A good curriculum vitae CV is the key to landing an interview for your dream job. This is likely to be the first point of contact that a potential employer will have with you. For this reason it is crucial that your CV is not only great but meets a potential employer’s expectation for an employee. In this blog we will describe do’s and don’ts of a CV and a proposed layout. Let’s get started!

Firstly some Do’s and Don’ts

• Do tailor your CV to the job that you are applying for
• Do keep your CV to 2 pages - if you have had a lot of experience 2 and a half is acceptable
• Do a rough draft and always ask others to look over it , check for spelling and grammar mistakes
• Do keep the most important information on the first page – (e.g.) Education, Work Experience, Contact information
• Do use key words shown in the job advertisement
• Do fill in the gaps in your work history- traveling, etc.
• Do use a title heading and then display the information below it
• Do display skills and attributes to show that you will fit in with the company ethos

• Do not lie on your CV!
• Do not fill your CV up with unnecessary information. (e.g.) Height, Weight, Place of Birth
• Do not over complicate the layout, Keep it clear, simple and precise
•  Do not get creative with the layout – keep it to black colour text, standard font size & font design (times new roman) display the information in an easy to see format- bullet points, paragraphs and headings. The content of the CV is more important than the layout this is not to say that the layout is not important.

The CV

Start with personal information

• Name & address
• DOB, Nationality, Marital status & race- not important
• Photo-not necessary unless the job requires it
• Contact information –email, phone number
• Mobile number is enough- Ensure you have a voicemail set up

Brief profile description

Written in the third person, what you have done in the past, what you want to do next, keep it simple and specific and use key words used in the advertisement, does it fit in with the company ethos? Remember you are competing with many other candidates.

Work Experience

From the newest to oldest, include the employer name, the company name & address, your position and the duties, dates of employment start to end date, include any achievements, company targets, team goals that you achieved, problems you solved. Again use key words from the advertisement.

Education

Junior cert/GCSE results –include them only if you have little work experience and no college degree, otherwise they are not needed. The same somewhat applies to A Levels/Leaving Certificate results- include extended results and subjects if you have little experience.

Use a brief overview of your results if you have a college degree or a good work experience history. (e.g) Leaving Certificate 450 points.

Skills & Qualifications

Use key words from the advertisement here to answer the questions the employer is asking. Highlight specific skills and qualifications starting with the most relevant to the particular job application. This also involves career goals achieved, positions held and a summary of your expertise and evidence of your achievements.

Hobbies, Interests & other skills

This includes your interests and other skills you have attained. (Committee memberships, intern experiences, relevant volunteer work)

References

Name, number, position and address (you MUST ask this person can you place this information on your CV) you can state here that a reference is available on request

We hope these do’s and don’ts and the CV layout will help you create a great CV. Good luck in your job search! Visit http://www.jobcoconut.com/ for the latest updates on Jobs in Europe.