A CV is a short statement which outlines your achievements, skills and experience.
An up-to-date CV is helpful if you are looking for work, or even if just want to change jobs. It is the first chance you get to sell yourself to a potential employer. Your CV should target the job you are applying for. You may need more than one CV, or to change your CV when applying for different roles.
Get expert advice on writing a CV from the National Careers Service.
How to write your CV
Contact details: Name, address and postcode, telephone number (usually a mobile number) and email address.
Personal profile: a few lines summing up who you are and what you hope to do. When completing this think about what the employer is looking for and how your skills and achievements matches the role.
Key skills: list the skills you have that match the job description
Work experience: start from the latest role, list your previous work experience. Give examples of your achievements in each role.
Education and training: start with your oldest qualification and ensure that they are up to date. Include dates for recent qualification
Hobbies and interests: you do not need to include hobbies and interests if you do not want to, but this could give you another chance to sell your skills. For example, if you are applying for a role as a chef, you could add that one of your interests is cooking.
Top tips for writing a CV
- Try and research the company and read through the job description before you start
- Save your CV as a PDF and a Word document
- Choose a font that is easy to read, such as Arial 12
- Your CV should be no longer than 2 pages
- Target the job description
- Ensure spelling and grammar are correct. Only use capital letters when necessary, such as names, places and job titles.