to teach music and I played at open mics and wrote my own songs so really only include personal info if it's relevant to the job you're applying to. I've had to sit and sift through CV's for engineering roles (writing software) - if you have several 10's to get through it will only be a couple of minutes on each one for them to be put to one side and looked at in more detail if I needed to reduce the numbers down further.

If you have a degree I wouldn't bother mentioning GCSE's in any detail unless it's asked for - just say N GCSE's including maths and English if relevant, X at grade A (or level 8/9), Y at grade B, etc.

You need to account for all of your time in and out of work - go back chronologically - there's no need to hide periods of unemployment or to get awkward about redundancies - sh!t happens in real life. When my first daughter was born I was made redundant and frankly I didn't want to go back and find work - I wanted to be at home looking after my DD so I just put househusband with new born and that was something like 5 or 6 months.

Good advice from @larkstar Would emphasize the need to spend time on your covering letter and tailor it to demonstrate your interest in the industry, role, and company - if you can't be arsed doing this I'm not convinced you ever go the extra mile - some jobs you won't need to, in our you do.

Do not address your covering letter "To whom it may concern" or "sir/madam" - so formal and impersonal. If you can't find a name, address it to the team processing the applications. Recruiting Team, HR Team or Recruiting Manager is more current.

Good writing acknowledges the reader's time - make sure you use paragraphs and space in your letter (It should not be squashed into the top of the page). The first line in a paragraph should be the most impactful - often people only read the first line! And remember to discuss how you can help the company (not how amazing you think you are), when you are selling yourself so you should try making it about them and don't overblow here, it's a delicate balance. One candidate did a book review and gave us an extended reading list on his covering letter and offered to give us further advice on how to educate ourselves - he stood out for all the wrong reasons.

Also consider addressing the elephant in the room, for example coming back to work after a long period of absence or if you are changing industries, you need to spend time explaining why, don't bang on about transferable skills - demonstrate your skills.

Don't be afraid to use punctuation like bullet points - your English teacher at school might not have liked them but they are a good way to trim the waffle and get your point across. And do trim the waffle - filling 2 pages with stuff and nonsense doesn't impress anyone, if you haven't got sufficient experience for two pages that ok - stick with one, brevity is an unappreciated virtue. * *

I rarely read hobbies - do whatever you like in your spare time but be careful your hobbies don't look like they will interfere with your job.
Also I feel the hobbies tend to signal class - skiing, traveling, rugby hockey, DoE - I'm not interested in recruiting someone on that basis, so I would rather it didn't sit in my head. And I also don't care if you volunteer, if you do good on you but it won't make me think you are a better person for milking it on your cv!
When I did read the hobbies section The World Challenge shit that some people like to pretend was helping the poor people in Africa - gave me the absolute rage (but I tried to not let that influence my decisions). Clearly, I don't recruit for the caring professions or teaching and they probably love that stuff.😁

@larkstar
@Redstripeyellowstripe
Thank you very much for your insightful comments.

I was expecting the usual things like don't put your photo on it, check for spelling mistakes but what you've both given me is a lot more valuable.

Thank you 😃