How to format a cv

The most important part of your application for any position is your CV.

It is your sales tool, and needs to emphasise your suitability for the role. Whether you are shortlisted for interview is dependent on your CV, so it needs to give you an edge over your competitors.

Your CV personal details

Name:

Address:

Telephone numbers (home, work, and mobile):

Email address:

Date of birth:

Nationality (and details of work permit (send evidence) status for non EC nationals):

Marital status:

Driver / car owner:

Current work location:

Education

Dates and educational establishments, with qualifications and grades:

GCSEs / O Levels / A Levels.

Degree / other further education.

Courses and professional qualifications / certification

Please note it is very important to send copies of certificates for professional qualifications, unfortunately there are too many unscrupulous people out there claiming to have mythical qualifications, and now many employers do not wish to know about qualifications and courses unless we have documentary confirmation.

Technical summary

Hardware:

Operating Systems / Networking:

Software:

Again - be comprehensive. Indicate your strongest skills (such as Windows NT, Novell and MS Office) then ALL the others. Remember - if it's not there we have to assume you know nothing about it.

Position sought

Brief description of the type of role you want, preferred locations, current salary and benefits, salary sought.

Employment history

Start with most recent first and work backwards, all the way to leaving school. Account for any gaps in employment. Employers are primarily interested in what you have been doing over the last three years, so provide comprehensive details on those job descriptions, what technologies you used etc. Keep older job descriptions briefer, and for non IT roles just the dates, company and job title will suffice.

Dates of employment (month and year):

Company name:

Position:

Duties and projects:

Why you left:

Interests

Ideally you should mention any team activities as well as solo pursuits. Be ready to give examples (i.e. don’t bother with “skiing” if your last holiday was 10 years ago!).

References

Give details of two employment referees (preferably the most recent employer and the employer prior to that, with telephone numbers; plus your current employer (obviously this one won’t be followed up until you secure your new job).