What Does the Model CV Look Like?

Writing a CV can be very daunting, and many people avoid doing it, which can seriously hinder potential job opportunities.

CV is the acronym for curriculum vitae, which is a summary of your work experience and skills. Here, you have the opportunity to show employers in two to three pages what makes you the perfect candidate for the job.

Creating a good CV is vital in the job-seeking process, and it’s essential to know how to do this successfully. Therefore, this blog post will provide an outline of what a CV format should look like, alongside tips on how to increase your success when applying for a job.

The Header

First of all, you need to include your name, professional title and contact details. This part should be at the top of the page, preferably in the header. Things such as your contact number, email address and residential address should be included.

Personal Statement

A personal statement is a short paragraph that gives prospective employers a summary of your attributes. This should be tailored to the job you’re applying for and should be no longer than a few sentences. Your personal statement should address the following:

1. Who are you?

2. What can you offer the company?

3. What are your career objectives?

Experience and Employment History

Here, you have the opportunity to list your experience and employment history. This should be in reverse chronological order as your recent role is the most relevant to the employer. When listing previous work history, state the job title, the employer, length of tenure and short job description, feel free to use dot points but keep it concise.

Education and Qualifications

This section should also be listed in reverse chronological order and should include the institution name, the dates you attended, and the qualifications or grades you achieved.

Skills and Attributes

Although CVs are longer than a resume or cover letter, it’s important not to add anything that’s not important. Things such as soft skills can be a great contributor to the success of your application. However, listing irrelevant things may be disadvantageous. Soft skills are personal attributes that enable a person to interact effectively with other people. Listing these in your CV can increase your chances of being hired as recruiters understand their importance. The top five most important soft skills are listed below:

• Communication

• Attention to detail

• Self-motivation

• Strong work ethic

• Time management

However, the top five least important soft skills are:

• Creativity

• Leadership

• Conflict resolution

• Research skills

• Public speaking

So, keep in mind during your job search which soft skills you are listing to enhance your CV’s quality.

Extra Tips

Finally, there are a few other things to consider when developing your CV. First of all, don’t go over the top with designs and make the CV look pretty. Employers don’t care about fancy fonts or crazy borders, so don’t bother with it. In addition to this, less is more, so don’t be afraid of white spaces. Secondly, font size should be no smaller than 11 and margins should be at least .7 inches. It’s pretty self-explanatory, but any font too small or too large makes it more frustrating for the employer. Thirdly, use bullet points! They are a great way of maintaining a visual flow to your CV’s layout, alongside drawing attention to key facts.

So there you have it – some simple tips on how to create a good CV.

Also, feel free to check out the Career Addict website as it shows a range of CV examples for a variety of different careers.

Next