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ASLIB RECRUITMENT: CV TIPS

Your CV is in effect your sales brochure, and will be the first impression a potential employer has of you. The CV must make the recruiter want to offer you an interview. It is in your interest to use it as a means of conveying your professionalism on paper and selling your relevant experience to a potential employer.

Your CV must convince the employer that you:

• Understand the job requirements
• Have the right skills and experience needed
• Are the perfect match for the job
• Must be interviewed.

The sections in a typical CV will cover:

• Personal details
• Experience and achievements
• Education
• Employment History
• Computer skills
• Training
• Leisure interests.

Layout is extremely important, your CV should be as user friendly as possible, easy to read, presentable and include a well-balanced account of your achievements during your working life, particularly those which demonstrate that you will enhance the employer's performance.

A profile at the top of your page will allow you the opportunity to emphasize unique selling points, outline your achievements, highlight what you can offer the employer and explain why you should get the job.

Education should be in Chronological order with dates, Employment history in reverse chronological order with dates including months. Most recent work experience should be more detailed. No gaps, as unexplained absences will always be queried. Avoid lengthy paragraphs of text, they are off-putting and many people simply don't read them.

Click here to view Interview Tips.