Your CV is often the first impression a potential employer will have of you and therefore is your “ticket to the interview”. Your CV needs to stand out from the crowd for the right reasons and needs to contain as much relevant information on your career, educational history and achievements as possible. When writing your CV put yourself in an employer’s shoes. What would you expect to see from a CV for the role/s you are applying for?

Basic Layout:

• Personal Details – Name, Address, Contact Number, Email Address
  
  
• Work Experience – Including dates (months & years), job title, roles & responsibilities and achievements.
  
  
• Education Details – Including Dates, name of school or college, qualification.
  
  
• Hobbies & Interests – Keep this brief and to the point and ensure that you are writing true hobbies and interests as you can be questioned on this.
  
  
• References – a minimum of 2 references should be provided with Name, Title, Company and Contact numbers

Information should be in reverse chronological order

Your most recent experience is in most cases the most relevant experience to the position for which you are applying. For similar reasons your education should be placed in reverse order.

Keep it single-sided

Contrary to popular belief it is not advisable to try and cram all your experience onto one page. Your CV should be well spaced and visually appealing and therefore if it runs to 2 or 3 pages that is fine once the information is relevant. If you are posting your CV as a hard copy to apply for roles ensure that it is single sided.

Use bullet points

Try not to have more than 2-3 lines of text at one time as this makes your CV harder to read. Use words that highlight your specific skills, responsibilities and experience. Use bullet points for responsibilities and achievements so that the most important information will jump of the page at a glance.

NEVER lie

Changing dates or hiding jobs and periods of unemployment are the biggest mistakes you can make.

If your prospective employer discovers this it will make you look as if you have something to hide. It’s better to be truthful and straight up front and offer explanations for gaps or short employment periods at interview stage.

Give Examples

Give specific, quantifiable examples of your own experience and achievements wherever possible. Use "I" when focusing on specific areas of responsibility you hold.

Sell Yourself

As mentioned before your CV is the ticket to the interview so you have to sell yourself in this document. Many employers are inundated with large volumes of applications and do not have the time to sift through each one to try and find the relevant skills and experience they are looking for. Keep your information concise and to the point highlighting relevant skills and achievements that you feel a prospective employer will be looking for.

Personal details

• Full name
• Address
• Phone
• Fax
• E-mail
• Date of birth  

Work Experience

Starting with the most recent/most relevant first include:

Start and Finish Date, Company, Location, Job Title
Brief Description of responsibilities and achievements using bullet points
If the company is not well known it would be advisable to ad a short description of the company and what they do.

Example

May 04-Present: Frocks Boutique, Dublin 2

Position: Store Manager

Frocks Boutique is a High End Ladies Fashion Boutique specializing in eveningwear and luxury accessories.

Responsibilities:

• Day to day running of this 2,000sq ft store
• Management and Training of a team of 5 sales consultants
• Responsibility
• Responsibility
• Responsibility

Achievements:

• Increased turnover of the store by 30%.
• Implemented a successful training programme for new staff members.

Education Details

Starting with the most recent include:

• Start and Finish Date, Name of Institution, Course and Qualification received.
• With Junior and Leaving Cert results do not list all your subjects.
• Include part-time or ongoing study.

Example

Sept 96-June 99: Dublin Fashion School.
Course: Fashion Buying and Merchandising.
Qualification: 1st Class Honours Degree.

Skills

Highlight specific skills, knowledge or attributes starting with most impressive/most relevant to the particular job application.
Include others that may not be directly related to illustrate a range of abilities.
Include any work related training courses.

Hobbies and interests

Use this section to show that you have interests outside the job, an ability to function within a team or other interests that may tie in with the role you are applying for. Don’t embellish your hobbies as you may be asked to elaborate on them in interview.

References

Do not give a referee's name without asking them first. A minimum of 2 referees should be provided with Name, Title, Company and Contact numbers. The referees you choose should hold or have held a position of seniority to you in the company.