Writing the Perfect CV

Probably the least appealing thing to happen regarding my redundancy is having to write a new CV. I hadn't touched it for about four years and the thought of having to distill my life's experience onto a couple of pages just fills me with dread. Surely it's the most depressing thing imaginable to see over 20 years of your life laid bare for some stranger to pick holes in. Anyway, needs must and the deed has been done. I'll give a short description of it's content and layout below in case it may be of use to someone in the future.

There are a multitude of sites that claim to tell you exactly how to write a CV and even more who'll do it for you for a fee, guaranteeing that prospective employers will beat your door down to employ you. Bollocks to that, it's mostly common sense and as every one's circumstances are different I would advise against a cookie cutter approach to it's layout and content.

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Due to my age it's obvious that experience and skills are going to be the cornerstone of my CV. Education is now of little importance apart from my Degree so a couple of lines is all I need to list the required information.

I start with my name in large bold type centred across the top of the page. Then 2 text boxes with my contact details, address, phone, e-mail etc along with some basic personal information such as date of birth, nationality, driving licence etc.

Next up I give a short executive summary of me... "A highly experienced, Degree qualified, Mechanical Design Engineer with proven record at all levels of Engineering particularly in ......" You get the idea. Remember, managers are so "important" (in their own minds) they'll fall asleep if forced to read more than 3 or 4 lines of text so try and summarise the entire CV into these few sentences, they're are probably the most important part of the entire CV in my opinion.

Now I have a Skills Summary heading and list, in more detail my key skills. Things like software you use, industry sectors you have experience in, proven abilities (at interview you'll need to back up these claims with examples etc) details of products I've developed etc.

As mentioned previously I then list my qualifications the key one of which is my Degree (as this surpasses all other qualifications). I do though list my lesser qualifications (HNC, ONC, A and O levels) but don't go into much detail if any about grades and dates etc.

To complete the first page I have a heading for references but say only that they are available on request. Get an interview first before worrying about references. Also, another reason for leaving references contact details off is so you can tailor the reference contacts you give for the particular job you're going for. In the footer of the page I have my name and the words Curriculum Vitae in small letters.

The second page lists my past and present employment details. Start with your current or most recent employment. Give the company name, dates employed and job title held. In my case I was promoted to more senior positions twice within my employment so list these promotions, dates and job title changes. I give a brief overview of the company and then go into detail of my main duties, customers I've completed projects for, design awards (yes I have one) and patents (I have 4 design patents), key skills developed and what you brought to the party. Don't bullshit as you need to back this up at interview where you'll be asked in more detail about things listed here.

Finally I list my past employment details (only list relevant jobs though, by this stage being a paperboy after school is of no interest to anybody). If the job you're applying for has necessary experience which you touched on in previous jobs then you'll want to highlight that.

And that's it really. I like to customise my CV depending on the job I'm applying for as it's difficult to get one that fits all possible jobs you could apply for. You can also use the covering letter to direct the reader to specific areas that may be of use for that particular job. Wish me luck.

Category:

• Redundancy
• CV