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Tips for writing a CV

What is CV an abbreviation for?

CV is an abbreviation of ‘Curriculum Vitae’ which is Latin and means ‘the course of life’.

What is a CV?

Your own personal and flexible marketing tool
A record of your life and achievements

Why would you use a CV?

To inform potential employers of your achievements and qualities
To give you the opportunity to sell yourself
To email and/or upload via the internet
To help you to fill in an application form
To keep all your information in one place

A CV should:

Be relevant to the job you are applying for
Be easy to read and follow
Contain detailed and accurate information
Clearly show your work history and qualifications
Only contain truthful information that can be supported with evidence
Highlight the qualities and skills you have developed
Be one or two A4 sheets maximum wherever possible
Be up to date

A CV should not:

Contain irrelevant information
Have ‘CV’ written at the top of it
Include your date of birth
Be vague and lacking in detail
Contain any spelling mistakes, typing errors or poor grammar
Be dishonest
Include abbreviations and jargon, unless you are sure they are appropriate
Have unexplained gaps in your employment history

Things to remember

You should ideally adapt your CV to suit the vacancy you wish to apply for. For example, if the person specification is more concerned with relevant experience, you may want to emphasise any appropriate experience that you have by adding extra detail.