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Our CV template and guidance will help you create a professional CV for prospective employers. Our step by step guidance below will let you know what employers are looking for and what to include in different parts of a CV. You should avoid making a ‘one size fits all’ CV rather tailor your CV each time you apply for a role.
Our Newham Work top tip: There is no need to title the document ‘CV’ or ‘Curriculum Vitae.’ The employer is fully aware of what this document is.
Our Newham Work top tip: Avoid using overused words and phrases such as ‘I am a hardworking individual’ rather showcase to the employer how you will be a great fit for the company and its values.
Summary: This part of the CV allows you to show the employer your skill set and professional capabilities. You should try and outline both hard and soft skills.
Note: Hard skills are industry specific and soft skills are transferable.
Hard skills: Coding ability, Foreign languages, Machine operation.
Soft Skills: Leadership, Team Working, Time Management.
Examples of skills include:
Communication: This can be both written and verbal.
Problem solving: Able to analyse data to come to an informed conclusion.
Teamwork: Building positive working relations with others as well as being able to delegate/supervise team members.
Our Newham Work top tip: List employers in chronological order with the most recent employer at the top. Outline what your responsibilities were and any highlights which you want to bring to the employers attention. It is also worthwhile mentioning any volunteering which you may have done in the event that you do not have any previous employment history.
Our Newham Work top tip: In the same way you have listed your previous employers, your education history should be in chronological order with the most recent on top. You can also provide more granular detail such as providing module grades to highlight knowledge on a specific area which may relate to the role you are applying for.
Summary: In this part of the CV, you should outline individuals such as previous employers, teachers etc. who can provide you with a reference. A reference is essentially someone who vouches for your skills and performance. It is also fine to state that references are available upon request.
Our Newham Work top tip: Always make sure you have credible references.
Did you know, you can instantly refresh and revive your CV by choosing a different font style? For example Calibri gives letters a softer appearance, while Arial can make letters appear bolder. Times New Roman on the other hand, can look a little dated. Try changing the font of your content and see the difference it makes to the overall look of your CV.
Calibri gives letters a softer appearance…
Arial can make letters appear bolder…
Times New Roman on the other hand, can look a little dated…
Try changing the font of your content and see the difference it makes to the overall look of your CV.
Use font 12 to allow ease of reading. If you find you are reducing the font size to 11, 10 or even 9 in order to squeeze in lots of information, it’s time to look again at editing the content.
Check for the overall look of your CV. Too much space around your name and between paragraphs could be used well by filling the page with effective meaningful content.
The use of bold is effective to highlight information such as headings. Though avoid too many feature such as italics, brackets, coloured lines and shadow effects to separate paragraphs. This simply distracts from what your overall message is trying to achieve.
An effective CV should have all your best features immediately available. That’s within seconds of the recruiter setting eyes on it. Two pages should be enough. Keep the focus on relatively recent activities; and while you may be tempted to write about every job you have ever had, what you did a decade ago might not be so relevant now. Don’t worry though, a covering letter is useful if you want to describe any additional experiences in more detail that you have left off your CV.