1. Presentation and formatting is key
    1. Choose a clear and legible font (e.g. Times New Roman, Arial, Georgia, Calibri) and stick to 1-2 pages in length
    2. Avoid including a photo of yourself, as it isn’t necessary
    3. Avoid the Europass CV template, which is hard to follow.
  2. Your CV should be a snapshot of who you are and what you have done
    1. Avoid lengthy text and paragraphs - if you move through to the interview stage that is where you build upon/can share your experience.
  3. Use metrics and power action verbs
    1. Rather than just outlining what your responsibility was, make sure to include what you actually accomplished and the impact you had (more details on this later)Don’t forget to include your contact details!
    2. Recruiters typically read CVs quickly, so it’s important your details are clear and at the top of your CV.
  4. Address a gap in employment history
    1. Many of us will have had a gap in our employment history, eg. a career break, personal travel, charity work, personal development etc, and it should be included in your CV
    2. Whilst you don’t need to go into specifics, it’s important to explain why there is a gap.

How to structure your CV

  1. Start with your name and contact information, including your email address and best daytime telephone number as minimum. You do not have to include your full address, but can if you wish.
  2. Include a two-three line personal statement or summary, giving a concise overview of your experience and career goals. This brief overview will provide recruiters with a high level understanding of your experience and what type of roles would be of interest. Try to personalise this summary to specific job applications.
  3. Share your work experience, starting with the most recent role at the top (i.e. have your most recent role at Deliveroo first, and go in reverse chronological order from there).
  4. Highlight the work you’ve done and the impact you’ve made in bullet points under each job. This is far easier to read and concise compared to a block of text. Include what you were responsible for and your relevant achievements. If you do not have much experience, eg. for being new to your role or early in your career - that’s okay! Include any potentially relevant experience including volunteer work, courses you’ve taken, side projects or initiatives, other ways you’re involved in the community/industry, etc. Pick experiences that demonstrate your work ethic, passions, and transferable skills.
  5. Use metrics and power action verbs to show clear impact. You will need to quantify what you have achieved/your responsibilities in your current role using quantifiable and specific examples. Avoid using statements such as “I am a strategic, innovative self starter who loves collaboration,” which is too subjective. Instead, use an example where you have led a project strategically and worked well with others. For example, “Partnered with X stakeholders to own and execute on Y launch, resulting in Z customers reached and W revenue made.” More examples of strong statements and use of metrics includes:
    1. Developed plans for an open access portal to provide custom research on penny stocks with consolidated market cap worth $2 billion and total float of 0.5 billion outstanding shares
    2. Led a segmented, market-entry strategy, with execution initiatives, to acquire 700K new subscribers and increase customer base penetration in three cities by 140% over a year
    3. Defined an new operational and logistics strategy in direct functions to cut COGS by 15% within 12 months for a FMCG player in 4 countries and 10 sites, coordinated with Partner and global project teams on acquisition proposals (>5m€ acquisition) for the implementation support phase
    4. Led the negotiation of a US$12M loan to rebuilt a historical building in Lima downtown, through a detailed due diligence, assured the bank’s position in terms of warranty and collaterals that accounted for a decrease in provisions of 10%
    5. Spearheaded an innovation program for the Ministry of Defence, facilitating 4 design thinking projects resulting in up to 40% cost savings in annual operating cost in areas of mobile ambulance and triage operations.
  6. If you’re further along in your professional career and have lots of experience, stick to your most recent and relevant work experience. You can note your full work history, but you don’t need lengthy bullet points or details for things you did 10+ years ago. Prioritise the points you’re trying to get across to your target employer, including transferable skills, responsibilities, and achievements for the role in question.
  7. Include your education history including where and what you studied. Grades or GPA are not imperative, but you’re welcome to include them if you’d like.
  8. You can also list additional skills/experiences or professional training(s) you think are relevant at the end. If your role requires industry-specific qualifications (such as an accounting or finance qualification) add them here or in your personal statement.

Things to avoid

Typos and grammatical errors As attention to detail will be desired for most roles, double/triple check your CV for any typos or formatting inconsistencies.

Lying on your CV Lies on your CV might be revealed throughout the interview process or reference checks and might lead employers to automatically remove you from a process. It’s best to be honest.

Not including metrics Metrics are an easy, clear way for people to see what you’ve accomplished.