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What is a CV?

A Curriculum Vitae or CV (Latin for ‘life story’) is usually a two page document that sells your skills and abilities to an employer. You should send a CV to an employer when you are enquiring if an employer has any jobs available, or you are asked to submit one from a job advert. You should start your CV before you start thinking about enquiring for jobs (including part-time jobs) as it is a useful document to leave with potential future employers. This way they can contact you should a vacancy become available. 

What is the purpose of a CV?

The purpose of a CV is to sell your abilities to an employer so that they invite you for an interview - not to get you a job! An employer may receive lots of CVs so it is important that your CV:

• is brief and to the point – avoid ‘waffle’
• is laid out neatly - your page shouldn't look cluttered however excess space will look messy and ill thought-through
• is clear - don't make your CV fancy keep it in black print on white paper and use a clear font such as Verdana.
• sells all your experience and knowledge
• immediately catches and holds the interest of the reader.

Your CV is important because an employer will choose the candidate with the best CV for the job; this may not necessarily mean the person most suited to the job. An employer will offer you an interview based on the information that’s on your CV.  

Before you start creating your CV

Start gathering the information you will need to include on your CV such as:

• the dates you started and finished your school/college/university
• the qualifications you have achieved
• when and where you did any work-experience or voluntary work
• all the jobs that you have had (full-time/part-time/Saturday job)
• what responsibilities or duties you had during your job/work experience
• any training courses you have attended
• who you can ask to be a referee

Need help writing your CV?

If you are looking to produce a CV for the first time, why don’t you sign-up to MyConnexions? You will need to remember your username and password but you will get this emailed to you when you first sign-up. You can work through the different stages of your CV saving your progress at any point, just remember to press the ‘save’ button at the bottom of each section. You can take a look at your CV at any stage by clicking on ‘Overview CV’ and your CV can be downloaded to your computer and printed out. Try it today, it is easy to use and has lots of handy hints!

A life long task

Be aware that writing a CV is not a once in a lifetime task. Once you've completed your CV, you won't be abandoning it. You will need to keep it up to date, adding relevant details and removing information that no longer needs to be included.

Useful websites

The Site: CVs
The Site has information on CV writing, covering letters, preparing for interviews and more.

Directgov: finding and applying for your first job
Advice on finding and applying for your first job.

CV Masterclass
Help on compiling CVs

BT: moving on
BT provides information on job application and interview skills for young people. Moving On helps young adults aged 14-19 and beyond to learn more about themselves, the skills they need in life and work, and how best to develop and demonstrate these as they identify and apply for jobs that are a good fit for their personality, interests and skills.

Online tools

MyConnexions
Register to MyConnexions to develop your CV, write covering letters, watch a video on preparing for interviews and to search online vacancies.

Last updated: 21/06/11

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