What should you include in your CV?
Did you know… the average employer will look at your CV for only 9 seconds. Crazy right?!
Stripping your CV back to only facts & insightful information relating directly to your dream career, will have the most positive impact on your job search to date.
Now, let’s delve into the necessary (and not-so necessary) information to include in your CV…
1. Personal Statement
Your Personal Statement should sit at the top of your CV. (Please refer to our blog post How to Write a Fantastic Personal Statement, to gather some tips & tricks regarding this highly important section of your CV).
We would like to reiterate that these 3 – 4 lines of writing will be the determining factor as to whether a prospective employer feels captivated enough to read on to the bulk of your CV.
We strongly advise that you do not rush this process – take your time and get it right!
2. Contact Information
No.1 Rule: There is simply no use in applying for a job if the employer cannot contact you! Relevant information to include:
- Full Name
- Contact Number
- Email Address
- Home Address
- LinkedIn Details
With life changes, this is a section can quickly out-date. Regularly check that personal information is updated, to avoid missing out on fantastic opportunities – you would be surprised how many people do not!
3. Work Experience
Any experience listed on your CV (professional or educational) should be written in reverse chronological order – Most recent first. This section should include:
- Job Title
- Company Name
- Employment Dates
- Key Responsibilities
When listing Key Responsibilities under each Job Title, be sure to emphasise your accomplishments & achievements within the role. If you can, also use quantifiable metrics to demonstrate the positive impact that your duties had on the company, e.g. “During my time at this Company, I drove sales up by 20%.”
4. Education
As with Work Experience, list your educational experience with most recent at the top.
If you have studied at University, include:
- Degree(s) earned (e.g., Bachelor of Arts)
- Field of study
- Name of Institution
- Location (City/Country)
- Graduation date (month and year)
If you have not attended University, list A Level/GCSEs in a similar format to above. Be sure to include name of Institution, grades achieved, & dates.
Due to limited space on a CV, the detail you go into regarding your educational background is up to you. For example, you may only wish to include GCSE qualifications which relate to your desired role, e.g. Maths, Science, English and date / school attended.
5. Skills
There are a broad range of Skills that you might want to include on a CV…
They can be Hard Skills – which refer to Technical Experience, Tools/Software, Bilingual, Professionally Certified in XYZ, etc.
Or Soft Skills – which may include Excellent Communication, Leadership, Teamwork, Problem-solving, etc.
Whilst crafting this section of your CV, keep your target audience at the forefront of your mind. The skills that you include should be, in some capacity, relevant to the role you are applying for.
The best advice we can give is to always be honest – only list skills that truly resonate with YOU as a potential employee.
6. Hobbies & Interests / Volunteering work
Remember, your CV is about YOU – the way that this document will come to life, is by allowing your personality to shine through!
As individuals we all have various ways of expressing ourselves & spending our free time outside of work.
When working on this section, try to consider the transferrable skills you have picked up from your hobbies. How might these skills positively impact your performance in the workplace? – this could come up at Interview Stage.