If you are looking for CV writing advice on the internet, be careful.   It is surprising how many sites that contain CV writing advice don’t bother to update their copy.  What they are advising may have been true once, but times change and you need to be sure that the advice you are reading is relevant to the modern jobs market. 

It is, of course, a good idea to seek advice from a number of sources, so that you can get a balanced view of what is being advised. That is the best way to form your own opinions.   But not even CV writing sites can be relied upon to be authoritative, as many of the more recent ones that have sprung up are run by people whose core skill is not in CV writing at all, but in marketing.   

If you can understand the logic behind what is being suggested, that is a very good start.   Remember that the CV you are producing is not for your satisfaction, but for use by a stranger who knows nothing about you.   If they are looking to fill a vacancy in their Company, what do you think they might like to know about the candidates and how are they likely to want the CV presented?   If you use a bit of common sense and logic you won’t go far wrong, but just don’t fall into the trap of believing that just because you saw it on a website it is necessarily true. 

 CV stands for Curriculum Vitae which, according to my Chambers Dictionary means ‘[a biographical sketch of] the course of one’s life’. 

I wonder who invented the name ‘curriculum vitae’ for this particular document.   I think they could have had no idea how the modern CV would evolve.   No doubt the name was appropriate in the 1980s but CVs have come a very long way since then.

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 Going for a job interview can be a very stressful experience, but there is a lot riding on it so you need to get it just right.  It is most important that you turn up in good time so that you give yourself time to relax before the job interview.   Allow extra time, if you get there early you can always go for a coffee or wait outside for a bit.  

In advance of the day do some preparation so that you know a bit about the Company, you can then give good reasons why you want the job.   Although no amount of advance preparation can overcome your nerves on the day, it can go a long way towards it.   Throughout the job interview look at the person speaking and listen carefully to what is being said to you.  Then take a moment to consider your reply before answering.   If you answer too quickly it is possible in that in the heat of the moment you might say things that you afterwards regret.

Remember to try to look pleasant, even though you may not feel like it.   There is a good chance that the person, or one of the people conducting the job interview will be your direct boss if you get the job.   They are much more likely to want you on their team if they actually like you.   So smile, please and give yourself a better chance of success. 

When you write your CV you make it user-friendly for sending via e-mail and storing on a database.   Here are a few good tips
•    write your CV using a standard font, that way you can be sure that the receiving computer will also have the same font loaded
•    it gives a very bad impression is your e-mail address is silly or suggestive - make sure yours is businesslike
•    be careful to read the requirements for CV submissions  most sites require either a Word or a PDF format
•    make sure that your CV doesn’t include images, grids or animations otherwise the database may not be able to read your file