CV Help.

The hardest thing you will ever have to prepare is the CV that is going to jump start your career, how do you differentiate yourself from the other thousands of people with ‘excellent communication skills’? Your CV needs to be unique and insightful, you want the employer to enjoy reading it.

Most people will resent paying a professional to write their CV, if you are one of those people then this section provides you with some useful hints and tips on writing the perfect Curriculum Vitae.

It is important to remember that when writing your CV, no two companies are the same; therefore, they will have different opinions on what constitutes a shining résumé. There a number of standard dos and don’ts to consider, that will help you to avoid the common mistakes.

Watch the length of you CV. One of the most common mistakes made when writing a CV is unnecessary information. Keep it to the point and with a maximum of two pages. If you have little or no experience, one page tends to suffice. Only list years, not months, it gives a clear indication of timescales and can also help to cover up any time that you were unemployed or ‘otherwise engaged.’

Give details of recent history and summarise older information. For example, if you have A-Levels, it is unnecessary to list your GCSE grades and if you have a degree, do not list you’re A-Level grades. The only time it would be beneficial to contradict these points is if your grades were A’s or B’s.

Another common mistake is writing more than is needed in the ‘Interests & Activities’ section of your CV. Keep it to a minimum and only put information that a perspective employer would see as useful attributes. Employers are not stupid, ‘Socializing with a wide circle of friends’ does not interest them, and will not make any difference to the impression you want to make.

Employment history is an absolute must. It is important for the employer to see what you take away from your experiences, and also to see what areas you have worked in previously. NEVER bad mouth a previous employer, it will give off a bad vibe and could make you seem bitter or resentful.

It is debateable whether a key skills section is really necessary, it is a better idea to mention your key skills in your employment history, noting what aspects of the job helped to develop those skills.

It is common for people to add referees to their CV, this is not advised, they clutter it up and you will find, if your listed referees get pestered 10 times a day by different people they will be less likely to give a helpful response. It is not worth the risk.

There are a number of websites that can help with writing your CV, below are some links for you to try if you are still struggling.

• http://www.professional-cv-services.co.uk/
• http://www.pro-serve-resources.co.uk/
• http://www.cv-consultancy.co.uk/index.php
• http://www.thecvstore.net/
• http://www.ackerman-chase.com/