CV Advice
Completing a CV and attending interviews is not something many of us do very often. Successful people tend to stay in each role for some years. So, at the risk of 'teaching grandmother to suck eggs' we thought you might still appreciate seeing some of our thoughts on successful CVs and interview techniques. Alternatively, if you are looking to recruit, you can check out our tips for successful interviewing!
CV writing
There is no right or wrong way of writing a CV, though everyone you speak to will give you a different view as to what it should contain and how it should look. Even the most senior executive doesn’t always get it right.
Apart from the usual contact details, in our judgement, a good CV should include the following (the list is not exhaustive):
- A well written summary statement that will encourage the reader to read on
- Achievement statements that contain ‘active’ rather than ‘passive’ words and phrases. Describe clearly and concisely, what you have achieved rather than what you are responsible for
1. Challenge - highlight the circumstances that surrounded the achievement
2. Action – how you executed the achievement, what you did etc
3. Result – the impact of your action, including key deliverables
- Education & Qualifications. Consider how much emphasis these should have in your CV. If they were gained some time ago and are not relevant to the role you are considering, then only provide brief details towards the end of your CV. Your experience may now be much more important
- Career history. Detail your career in chronological order, ensuring that any period missing is explained. Do not be tempted to list every job that you have had – focus on the most recent and relevant and then if appropriate, capture the rest in a statement at the end
- Languages. Your language skills could be particularly relevant for global organisations. State whether you offer both written and oral fluency
- Membership of Professional Institutions. Memberships which have required study and examination are much more significant than those that are simply gained for a membership fee
- State your present and/or anticipated package details
Check and recheck spelling. Remember spell checks will not pick up incorrectly used words which nevertheless are correctly spelt e.g. words such as there and their.
