CV Writing Guide

With the recovery in the job market being slowed somewhat by the arrival of the traditional holiday season, now is a good time to review your CV and make sure it's as strong as possible for when things improve again in September. In this article I aim to provide you with some useful hints and tips when it comes to writing your CV.

General

I'd never suggest writing CV or Curriculum Vitae on your CV. Everyone knows what it is. And you'd be amazed how many people misspell Curriculum Vitae!

Use a clear easy to read font and never go smaller than 10. In fact, I'd recommend a minimum font size of 12 if possible.

Use bullet points wherever you can. These break up the prose and make your CV more appealing, easier to read and easier to extract information from.

My preferred layout is as follows:

Personal Details

Profile

Career History

Education

This article will provide you with more information on each of these sections.

How Long?

I recently ran a LinkedIn Poll asking how long a CV should be. The results were as follows:

1 Page - 8%

2 Pages - 55%

3-4 Pages - 31%

More - 5%

Let's start with the 2 extremes. Clearly, if your CV is more than 4 pages long then I would cut it down significantly. Many recruiters and hiring managers will feel it's too long. And with so many applications for every role in the current market, the time given to review each CV is limited and you don't want to give them a reason to pass over yours.

One page CVs may be suitable for graduates but for most experienced professionals they're simply too short to convey all of your relevant skills and experience.

The results suggest that a max of 2 pages is the way to go. Whilst I would agree with this to some degree, I would certainly prefer a well formatted, easy to read 2-3 page CV, than a cramped 2-pager. If you can get all relevant info into 2 pages and your CV remains an attractive, easy to read document, then great. If you need to spill over to a 3rd page to achieve this, then I wouldn't worry.

What to put in and what to leave out

I appreciate that many of you will be struggling to reduce your CV to anywhere near 2 pages. And so the question arises as to what you should put in and what should be left out. I'll cover personal details below and so will focus on the rest of your CV at this stage.

The question you need to be asking yourself is whether that particular information is going to help you secure your next role. If the answer is 'No' then you really need to consider whether it should be on your CV at all. If it needs to be there (such as your education or early career) then it should be brief and at the end of your CV.

For example, roles that you held a decade or more ago are highly unlikely to be relevant to your current job search. In fact some will say that anything more than 5 years ago is fairly irrelevant in this current market. And so why do you need a dozen bullet points outlining the responsibilities of a role that you did 10 years ago? I'd really consider reducing this information to a single line of information. It is important that this information is on your CV as many employers like to see a full Career History. So don't omit your early roles, just simply leave out the detail.

Similarly, why list every GCSE or O Level result? Unless you're a graduate applying for graduate programmes, there's really no need for such detail. Your B in O Level Woodwork is not likely to be high on the list of requirements for your next employer. Generally your Education should be on your CV but towards the end of the document and in abbreviated form. For example, stating 8 GCSE's will suffice rather than listing all the subjects and results.

Vocational qualifications are important though. I'd even suggest making reference to them in your profile (see below). You can also add any qualification details after your name at the top of your CV. For example, Joe Bloggs DipPFS immediately tells the reader that you hold the CII Level 4 Diploma in Financial Planning, which may be an essential requirement for their vacancy.

The value of putting 'Interests' on a CV is open to debate. Personally, I don't see any great value and certainly not when they're simply 'Reading, going to the gym and socialising with friends'. If you do something a bit unusual then perhaps it's worth including. I do see value in detailing any charity or voluntary work and other altruistic activities though as it can give a potential employer a useful insight into your personal values.

Personal Details

I've previously mentioned that it's a market of fine margins at present. I've also said that given the level of competition that exists for every role, those reviewing CVs are often looking for reasons to reject candidates. This can help reduce the 'longlist' to a more reasonable size before shortlisting commences.

And so it's important to avoid any potential 'reasons to be rejected' if possible. And one of those could be where you live.

If you're searching for roles nationally (or at least in areas away from your home) then remove your address from your CV, as well as any other indicators of your location (such as addresses of employers etc.).

Why? I've heard of several instances where candidates have been rejected by recruiters because they don't live locally to the role. Despite ticking most/all other boxes. Ridiculous but true. It's lazy recruitment, but sadly there are lots of lazy recruiters out there.

Obviously that means you should only have your address on your CV when applying for roles locally. Otherwise, get rid of it. It's only going to hinder your chances.

Age is another potential discriminatory factor. There's no need to put your age or date of birth on your CV. Equally, there's no need to be precise about the number of years' experience you have. Why write "over 25 years' financial services experience" when "extensive financial services experience" will do the job?

In my opinion, your personal details should simply consist of your name and contact details (email and mobile preferably). That's all.

Profile

I love a good profile on a CV. And so do many others. It's usually the first thing that I read and I'm sure I'm not alone. And that means it's a hugely important element of your CV. In fact I'd go as far as saying it's THE most important element in the current market.

Apparently the average time spent reading a CV is around 6 seconds! Given the current highly competitive market, this may be even less now. And so your your profile really needs to grab the reader's attention. It needs to be impactful and highly specific to you. It's your elevator pitch as it were.

Forget the generic statements about communication skills etc. Anyone can say that. Drill down into your experience, your technical knowledge, sector experience, qualifications etc.

And then when you apply for roles tweak your profile to ensure it addresses the 'essentials' and 'desirables' detailed in the ad. An impactful bespoke profile will genuinely increase your chances of being shortlisted for interview. It's worth taking the time to tweak before every application. It's this level of attention to detail that can really make a difference.

A Value Add CV

The more senior you are, the more you'll need a 'value add' CV. A list of responsibilities just won't cut it. If a future employer is going to justify paying you a six-figure salary, they're going to want to know what value you're going to add to their business. And the best indication of that is the value you've added in previous roles. They're going to want to see what you've achieved and not simply what you did on a daily basis.

Personally I like to see Achievements detailed with the relevant role in the Career History section rather than in a separate section of their own. The reason is simple - the value of achievements is much greater when the reader can see the context behind them. This includes where you delivered them and when.

Reasons for Leaving

Unfortunately many employers and recruiters don't like to see CVs where candidates exhibit short stays in roles. They don't like so-called job-hoppers. And that's a reason to reject your CV. Worryingly your CV may suggest you're one even when you're not.

The trouble is if you don't explain why you left a role then whoever is reviewing your CV may assume the worst.

And so if a role was a contract, state that it was. Then it's obvious why you left; your contract came to an end.

If you were made redundant then say so. There's no shame in that. It's also useful to explain the reason for your redundancy e.g. role was relocated, company closure etc. Essentially, things outside your control.

By offering answers to unasked questions, you're explaining the reason why you may have held 5 different roles in the last 5 years. And this prevents the reader making up their own reasons!

Summary

Your CV is your key to opening doors in this very competitive market. It is therefore imperative that it is as strong as it can be. Above all, it's important to remember that one key will usually only open one door. And that means that you need to that you take the time to tweak your CV for each and every role that you apply for to ensure that it's as relevant as possible for every application.

About the Author: Mark Wilson is a Risk & Compliance Recruitment Specialist with over 20 years' experience. He is also the Founder, Owner and Managing Director of Willow Resourcing Limited.