How to Write a Professional Graduate CV

by heavenkyriacou, posted in Employability skills

I recently had a lecture about graduate CV (Curriculum Vitae) writing from Clare Brass. She went over many important points which I have summarised for you to read and potentially help you write your own CV,  to improve it or find out yours is already great!

I am going to start with a few facts:

  • The first ever CV was written in 1492
  • It became common practice in the 1500s
  • The CV became formalised in the 1950s

Your potential employer will have many questions going through their head about you and your suitability for that job, some of these include:

  • Do you have the required/desirable qualifications/experience?
  • Do you have a good understanding of the job/organisation?

These questions and many more should be answered by your CV!

person writing on white book
The idea of planning out a CV Pexels.com

Did you know the average time an employer looks at your CV is only 8.8 seconds?

This means your information must be concise and clear.

If you think about a bad example of a CV what do you think of?

Points mentioned included; a bad layout/formatting, honesty imbalance (lying on your CV too much), spelling mistakes and too much irrelevant information or just too much writing in general.

What about a good CV? It’s important to look at both bad and good examples of a CV. Your CV should be fit for purpose, relevant to the job role, have a good layout, include engaging language with correct spelling and have good attention to detail.

Layout and Formatting

CV format
Correct layout for when writing a CV

A basic structure you could follow includes:

  • Personal details
  • Academic education and qualifications
  • Employment / work experience
  • Additional Information
  • Referees

You want small amounts of text, no big chucks! It is difficult to skim read, as we know an employer does not look at a CV for very long.

You may be thinking what is the additional information? This could be personal interests, skills, any achievements and voluntary work. This should still be relevant to the job role.

You must include all this information and keep it only 2 pages long at the most.

When including you email make sure it is appropriate.

Email.jpg
Examples of email addresses not to use on a CV

Useless information

You do not need to include:

  • Date of birth
  • Ethnicity
  • Gender
  • Marital Status
  • Nursery or primary school qualifications

This information takes up room on your CV and does not help you in obtaining a job.

My opinion and thoughts on the lecture content 

I enjoyed this lecture and found it very informative. Afterwards I looked at my own CV straight away and make some important changes which may help me get a job after I graduate. I have seen multiple lectures on this subject, but this has been one of the most clear and informative ones I have attended.

CV’s are of great importance when applying for jobs, therefore I feel it has assisted me with my future career and made me think about looking for employment much sooner than had originally planned.