How to Write a Professional CV

A few decades ago manual workers did not need to have a CV. They just came to see the manager about a vacancy. In most cases, they had a job following a short conversation with the employer. Office workers, engineers, teachers and people of intellectual professions had to have a CV. However, the layout was different, very simple and did not reflect the candidate's skills or ability to do a job.

Nowadays, things have changed. The job market nowadays is very competitive. One has to demonstrate suitability for the position to be invited for an interview. That is why new requirements for a professional CV have come into place. Many things have to be taken into consideration to be able to devise a perfect document. When writing it, many people come across many questions about how it should look. What are the most important things you should take into consideration so that you will be chosen for an interview?

Although much is known about creating a perfect CV, some job seekers are still not confident that they are doing it correctly. In this article, we emphasize the do's and don'ts when devising your document. It is well-known that everything is based on the first impressions employers will have while reading your CV. If they do not see straight away in your document what they are looking for, then the chance of getting an interview becomes very slim.

The Best Way to Start When Writing Your Curriculum Vitae

First of all, make sure the margins of your document in Word must be standard. Your page should be like that: top, left, bottom and right - 2.54 cm. Please, do not violate the margin by making it narrower trying to squeeze as much text as possible. It becomes more difficult to read the text and it does not look professional. In any case, your document should only be two pages maximum. If you have more text than the amount of space, you should remove less important parts and concentrate on the main ideas.

Secondly, choose the appropriate font and size of the letters. Never use any "fancy" ones. The most acceptable font size is 12 (14 for the name only). It is advisable to use Times New Roman or Arial fonts, which are more popular as it is easier to read.

What Not to Do

Only use "bold" for your name and the headings, job titles, positions and years of work and for nothing else. Never use "italics" or underlining anywhere in your text. Block letters should not be used either as it is a word-processed text and not a handwritten one and can be easily read.

Do not include any information about your marital status or age as it may work against you straight away. It is not necessary to mention your address either as an employer may think that you have to travel too far for your work and will not be able to be on time.

You have to make an equal spacing between the paragraphs. Changing from single to one-and-a-half or double spacing is not a good idea. First of all, it does not look professional. Then it is more difficult to concentrate on the text itself. Finally, this leads to a waste of valuable space for the information you would like to convey.

The Layout of the Document

Now you can start creating your document. It should be split into several sections with the appropriate headings, so it is easier for employers to see the information they want.

• Your name (in bold – font size 14) and contact details (12) should appear in the centre of the page. There is a lot of psychology involved in creating the document, so never use the words "Curriculum Vitae" as it is self-explanatory.
• Then comes your Personal Profile. It should be only 5-7 sentences long. But it must contain all the essential information about yourself: skills, character, aspirations. You should never use the personal pronoun "I" as it gives the wrong impression. Instead, use such words as "professional" or "plumber", "sales assistant", etc. "with many years of experience".
• Make sure you emphasize certain skills and experience that would make you an invaluable member of the company.
• After having looked at your Personal Profile, an employer quickly scans your "Work History" section. It should contain important information about your previous job positions. This should include names of companies, dates you were employed there and your duties. All this information must be entered concisely under bullet points. First of all, which bullet points to choose? A professional CV requires round bullet points only. You should use active verbs to emphasize how well you performed your duties. By doing that, do not forget to use the same grammar form: either "ing" or "ed" form. For example, "checking and repairing the machinery". Alternatively, you can write "successfully performed diagnostics and maintenance of the machinery". There are quite a few action verbs to use. You can use some verbs like organise, establish, negotiate, etc.
• Never use full sentences in a CV as it takes up more time to read your statements to grasp the main ideas.
• List all your previous jobs in chronological order starting with the most recent one. Do not list all the minor jobs you have done for a short period or combine them if they are similar. An employer is normally interested in the jobs you had during the last 3-5 years.
• Never leave any gaps in your employment history. If there were periods of time when you were not working, write "Home Maker". Or mention the fact that you were doing a course to improve your skills or prepare to have another profession. If you are invited for an interview, you will have more time to explain it all.
• Another important section is "Education and Qualifications". Here you state what kind of certificates/diplomas you have but list only those that may be relevant to the position you are applying for. Do not mention studying at school if you are not a school leaver. Nobody would be interested in what you did at school if you are over 30 years of age.
• Another section is "Additional Information". You can write here that you know some foreign languages. You could also write if you have a driving licence or completing a particular course, etc.
• "References". It is not compulsory to give the name and contact of your referees at this stage. You may be asked to provide them during an interview. However, if you wish to mention that in your CV, make sure to contact your referee to confirm that he/she is still around and will be happy to act as one for you.

A Word of Advice

• Never give any false information as the truth will eventually come out and you will ruin your chance of getting the job you wanted. You may be asked additional questions at the interview regarding every point you made in your CV and you may fail to answer these questions. Moreover, an employer may check where you worked or studied and what your duties in a company were.
• Make sure your document is updated, so you can send it to an employer starting with the most recent job you have done or are doing.
• Make sure to tailor-make your CV for a particular job, never send the same one to various employers for different jobs.
• Double-check your text for grammar, spelling and stylistic mistakes as it gives an employer a very bad impression.
• Create a professional-looking email address.
• It is advisable to save and send to an employer your CV in a PDF format as it can be opened on any device.

We offer a professional CV writing service that is tailor-made for your needs. If you need to create a completely new document or redesign an existing one, please contact us.