First and foremost, the CV should be word processed on A4 paper, using one side only. Check and check again to make sure there are no spelling mistakes, and avoid ragged indents (always use the tab, never the space bar). If you are not happy using a word processor get someone to reproduce the document for you or, better still, approach a professional CV writing company! CVs have evolved into very complex documents with their own rules and requirements – don’t even attempt to ‘do it yourself’ if you are not aware of current trends and key words.

CV should contain the following information:

• Name, address and contact details (telephone, mobile, email)
• Profile
• Key skills/career history, or a combination of both
• Education/qualifications
• Courses/training
• Personal details
• Leisure activities
• References

The order of presentation depends on your personal experience, skills and circumstances. Briefly:

• Name, address and contact details should always head the CV, with your name in a larger font.
• The profile is designed to give an overview of your personal attributes and qualities. It should not exceed five sentences and should be presented in a narrative form, ensuring the inclusion of current power/key words. Some employers scan CVs prior to selection for interview and if these words are not picked up your CV is likely to be discarded.
• Key skills/career history: the main decision is whether to use a chronological or skills-led (functional) approach. Look at your career history: if you have held only one or two positions (excluding any work experience undertaken in conjunction with further education), then a chronological layout is probably best. If, on the other hand, you have held quite a few positions and they are all broadly similar, then adopt a skills-led approach to avoid duplication in the job descriptions. Presentation should be in reverse-chronological order (most recent first). If you are listing key skills first, use bullet points for emphasis and clarity. A combined skills-led and chronological presentation is widely used, which gives you the best of both worlds, with a key skills summary followed by the chronological career history with just a summary giving an overview of your responsibilities in each case.
• Education/qualifications: if you are a school leaver or graduate this will probably need to be quite prominent, but if you have a fairly long career history this information should be relegated to follow your skills and experience.
• Courses/training: these should be presented separately from education and formal qualifications.
• Personal details: It is optional to provide details of date of birth, nationality, marital status and driving licence.
• Leisure activities: again, this is optional, but it does help in rounding out a picture of your interests and pursuits. You should not give more than five, and they should be quite varied in order to show different aspects of your character.
• References: many people prefer ‘Available on request’ as this prevents the need for constant changing of references. You may also not want anyone to contact your present employer and this should be the first reference if you are listing them. Two references are normal and one can be a character reference.
• Layout is all-important and is the vital finishing touch, so try to keep to these essential guidelines:
• Complete the CV before the final formatting and make sure you include everything. It’s much easier to delete than to add once the CV is finished. Look at the complete document using the preview function. Does it extend into a part-page ? If so, try adjusting the margins and font size (use of part-pages is not considered good practice).
• Check indents to ensure they are uniform, using the tab key, never the space bar.
• When you have balanced, completely filled pages, look at the individual sections. Do any of them overlap pages ? If so, try some further adjustment of font size or consider moving sections to prevent this; perhaps move personal details to the first page. At the same time, bear in mind that the first page must contain the most vital information. If necessary, consider the wording – is it concise and to the point ? Can you précis it here and there to achieve a better balance ? Can you re-arrange the layout, perhaps show your address as one horizontal line instead of letter style ?
• When you have structured the CV to your satisfaction, make sure that hard page breaks are inserted to avoid headings wandering onto the previous page.
• Finally, apply vertical centring to the whole document. This will give you a well-balanced document which is pleasing to the eye.
• Finally, always send a CV with a covering letter, which should comfortably fill an A4 sheet, but never go over one page unless absolutely essential. Always use good quality paper and never fold the CV or letter. An A4 envelope should be used. Before sending, check again for spelling, typographical or presentation errors.