CV Presentation Top Tips

Your Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV) is as individual as you are, and I wouldn't change that for the world. But, a well-presented CV can really make a difference to you getting your dream job, so here are a few tips on presentation:

• Keep it clean - there is no need for fancy formatting, intricate tables or a sexy photograph. In fact, these things can confuse many ATS (Applicant Tracking System) software applications and make the CV unreadable. It can also make it difficult for a Recruiter to find the information that they are looking for, and cause them to regret you and move on. By all means make sure the presentation is clear and clean and looks professional, but leave out all the extras.

• Not too personal - there is also no need to include your date of birth, marital status, religious persuasion, full address, passport number etc. Instead, keep it to just the necessary information - general area in terms of address so that you are not contacted about roles that would not suit geographically; nationality only if it is relevant to the employer such as if you would require a work permit etc.

• Profile paragraph - this is where you highlight your 'best bits' in terms of how attractive you can be to an employer. Keep it professional, but do emphasise the traits that make you the right person for the organisation and highlight how many years' experience you have in relevant areas. Don't make it too long - a medium-sized paragraph is perfect. Think of it as an elevator pitch - this is where you market you.

• Professional experience - this comes next with education afterwards and it should always be listed in reverse order from your current role backwards. So, current role first with bullet points highlighting all of your biggest successes achieved and any benefits that they brought to the organisation. Then the role prior to that and onwards to your first role after graduation. Always bullet point the top achievements from your time in the role, experience gained there, and how your work benefited the employer. Look at the job spec also, and be sure that your relevant and relatable experience is visible.

• Education - include the specific degree qualification obtained, the awarding body or University attended and the year of graduation. If you are not long out of college, then use this to highlight modules completed, systems used and experience gained on projects and what that entailed. If longer out of college, then this can shrink as the work experience becomes far more important.

• Other qualifications - any other professional qualifications should be included, as they may be required in some roles or desirable for them, and may not always be listed on the Job Spec. Ideally, include the awarding body and year of award also.

• Other interests - it is always a good idea to include your personal interests on your CV. At interview, or when reviewing the CV, the employer may spot something that they also enjoy doing, or are interested in learning about, and use it as a settler question at the interview, so don't lie here. Make sure that when you put something on the CV that you actually have some experience of it. Otherwise, it might be a really awkward interview!

• Voluntary work - if you take time out of your busy schedule to volunteer with a charity or social organisation, then put this on the CV. Again, it will give a Recruiter a more rounded impression of you as a person, and a good impression at that.

• No red flags - if you take time out to travel, study or do something that is not directly related to your career, make sure to include it. Turn a potential red flag into a positive on the CV and an interesting talking point for interview.

• No typos - check it two or three times, run a spellcheck and ask someone else to have a look over it as well. There is nothing worse than typos on a professional CV, and nothing more annoying than spotting one after you have submitted it to a job.