Creating a Winning CV
Presentation
• Use good quality white paper and a 10 - 12 font size
• Do not use italics or decorative fonts - as a rule, stick to Arial or Times New Roman
• Try to limit your CV to 2 pages, with 3 being the absolute maximum
• Use bullet points and avoid paragraphs – this will help you fit your CV into 2 pages.
• Don’t include date of birth, sex or marital status.
What Should I put where?
Your CV should be clear and easy to understand. It should essentially present facts about
yourself that are clear and concise.
We recommend the following structure:
1. Contact Details:
• Put your name at the top of the first page, followed by your contact details – make sure that
you put your correct mobile number and only put an email address if you check it regularly.
• Front covers are not necessary
Personal Profile tailored to each role
This should consist of:
• 2 personal qualities
• Current role/last role
• Your relevant skills
• Aims: type of role you are looking for or type of organisation you would like to work for.
Core Skills
• This should be tailored to each job description and person specification. Look at the core
competencies in each section and detail how you have demonstrated these.
• Use the formula ‘named skill + demonstration’ – e.g. ‘Strong budget management skills
evidenced through the management of a £10 million Facilities budget in my most recent role.
Work History
• List these in chronological order with the most recent first.
• Include dates of employment, employer’s name and job title
• Use the following format for your projects:
Ensure that you detail 2 principle points in this section – your responsibilities and your
achievements. Without the latter, you will not have any evidence of the competencies and skills
that you have developed in each role.
• Responsible for coordinating the provision of comprehensive IT support service across two
London offices totalling 500 staff.
• Managed a team of 4 helpdesk support engineers –including performance and career
management and recruitment.
Build Recruitment Ltd is registered in England & Wales – 07280283, VAT Reg. 101179065
www.buildrec.com; [email protected]; tel. 0203 1764790
• Negotiated cost-savings of £30,000 through the creation of a PSL.
Education
• Only list those that are relevant – i.e. your degree or chartership. Do you really need to record
your GSCE on this CV?
Hobbies & Interests
• Keep this section succinct
• Can you match some of your interests to the company’s culture?
• Use bullet points rather than complete sentences (which leads to unnecessary wordiness)
Double Check your CV
• Check your CV carefully – always run a spell check over it and re-read to check it also makes
sense.
• Give the description of the role that you are applying to a friend and ask them to review the
CV. Response handling agencies will often not be technical experts – this will be a good to
see how easily your CV can be matched to the job description.
Remember, your CV is the first impression your potential employer will have of you. Take the time
to get it right. You may not have a second chance.
Build Recruitment Ltd is registered in England & Wales – 07280283, VAT Reg. 101179065
www.buildrec.com; [email protected]; tel. 0203 1764790