If you want to land a fantastic new job in 2019, you’ll need to write a CV that truly stands out from the crowd. This needs to show who you are, what you’re capable of and what you can bring to a new role.
It’s a lot of information to fit into a small amount of space, so it’s important to take care when writing a winning CV. In this article, we’ll explain how to write a CV in 2019, so you can kick-start a successful job search.
Decide what type of CV you need
Depending on your experience, the format of your CV may differ slightly. For example, if you’re a recent graduate, it’s unlikely that you’ll have much work experience, so your CV should focus more on what you learnt during your time in education.
Similarly, if you’re a more seasoned professional and are looking to change industries altogether, you’d focus less on your specific experience and more on your transferable skills.
If in doubt, have a look for CV templates online and find what fits for you. Usually, a generic format is fine, though the focus will shift slightly depending on where you’re at in your career.
Stick to a clear format
Before you start writing, it’s best to spec out your CV. Use headings so you can clearly see what information needs to go where. Alongside this, make sure that you use an easy to read font, such as Arial or Calibri in size 11 or 12 (depending on space). To help you out further, below is an overview of what information you need to include.
Name and contact details
Right at the top of your CV, include your name, email address and telephone number. While it used to be the norm to include your address on there too, this is no longer required. Simply put your town and county instead.
Within this section, you may also wish to put your current job title, for example, Joe Bloggs | PR Executive. Whatever you do, avoid including ‘CV’ or ‘Curriculum Vitae’ at the top of your document – this is unnecessary.
Personal profile
Underneath your name and contact details, you should include a personal profile. Some people call this a personal statement. Essentially, it’s a short overview of who you are, your experience so far and your career aspirations for your next role.
Note that this doesn’t need to be a life story. You need to keep it short and concise – no longer than four lines long. It needs to be attention-grabbing, as this is your first chance to make a great impression to the reader
An example may be something along the lines of, ‘Experienced PR professional with 2+ years’ experience in an agency environment. Looking for a new opportunity where I can apply my extensive copywriting and media interaction skills and develop my career.’
Experience
Next up is your experience section. Here, you can outline any previous work experience, internships, full or part-time jobs, in reverse chronological order. Just make sure that they’re relevant to the position you’re applying for now
When listing each position, state the company name, your job title and the dates you worked there. You then need to include a few bullet points for each role, outlining any relevant responsibilities you possessed or skills you gained
Alongside this, try to use facts and figures to bring your experience to life. This can make you stand out against other candidates and paint you in a positive light to potential employers. Phrases such as ‘produced 20 articles per week, with blog posts attracting 25% more traffic than the previous year’ can work wonders
If you have a wealth experience, you’ll need to be a little ruthless and cut out anything that’s no longer relevant. Remember, you need to keep your CV as concise as possible.
Education and qualifications
Similar to your experience section, you should write your education and qualifications in reverse chronological order. Include the names of the school/college/university you attended, the dates you were there and the grades you achieved
If you’d prefer not to specify the grades, or if you want to save space, you could choose to summarise the results with something like ‘9 GCSEs grades A-C’.
Alongside this, you might want to include any key highlights from your time in education. For example, if you have a degree, you could include some of the core modules you studied that are relevant to the position you’re applying to.
Closing your CV
If you’re just starting out in your career, you may wish to include a hobbies and interests section at the bottom of your CV. If not, then you should close your CV by saying ‘References available upon request’.
Don’t go overboard
Your CV shouldn’t go over two A4 sides, so don’t include pages of waffle in a bid to try and make a great impression. It’s better to keep it short, simple and to the point – you can go into more detail on your cover letter.
Write a great CV in 2019
Hopefully, the above advice should help you to get started with writing your CV. Remember, you need to tailor your CV to every different job you apply for – highlighting any key skills and experience that matches those outlined in the job advert
