Whether or not a CV writing template is of any value in helping you to write the best CV will depend entirely upon the quality of the template.  That may sound obvious, but most of the free (and many of the ‘paid for’) templates I have seen are really worse than useless.

They are frequently based upon a table format with section headings on the left.  This has the effect of pushing all of the information onto the right hand side of the page, which makes it look unbalanced.  This type of template offers no help at all with creation of suitable content and gives an unattractive presentation.  Rather than use this type of template you would be much better following the advice on my website here http://www.cv-consultancy.co.uk/cv-formats/ on how to format a CV.  (more…)

A CV is not a kind of shortened autobiography.  It is a marketing document for use in a very competitive market place.  What you need to do is to demonstrate in your CV is reasons why the prospective employer should consider you as a preferred candidate for the job on offer.

In order to do this, you will need to capture their interest from the outset, so that they will want to read on to find out more about you.  Remember that the only knowledge that the reader has of you is what you are telling them in your CV and you cannot assume any prior knowledge.  This means that you need to strike a balance between too much detail and enough information so that the reader can understand who you are and what you have to offer.

The first thing you need to do is to introduce yourself to set the context within which the rest of the CV should be read.  The best way to do this is with a profile which includes an overview of  information about the sectors you have worked in and the skills you have developed.

Don’t include detailed information and make sure that the information you do include is relevant to the application you are making.  For example, there is no need to include particulars of primary education.  If you are graduate then you probably don’t even need to include ‘A’ levels.

It is important to prioritise your information.  As your career progresses your experience will become more relevant than your education, so always make sure that the most important , career related information comes first.

Personal information should go at the bottom of page 2, if it is included at all.  These days I never include date of birth or marital status, but I do put in a section which I call ‘OTHER INFORMATION’ where I put in such things as Nationality, Driving (if relevant), languages and interests.

So when writing a CV remember that a CV is not an autobiography – it does not need to include full details of everything you have ever done.  The trick is in identifying your target market and making sure that your CV demonstrates that you have the qualities that the prospective employer will be looking for.

© This article is copyright The CV Consultancy 2010.  You have permission to reproduce this article or forward it to others, provided that the permission granted by The CV Consultancy is acknowledged and all links remain intact.

I believe that psychometric testing or personality profiling is great in its proper place. It is a very useful tool for employers to be able to assess how a candidate will fit in with their team, and from your point of view it is very useful to be able to find out what the test will say about you. That is why we have included information about psychometric testing on our Website.

I do think, however, that it’s a bit like carrots which are jolly good for you, but even the best of things can be bad if taken to excess. I’m not at all sure that the personality profile can really tell you anything about yourself that you didn’t know already. (more…)

The shortened form ‘CV’, stands for ‘Curriculum Vitae’ but whoever first applied this name can have had no idea of how the modern CV would evolve.

According to my Chambers Dictionary ‘Curriculum Vitae’ means ‘[a biographical sketch of] the course of one’s life’. Yet, whilst a type of potted autobiography may have been appropriate in the 1980s, CVs have come a very long way since then.  The American form ‘Resumé’ has become really more descriptive of what is now required.    (more…)

Every CV should be regarded as a marketing document for use in a very competitive market place.  The only function of a CV is to deliver information, usually to a prospective employer in support of a job application.  It is your first point of contact with a new employer who knows nothing about you apart from what they can read and understand from the document you are submitting. (more…)

Looking for a new job is not dissimilar to looking for a life’s partner. You’ll only be able to handle one, so it’s important that it should be the right one for you.

If you are to be successful, it is very important to adopt a positive approach to every aspect of your job search.  Remember that your CV is the most important tool to introduce you to prospective employers, and it will need to establish what you have to offer.  Your CV needs to be accurate and truthful, and presented in a user friendly format. It is not an autobiography so don’t include too much detail, stick to what is relevant to the job application.  (more…)

The simple answer to this is that it depends entirely upon the service you choose.

At its best, a professional CV writing service can help you to achieve a dramatic difference to your future career prospects. However, there are loads of so call professionals who provide a service that is worse than useless.

As you will have discovered, not all CV writing services are equal.  There is no doubt that it appears to be a really difficult and daunting task to tell the difference.  But does it really need to be?

Here are some common sense tips that should help you to choose:  (more…)

A free CV assessment can be a really valuable way of getting guidance on the quality of your own CV writing.  At its best it will give you an overview from an experienced CV Writer with tips as to how your CV could be improved.  At its worst you will get very little help or guidance but your application will give rise to a pushy sales call from an unscrupuous organisation, and unfortunately there are all too many of those around.

Still, it’s a free service and if you get an unwanted sales call you simply need to recognise it for what it is.  Just remember that these are probably entrepreneurs, using CV writing as a vehicle for making money.  (more…)

To be logical – how could you possibly expect to get a good job by using a bad CV?

I should be used to it by now, but still it never ceases to surprise me that people don’t understand how important a good CV is in giving them a chance of success in today’s competitive jobs market. The information given in your CV it is all a prospective employer can possibly can know of you in the first instance. It is the first point of contact with a prospective employer or recruiter. They don’t know you, or what you have to offer – and if your CV doesn’t tell them in a way that they can understand, they will never find out. (more…)

The most important point when creating any document is to remember the purpose for which it is intended. This is especially true when writing a CV. It is not enough that you should be happy with your CV, it is the prospective employer who counts. (more…)