How to Write a Good CV

So, you’ve seen a job you want to apply for? What next? Send over a copy of your CV. Not necessarily! Things are changing now we’re heading into Summer of 2023. But not in a ‘mysterious unable to understand’ way – CVs are turning digital.

You’re probably thinking, “but I haven’t printed a CV out for years”, but the reality is, many job sites have changed their application processes. CVs, also known as Curriculum Vitae, have been broken down into simple online forms by many job sites. For instance, on LinkedIn, there’s an upload CV button and usually some questions – set by the employer.

But some sites are breaking the process down even further. A pulled-apart version of your CV, where you fill out sections yourself. They usually include a similar format to a CV – so it is still important to create what is essentially a ‘Master CV’.  Creating a go-to CV that you can change depending on the job you’re applying to.

Having a CV where you can extract info with ease is an efficient way of working to adapt to the differentiating job applications. CVs are summaries of your work experience and skill sets that will help land your new position. They include details on you, broken down into sections. Here’s a checklist of what you should include in your CV.

 

• Personal Details
• Education
• Employment History
• Activities and Interests

What to include under ‘Personal Details’ CV section

 

Within the personal details section, you’ll need to include some sort of contact information like a phone number and email address. Including your home address in your CV is less important, but there’s no harm in including it.

What to write for your Personal Summary

 

This section should give a brief overview of your recent experience and objectives, in no more than 150 words. Describe your experience and skillset to prove straight away that you’d fit that role. Recruiters and hiring managers will scan a CV and decide if it’s charming enough very quickly.

 

 

What to include under ‘Employment History’ CV section

 

Like the ‘Education’ part of the CV, the ‘Employment History’ should include where you’ve worked with timeframes of employment. List your employment history in order from your most recent/current position. Employers want to see your last position and decide if your work experience in general is related to the position you’re applying for.

For your master CV, you should go into a lot of detail about your experience. However, try to avoid creating a job spec where you just list your responsibilities. Instead, set your digital CV apart by showing how your role impacted the business. You can do this by including KPIs, facts or figures and even an example of work (or link to portfolio).

To go further and improve your digital CV, listing the experience with examples of how you overcame problems and improved your skillset is a great thing to include! Especially if you’ve got little work experience.

Once you have this, you can then use the job advert to cherry-pick the responsibilities that align with the role. This will then create a perfectly tailored CV that shows how you will add value to their team.

What to write for ‘Education’ in a CV

 

If you’re stuck on what to write in the ‘Education’ section, we’ve got you! Add something to summarise your education with where you’ve studied and the grades you received.

If you have specific qualifications that are relevant for the position you’re applying to, include them.

Recruiter CV Tip: Help reduce the unconscious bias from the reader by not including the dates that you obtained any qualifications. However, if an expiration date is mentioned do include this.

What to include under ‘Activities and Interests’ CV section

 

Are you struggling to come up with hobbies and interests for your CV? Don’t stress it! Almost anything can be considered an activity/interest. Have you got a regular activity you take part in?

Something as simple as going to the gym can be added, as it shows commitment, motivation, patience, habit forming, goal setting, dedication and more! It doesn’t have to be exercise-related, another suggestion could be if you enjoy cooking and learning new meals. Cooking teaches you lots of transferable skills such as budgeting, planning, creative thinking, and research to name a few!

How To Apply for a Job with Employal

 

When you apply for a job with Employal, you need to upload a CV file alongside a cover letter/message which will be sent to the employer. So, it’s worth having a CV as you can still use it to upload straight to a job application. You can use the ‘master CV’ when applying for a job that asks for each section to be filled in. You can save time if you follow the steps above and write your CV to include each key section – mentioned above. This way, you can extract the details from sections you need and just copy + paste them straight in.

We also help you with your CVs and improve them, where we can. CVs are an integral part of the recruitment process, so it’s important to get them perfected. Here are some do’s and don’ts from Jen on how to create a CV:

 

Don’ts

• Don’t upload the wrong file (we’ve received recipes, receipts, tax files and more)
• Don’t send a CV filled with spelling errors (it comes across as rushed)
• Don’t give the wrong contact details (being unable to contact an amazing candidate is the worst!) 
• Don’t miss out months (2019-2020 could mean Dec-Jan)
• Don’t chronologically order your experience (start with the most recent and work back) 
• Don’t list similar temp jobs individually (It’s better to bunch them under one period and set of experience)
• Don’t include personal info like your ethnicity/age (recruiters need a blank slate CV with no unconscious biases)

 

Do’s

• Do use a professional email address (no nicknames/characters)
• Do include real hobbies and interests you have/had
• Do tailor it for the role you wish to secure
• Look for jobs on TikTok
• Look for interview tips on social media

And remember, it’s always good to have another pair of eyes to look over it. When you use a recruiter, we always look over your CV and help you to improve it if needed. Even if it means asking a friend or family member to read over it – they may spot something you didn’t.

It’s not magic it’s Employal! And perfecting your CV is a skill, it takes time to perfect and dust off. Writing one is something you need to learn, it doesn’t come naturally, so thank yourself for taking the time to read through and pick up tips that could bag you your dream role!

Now to put that CV into action – check out our most recent jobs.