1. 5
Writing Your CV
Before putting pen to paper it is first necessary to research the skills required in
the job you‟re going for, and identify when you have demonstrated them.
General
 No more than 2 sides of A4 (can be more for academic CVs)
 Typed, with a clear, simple font (minimum size: 11 point)
 Short paragraphs of text (3/4 lines max)
 Mixture of bullet points and text (not too much of each) KISS: Keep it Short and Sweet
 Allocate space according to relevance of information
 Don‟t try to squash in as many words as possible – leave wide margins and plenty of white
space (less is more)
 Use key words from the application and positive „action‟ words (see page…)
 Make sure dates are easy to see (don‟t leave any gaps)
 You choose the headings but include:
 Personal Details  Interests
 Education  Contact details for referees
 Work Experience
Personal Details
Example 1: Steve Davies Address
Clear, attractive font
07936 414445 with dates
his8imp@seeds.com
Home Address: 26 High street Term address: 23 Chestnut
Fulham (From October 10) Avenue
London SW3 4HP London
London LS6 9PL
Tel: 0123 735 6832 Tel: 01234 004 4801
Date of birth: 12 February 1982
No need to write Don‟t use too
„Curriculum Vitae‟ much space
Example 2:
Address
Clear, attractive font with dates
Cynthia Xiu Whien
Term Address: (Until July 20) Home Address (From July 20 – October 8)
23 Ches Avenue, 63 Deancroft Avenue
London Queensbury
LS6 9VQ London NW13 9EP
Tel: 01425 2537766 / 0151 4478321 Tel: 01233 205 1830 / 07845 345444
E-mail: cxw@hosmail.com Date of Birth: 12 February 1981
For more examples refer to sample CVs (page 11)

2. 6
Education
 Relate your degree to the job
 For chronological CVs, outline some skills gained which are relevant to the job, these can be
transferable skills such as teamwork and communication (see page…) and / or technical skills
if the job is related to your degree
 For skills-based CVs, outline some relevant experience or achievements
 Secondary level to degree in reverse chronological order
 Show degree grade predicted / gained Remember – relate
 A Levels with grade your degree to the job
 Don‟t list all GCSEs (just Maths and English)
Example 1: Chronological CV (Traditional)
Education
2001–2004 University of London, BA (Hons) History (2:1 expected)
Include any relevant
modules and outline a
Relevant Modules:
relevant dissertation
 Qualitative Research Skills  Market Forces
 Social Statistics  Research Statistics
Skills Gained: Developed a wide range of transferable skills within the fields of analysis and
qualitative research. For my dissertation on the economies of South East Asia I analysed and
interpreted information from various sources including the Internet, libraries and museum
archives
Relate your degree to the skills
1993–2001 Westminister School for Boys, London required in the job your applying
for (in this case – research skills)
A levels: History (A), Geography (B), Maths (B)
GCSEs : 8 subjects all passed at grade “B” or above, including English Language and Maths
Dates easy to see Allocate space according to importance
(reverse chronological order) of qualification (more for degree than A Levels)
Example 2: Skills Based CV
Education
2000 – Present University of London MEng, Civil Engineering, 2:1 pass predicted
Include relevant modules and
Mixture Key Modules: outline a relevant dissertation
of bullet  Research Methods  Computing
points  Presenting Ideas to Clients  Information Technology
and text  Surveying  Mathematics
 Research Methods  Computing
Dissertation on presenting computer aided designs to manufacturers with little or no
engineering background. This project involved regular communication and presentation
within a fast-pace service environment Describe some achievements
from your degree which relate to
the job (skills gained are outlined
1992 – 1999 Queen Mary‟s Secondary School, Maidstone
later in the skills profile)
A Levels: Chemistry (B), History (A), Mathematics (B)
7 GCSEs (B and above) Allocate space according to importance
of qualification (more for degree than A Levels)
For more examples refer to sample CVs (page 11)

3. 7
Remember –
relate your work
experience to the
job
Work Experience
 Include volunteer work, part-time jobs and vacation work, include most recent and
relevant, e.g. over the last 4 years
 Include dates, the job title, the name of the organisation and the town or city
 Dates do not have to be exact (Summer 2002 or June – Sep. 2001 will do)
 Include a short job description highlighting the duties and achievements which are
relevant to the job you‟re applying for
 For chronological CVs also relate your experience to the skills required (See page…)
Example 1: Chronological CV (Traditional)
Work Experience
Avoid too Summer 2003 Marketing Assistant: Sainsburys, London
much scene
setting – Skills Gained: Motivation / Organisation
how you
Co-ordinated a small research project team looking at customer responses to
show a skill
is more refurbished Sainsbury‟s Stores. I initiated this internship myself, and negotiated my
important conditions and salary. At the completion of the project our team was awarded the
than when or 2003 Sainsbury‟s prize for the best contribution to Market Research.
where
Oct 2002 – Present Fund organiser, Childline Relate past jobs to the
skills required in the job
Skills Gained: Analysis / Problem Solving you‟re going for
Childine was finding that it was not attracting quality volunteers and many calls were
going unanswered, I have been able to alleviate this problem by rerouting resources
and initiating a „triage‟ system for new calls.
Outline how you showed
Summer 2002 Cashier: Tesco, Neasden each skill (“alleviated…by
rerouting and initiating”)
• Assisted in designing a questionnaire
• Analysed data using Excel
• Presentation to regional marketing managers
Less detail for
Summer 2000 Check Out Operator: Tesco, Fulham less recent / less
relevant jobs
• Developed numeric skills and customer awareness
• Organised weekend work rotas
• Responsible for training new weekend staff
Dates easy to see
(reverse chronological order)

4. 8
Example 2: Chronological CV (Traditional)
If you have a lot of work experience you can split it
Relevant Employment up into „Relevant‟ and „Additional‟ experience
March - May 2000 and May - June 2001:
Birkbeck College, London University
 Research Assistant on the „Works of Robert Boyle and Correspondence of Robert Boyle‟
 Proof correction and manuscript work, editing skills
September 2000 - May 2001 and September 2001 – present:
Queen Mary College, London University
 Teaching Assistant and seminar leader on first year Shakespeare course.
 Educational and communication skills including report writing; presentation and negotiation
Additional Employment
July - August 1996 and 1997:
KPMG Management Consulting
 Associate Researcher
 Conducting surveys, editing and compiling reports, IT, networking, professional and
communication skills with a wide range of clients
Example 3: Skills – Based CV Brief outline of duties (relate to duties in the job you‟re
applying for) – Skills come later in the skills profile
Work Experience
2002 – 2003 Sandwich Placement at John‟s Consulting Engineers, Exeter
Duties included: Project management; strategic planning in a client –
focused environment
1999 – 2000 Gap year: Adventure Planner at Brighams Adventure Holidays
Duties included: Organising and managing water-based adventure
holidays for school aged children
1997 – 1999 Sales Assistant, Homestyle, Maidstone
(Vacations) Duties included: Retail sales and customer care Mixture
of bullet
1995 – 1997 Various holiday jobs including: points
and text
 Child – care
 Holiday camp entertainer
 Teaching assistant
For more examples refer to sample CVs (page 11)