How to get a well written CV and become epic

You tend to only think about your Curriculum Vitae (CV) when you’re looking for a job. It is important in those circumstances, but it needs to live and breathe between roles and ensure that it is continually updated.

The term ‘curriculum vitae’ is Latin for ‘the story of your life’, so your CV, or resumé, should be a fundamental document in your professional arsenal. When applying for work, it could be the difference between your life going one way or another.

Why a Well Written CV is Important

When applying for a job, whether it’s your first one, a completely new one or a promotion within the same organisation, your CV is the first chance you have to make a good impression. It’s can be the thing that sets you apart from the others to the recruiter, based purely on the words on the page they have in front of them. The importance of a well-written CV cannot be underestimated.

You are the best candidate for any job that you want. We are sure you believe that and if you don’t, you should start thinking that way. Your CV needs to reflect that by showing your skills, your personality, your experience and everything you can bring to the table. It’s going to be the difference between it landing on the ‘interview’ pile and ‘thanks-but-no-thanks’ pile. 

What Makes a Good CV?

Before beginning to craft your perfect CV, the first thing you’ll need to do is think about the format. It needs to stand out from the rest, even before it’s been read by anyone, so how it’s laid out needs to be considered. There are plenty of CV templates online that you can download, often for free, which you can then adapt to suit your needs. Think about what are the standout features of your CV. Pick a few of those and make sure they are going to attract your prospective employer.

A CV also needs to be adaptive. Your CV should also change for each job you apply for. We are not talking about a wholesale rewrite every time, but different jobs will need different skills and experience, so you should be willing to alter your CV slightly so that the specifics they are looking for are brought to the forefront each time you apply for a role.

CVs don’t require a photo so don’t add one. They also don’t need to be full of colour or fancy fonts. They just need to be kept simple and informative. You can stand out in black and white by the way you write about yourself.

Personal Details

Naturally, everyone is different so every CV is going to be different too. There are some aspects of any resumé that will need to be included. Any good CV will need to include some personal details; name, the area you live, and some basic contact details (phone number and email address).

Things like making sure your email address isn’t the one you’ve had since you were a teenager – for example, super_hot_cool_dude@hotmail isn’t going to look great when you’re in your 30s, however true it might be, keep it professional.

Skills and Experience:

Naturally you need to include your qualifications and this should be the first thing that grabs the recruiter’s attention. Then your job history and expertise, this section should be adaptive.

Starting with your most recent role and working backwards in time, detailing your skills, experience, and responsibilities. Employers will be interested in your latest accomplishments. Make sure there are no timescales unaccounted for. Had a gap year? add it in along with a brief but effective reason why.

Personal Summary:

It’s an option for many, but consider adding a personal summary; think of it as a brief profile of yourself.

“I’m a confident graduate who is excited to learn new things. With great organisational and time keeping skills along with strong IT talent. I’m now looking for my next challenge.”

It’s a great way of getting across your personality and hooking the recruiter to keep reading. When it all comes down to it, YOU are going to be the reason why you get the job so make sure you stand out.

Give yourself every possible chance to stay in the game and create a CV that reflects you in the best light possible.

Would you like any help or support with finding a Graduate role? Please do contact us and check out our LinkedIn for up-to-date job posts.