Category Content - CV Advice

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Purpose of a CV

  • To introduce and present yourself in order to obtain an interview.
  • To display your skills, abilities and experience for a prospective employer.
  • To project your personality.
  • To prepare yourself to speak about your background and experience at interviews.

Key Elements of a good CV

  • Clear, concise, and positive, business-like language.
  • Attractive layout. Easy to read, leave sufficient 'white space', preferably using size 12 font.
  • Ideally two pages for Ireland and UK. Never more.
  • No spelling errors or typos. Use action words eg. 'Responsible for ...' rather than 'Minding...' and 'I developed...' rather than 'We did ...'.
  • Bullet points often work better than large paragraphs of text.
  • Use enthusiastic language in your CV to convey your interest to the employer.
  • Try to avoid using abbreviations, or overly technical language when writing your CV.
  • Apportion space in accordance with the importance of the information.
  • Be truthful in your CV

    • CV Headings

    Your CV should include:
    • Personal details
      Name, address, contact telephone number (landline and/or mobile), email address and date of birth (optional).
    • Career Objective (optional)
      It identifies what you are aiming for at this stage and what skills you have to offer in relation to your objective. Useful when confirming your interest in a particular job or employment sector.

    Education and Qualifications

    • Put your most recent qualification first.
    • Give the full title of your degree. Spell 'Bachelor' correctly! e.g. Bachelor of Business Studies not BBS or BESS.
    • Give the title of your project / thesis.
    • Show the time frame and structure of your degree
    • If you studied outside of Ireland indicate the qualification equivalence if possible.

    Employment History

    • Begin with the most recent job.
    • Employers are interested in any work experience whether immediately relevant or not.
    • Don't forget any vacation/voluntary work experience that you have.
    • Emphasise both what you have learned and how you have made a difference to your employer, key achievements for each job.

    Interests and Activities

    • Mention any positions of responsibility that you have held in societies/clubs in College or in any outside organisations. Emphasise any skills that you have gained, e.g. teamwork, leadership, organisational.

    Achievements

    • An achievement is any activity you have completed successfully so sell the range of these. This can be recreational or work related achievements

    Additional Information

    • If you are applying for a post where your skills/experience does not appear immediately relevant, add further information detailing how your personal qualities make you a suitable candidate for the job
    • Any other awards or qualifications not mentioned earlier

    Referees

    • Get permission before you use someone as a referee and include one academic referee. Include name, job title, address, email and telephone number.