5 Essential CV Writing Rules Infographic

5 Essential CV Writing Rules Infographic

Writing a CV can be tough, so it pays to know exactly what recruiters and employers expect from candidates. Here are our 5 essential CV writing rules to ensure your CV makes a winning impression and carries you through to interview stage.

1. Give your CV a narrow focus

The number one rule of CV writing is to target your CV specifically towards one industry or role type. Trying to impress everyone with a broad CV will weaken the appeal of your CV to your target employers.

• Target a specific role type with your CV
• Research the role requirements thoroughly
• Only include highly relevant skills and knowledge

2. Make an instant impact

With recruiters often receiving hundreds of applications for every job vacancy, you have to ensure that your CV grabs their attention quickly.

• Head your CV up with a punchy profile
• Use bullet pointed Core Skills list to give recruiters a snapshot of your offerings
• Tailor your CV to the jobs you are applying for

3. Be flawless

In today’s job market, it’s not enough to have an OK CV, you need to have an exceptional CV if you want secure the job interviews you want. Just one mistake can cause recruiters to doubt your credibility.

• Use professional language throughout your CV
• Triple check your CV for spelling and grammar mistakes
• Don’t use a nickname email address

4. Prove your value

Employers love to see the return on in investment they can expect to see from a candidate, so show them directly with your CV.

• Add key achievements to demonstrate your impact on employers
• Use plenty of facts and figures to quantify your value

5. Make reading easy

Making your CV easy to read will keep readers happy and allow them to quickly pick out the information they need.

• Use a clean and simple font
• Avoid using big chunks of text
• Use bullet points in your roles