Topic: CV Basics (Samples Attached)

It's time to rewrite your CV.

What may feel like the world's most tedious task - puffing yourself up and bragging about your accomplishments on paper - doesn't have to be so painful. Just remember one thing: your CV needs to stand out.

Employers, especially those who have posted openings on large websites, may receive hundreds of CVs for a single position. You must express your qualifications for the desired job in a concise, clear and aesthetically appealing manner. Here are a few ways to get your CV to the top of the stack.

1. Organise your life
It's all about function versus chronology. In functional CVs, you group your skills into categories and then briefly list your past job titles at the bottom. This format is usually reserved for career changers who want to de-emphasise huge gaps of unemployment or a lack of direct experience. Recent graduates and others on a consistent career path usually opt for the chronological format. These CVs list your jobs (and duties for each) in reverse chronological order. If you're a typical graduate, we suggest the chronological format. Most employers expect to see that format and it best highlights your education and relevant work experience.


2. Categorise your achievements
When organising a chronological CV, you should outline sections of your experience, education, and skills to communicate what you have accomplished. HR representatives and employers (a.k.a. impatient executives who couldn't care less about your passionate interest in yodelling) may take less than a minute to scan your CV, so showcase and organise items into several concise and relevant segments. If you've just graduated from university and have not yet been employed, place your Education section first, directly below the letterhead. In addition to the basics - university name, degree and graduation date - you can include relevant coursework that applies to a desired position, academic honours or awards. If you skated through university with anything over a 2.2 feel free to put it on your CV. Other categories might include Relevant work experience, Volunteer experience, Computer skills, Publications, Activities and honours, Language skills and so on.

3. Make it look good
Along with effective organisation, appearance can make or break your CV. When creating a . CV, keep these points in mind:

· Fonts. Whether you email, fax, or post your CV to prospective employers, you should try to keep your font plain and easy to read. And select a reasonable size - anywhere between 9 and 12 points should be acceptable. We suggest using a sans serif font like Arial or Verdana, not Times New Roman. These will come out much more clearly in faxes.

· Formatting. Just because you have Microsoft Word and all of its formatting capabilities, your CV doesn't have to look like a Costa Brava holiday brochure. Myriad fonts, colours, and graphic embellishments don't really help, so use minimal and purposeful formatting. Simple bullets will best separate your duties and skills; use bolding and italics sparingly. Formatting should highlight your accomplishments, not draw attention away from them. Less, in this case, is definitely more.

· Paper. Even if you don't snail-mail your CV to employers, you should have hard copies on hand to bring to interviews. These copies should be on tasteful CV-quality paper. White, off-white, cream, and grey are the easiest to read. Just like your socks, your cover letters, mailing envelopes and CVs should all match.

4. Content
Now that you know how to organise your CV and what it should look like, you need to know what to put in it.

· Action words. When describing your prior job experience and duties, use active language. Instead of starting your sentence with a noun, start with an active, descriptive, impressive verb. For example: "Customer Service Representative. Assisted customers with product selection, trained and supervised 15 new employees, organised special promotional events."

· Numbers. That's right, we said numbers. Always include numbers, percentages, and amounts in your job descriptions to back up your achievements. How many people did you supervise? How much money did you raise? How many wild bears did you feed during your stint at the zoo? How much did sales increase under your direction? This approach immediately highlights the kind of impact you've made.

· Length. Keep it to one page. No one wants to scan through two or more pages of your long-winded accomplishments and experience. If it doesn't all fit - which it won't, unless you're a graduate with 15 years of professional experience - cut it down to the most relevant and impressive items. You should tailor your CV to match the job description, so be sure to cut and accordingly.

Now your CV should dance its way across the employer's desk, leaving the rest behind like a stack of graceless wallflowers. And if your skills match what an employer is looking for, you'll be snatched up for an interview. From there, it's up to you: show them you're as good as that pretty piece of paper says you are.

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[Culled from Guardian Jobs UK]

Thank you so much broda.

A friend of mine was asking for a current format of writing a CV. I just forwarded this to him.