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Learn How to Write a Standout CV with Macildowie

Your CV is usually the first thing your potential employer will see and it has one key job – to secure you that all-important interview. Therefore, it’s important that you get it right; it’s your marketing campaign and it needs to promote you and your skills in an attractive and professional way. This vital initial stage of applying for jobs needs to be done carefully, we’re here to help you do that. Taking the time to get it right is vital, here are our best CV tips and advice based on feedback from our clients.

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Personal Information

Your personal details should be kept simple, this section shouldn’t take up much room; just write your name, phone number and email address. You could also add your LinkedIn profile, as long as it’s up to date, promoting you, but any other personal details should not be included.

Education

The key parts to this section are each of your qualifications, your school, college or university and the dates you were there. Your most recent qualifications should be written first, with the most detail, such as your degree, but your GCSEs can just be a more general list of grades. It can be useful to mention when you’re expecting to get your next qualifications if you are only part-way through.

Experience & Achievements

Clarity and brevity are key here so bullet points are a great way to lay out this section. You should note your work history, including any placements and voluntary work, along with a short but effective summary of what you did to demonstrate your strengths, this should mention your key skills, responsibilities and achievements.

Your Macildowie consultant will help you work through how to discuss your key achievements – these are critical as they are the part of your CV that can truly differentiate you from other people with the same background and experience.

Skills

This is the section where you can expand on some of the points you’ve talked about in your work section, be specific! Maybe you’ve worked on an exciting project, been on a certain course or had some specialist training, this is the place to put it.

Interests

This slightly more informal section can be used to share a little bit about yourself. Try and link these to useful skills. You never know, you might have something in common with your interviewer!

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Additional Thoughts

  • Remember that your CV should be tailored for every application, so use the keywords and phrases from the job description. You want to show the company that you’re matching what they’re looking for, make it obvious to them!
  • Make sure the layout is appropriate, this varies depending on the role and sector but it should always look professional. Make use of bullet points!
  • Don’t make it too long! Aim for no more than three sides of A4 in a clear font such as Times New Roman, never use any font size smaller than 11, it needs to be easy to read.
  • Double and triple-check it, a CV with spelling and grammar mistakes will not go down well.
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