11 CV FAQs

As soon as someone thinks that it is time to upgrade their CV, a whole load of questions come to mind. Here are the answers to the top eleven questions that you might have. There are as many opinions on CV writing as there are CVs; these ideas are gleaned from over 20 years as a recruiter – when I was required to read through literally thousands of CVs, the top ten selling books on the topic, and conversations with industry experts. 

Note: I will assume throughout that your CV is being written for a UK readership. 

1. Should my CV be one page or two? If you are at the outset of your career and do not have a huge amount to say about yourself then I would say a one page CV is fine. For everybody else, it should be two pages unless otherwise specified in the recruitment process. The top of the first page will be your contact details, professional profile and then your current or most recent job. The difficulty with one page CVs for most professionals is that they end up cramming the key points in, not really doing them justice and writing in a tiny font. 
2. Should I put my home address at the top? No. It is a funny old world out there. Just put your mobile number, email address and maybe the city that you live in. Your email address should be reasonably professional so not: [email protected]. On your mobile, ensure that the greeting in the voicemail is professional and that the voicemail box is empty enough to accept new messages.
3. Should I write in the first person with pronouns? The CV should be written in the third person with the pronoun removed. So “He does this...” or “I do this” becomes “does this…” Also, make sure that it is in the right tense. Your current job - assuming that you are still there - will be in the present tense. Previous jobs will be in the past tense.
4. Should I have multiple versions of my CV or just one principal version? In our experience, it is much better to have one main version that you then tweak and adapt to the jobs that you are applying for. It is important that you reflect the language of the job application. There are apps such as Jobscan where you put in your CV and the job spec. Jobscan will then tell you how well your CV matches and offer suggestions. 
5. Should I use my full name if I have a nickname? Use your full name. This is especially the case if you are going to put your CV into an online job application because the tracking systems have difficulty reading names such as: Andrew (Andy) Smith.
6. Can I put a picture of myself on the CV? Although I know that in some European countries this can be a common practice, it is not in the UK. Avoid at all costs unless you are a model, actor or it has been specifically requested. Don’t forget that the people reading your CV will be able to see your photo on your LinkedIn profile anyway.
7. Should I include a link to my LinkedIn Profile? Yes. Your LinkedIn profile is a great opportunity to showcase articles that you have written, videos and the social proof offered by your Skills & Endorsements and Recommendations. Just make sure that your Profile is in a great state that so that you are taking full advantage of the additional insights that it can provide about you.
8. Where should my Education and Qualifications go? With one exception, the Education & Qualifications section should be at the bottom. The exception is if you have very recently undertaken more education with a view to changing the direction of your career. In this case, you can put it immediately underneath your Professional Profile at the top of the first page. 
9. Should I lay out my professional experience chronologically or by function? Having seen many examples of both, in my experience the functional style of CV often looks clunky and awkward, and is quite difficult for the reader to follow your career progression. For that reason, we much prefer the reverse chronology, meaning your current or most recent job at the top and then working back in time. 

Creating a CV from scratch or updating it after a long time can be a tedious and challenging process. Should you be interested in talking to us about what our professional CV writers can do for you, get in touch at [email protected] or submit an enquiry on the contact page of the website.