I am astonished when I see sites advertising ‘write your CV in minutes’.   I suppose the question is really ‘how many minutes ‘

The time it takes to write a CV depends on a number of factors.   But if I were writing a CV for myself I would allow at least half a day and probably more time than that.   And why not!   

When you consider how much is at stake – that this CV represents the only contact you have with an employer – that if you have a bad CV you are simply not giving yourself a chance – that your job is pivotal to your life and your lifestyle – that a good CV can make all the difference between success and failure in your career – then I can truly say that you should spend as much time as it takes to produce the very best CV and that you need all the help you can get.  

Trawl the internet to find advice on CV writing before you start.  Some of the advice you will want to take on board and some you will not agree with – that’s fair enough – after all it’s your CV.   You may decide to invest in a template to give you some guidance on the structure of your CV.    Make a plan, get all your information together and only then should you start writing your CV.  

But remember – it will take a good number of minutes to create the very best possible CV.  

Peter

We all know that the chances are that an employer considering job applications will only allow a very short time for consideration of each CV.   Unlike a comment I had from a client recently who thought it was because they are lazy, it is actually because they are just very busy people.   

Now, many people believe that there are certain gimmicks that will get your CV noticed, and they are probably right, but it will be for all the wrong reasons.   The way to get your CV noticed is by making sure that the presentation is such that it can be clearly understood what you have to offer to the prospective employer.   Use short sentences and leave out those unnecessary adjectives.   Use bulleted lists rather than long paragraphs of prose.   Don’t use jargon or acronyms, unless you are very sure that they will be understood.

Be brave and don’t feel compelled to include too much detail in your CV - if the employer wants more information they can always ask for it.   A clear, concise presentation with emphasis upon skills and achievements will make you stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons.   

When you’re writing a CV this is a very easy trap to fall into.  A good CV should introduce you and tell the prospective employer what you can bring to his organisation.  Now, you don’t want to insult his intelligence by telling him things that are ‘a given’ for the type of job you are doing.   For example, it is obvious that an accountant will prepare accounts, or that a shop manager will manage a shop, so that’s not the type of information that needs to be included in your CV.     

What you do need to do is to demonstrate the level you are working at by including in your CV information about your actual job.  Say something about your employers so that the reader can identify the environment you are working in.  Try to include some metrics to demonstrate the size and scope of the business so that the employer can asssess the level of your function.   

Then say whether you are working alone or as a team member.   If so, how large is the team    Who do you report to   What is your particular area of responsibility   Try not to make your job sound boring by just stringing out a long list of responsibilities.   Use short bullet points to explain why you are doing the things that you are doing.   For example, don’t just say ‘data input’ say something more interesting like ‘maintaining accurate records to support management reporting’.   By sounding enthusiastic with a real interest in your job you will be able to present yourself in a more positive light to the prospective future employer.  

The most important thing to remember here is the level of competition you are facing.   You may view the prospect of writing your CV with dismay because you don’t think you can find much to write about, but remember that as long as you are applying at the right level, employers will know what to expect from a school leaver or graduate.  The problems that face you will be the same as those faced by all the other candidates.

The biggest mistake that people make is in trying to ‘big up’ their achievements or work experience and trying to make it something that it wasn’t.   Remember that at starter level an employer will be looking for somebody who is willing to learn.  They won’t be attracted to the prospect of trying to teach somebody who already knows everything, or who appears to think that they are already able to function at a senior level. 

Make it clear that you understand that because you are only just starting out you still have a lot to learn.   If you have some work experience, then so much the better.   Try to demonstrate that you did what was expected of you.   If this involved some level of trust, eg cash handling, that would be good.   But even such mundane tasks as shelf stacking can be turned to good advantage by showing that you have self discipline, which is extremely important if you are going to take on the commitment of a full time job. 

Remember, you are trying to sell your services to the employer.   They will think far more of you if you tell the truth and keep it simple.

That question is a like ‘how long is a piece of string’ because it all depends upon the templates. 

There are many sites on the web offering CV templates.  They range from free templates right up to high quality CV templates with full guidance notes and there is very little similarity between the two types of service.  

Free templates can be useful when you are doing research, but they won’t help you in presenting your CV in a businesslike way.   One of the worst mistakes is in using a pre-set format which makes use of tables for laying out the CV.   This is a very bad way to go.   The problem with tables on a CV is that the end result is invariably that some of the columns will be crammed with text and others will be almost empty.   Apart from the clutter of unnecessary lines on the page, tables will give a very unbalanced look to the all-important presentation of your CV.  But free CV templates don’t cost you anything so it’s probably worth having a look at a few to give you some ideas as to the type of information you might like to include in your CV.

Much worse than that are the sites which offer a number of CV templates for a small charge.   They are no use at all. The ‘CV templates’ you will get for your money are not even worth following as a guide to layout because they are mostly of such a poor standard.   You might just as well approach a number of your mates and ask them to give you copies of their CV’s for you to look at. 

However, if you are a person who would really like to know how to write a first class CV and feel that you need some support in doing so, then CV templates at their best can be the ideal solution.   The important thing to look out for is whether you will get just a template or whether you will get full guidance notes with examples.   In fact, you may find that the guidance notes will be of more use to you than the template itself.   If the site makes it clear which topics are covered in the guidance notes and what you will get for your money, then CV templates can be an excellent way of getting the support you need in writing your own CV.

Don’t be tempted to put in everything in your CV – if you put in too much detail nobody will be able to find the information they are looking for.  

Lots of people when writing a CV are simply afraid of leaving out the detail – they think it is important that the prospective employer should understand as much about them as possible so that they will be really impressed.   Unfortunately employers are seldom impressed by detail, because they don’t actually have the time to read it all.  

You need to make sure that your CV is easy to understand and clear.   Be very selective about what you put in – analyse every point and ask yourself "will this actually help me to get this job ".   When writing an excellent CV ‘less is more’ because every bit of information will have earned its place and be there for the specific purpose of improving your changes of getting an interview.  

 When you write A CV it is, of course, a good idea to include qualifications.   But too many people misunderstand this and think that it means you should include details of all your education right back to primary school. 

As with all aspects of writing your CV, before including anything, you should ask yourself ‘will that make a difference to the employer’s decision-making process ‘.    In other words, since we all went to school, unless yours was in some way different or intresting, don’t bother to include it. 

Qualifications are a different matter.  If you are a graduate then the name of the establishment where you gained your degree is  relevant because it was they who awarded the qualification.   ‘A’ levels on the other hand are awarded by an external body so the school or college is not necessarily relevant.

Educational qualifications are simply your ‘jumping off point’ but, in my view, training courses are much more relevant   As your career progresses it is likely that this type of qualification will have enabled you to develop your skills and expand your knowledge base.  

The golden rule in CV writing is to identify what is relevant so that you make your CV user friendly and fit for the purpose for which it is intended – to enable you to be successful in your job hunt. 

When you sit down to to start writing a CV just remember that the person reading it doesn’t know you or anything about you.   This is your opportunity to show them that you are the best person for the job.

Don’t try starting at the top of page 1 and working through to the end.   The best way of writing a CV is first of all to put in your headings.   Then after that you can fill in the easiest sections.   REFERENCES – available upon request.   One section done already.   Next you may choose to complete the EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS section or you may create a list of all the jobs you have had since you left school. 

Writing a CV is not easy but as with any task it’s getting started that’s the hardest part.   Once you have some stuff on the page it will become progressively easier to carry on writing a CV that will do justice to your achievements and skills.  

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. 

The first thing that should appear on a properly written CV after the name and contact details is a Profile.   This should be your introduction it should say why you are the best candidate for a job.   It needs to be focussed on demonstable achievements throughout your career as well as transferable skills and competencies.  It should be an overview of the whole CV and as such it can’t be written before you have the rest of the information sorted out.   

The best way to show your career history when writing a CV is to show the jobs in reverse chronological order (ie the most recent comes first).   But that isn’t the way your life happened.   Now we know that it is not necessary to go back more than about ten years when writing a CV, but what I would advise in the first instance is that you go right back to the beginning and list all the jobs you have had ever since you left school or University.   When you have done that you can decide where you will start the detailed Career History.  However, I would usually advise that earlier jobs should not be omitted altogether but should simply be listed.   This will enable you to demonstrate your career progression which is a very important factor when writing a CV.    

So to summarise, when writing a CV it is much easier if you write your Profile last and you put down your career history in the order in which it happened.   So why not do as I do – I assure you writing a CV is much easier if you start at the bottom of page 2 and work towards the top of page 1.   It makes it much easier to focus the brain.   You might like to put in your paragraph headings first just to give the draft pages some structure, but the first section that I always complete is REFERENCES available upon request.   At least I’ve made a meaningful start so I can get on with the task of CV writing in a way that helps me to feel organised in my mind.