Content. Your CV is the summary of your professional life

Your CV is the summary of your professional life. You should include everything that is relevant to your employment or career and nothing that is irrelevant. Exactly what you include depends partly on your type of work. There are usually 5 general headings of information to include:

• personal details - name, address, email and telephone number (and sometimes nationality, age/date of birth and marital status)
• objective - a headline that summarises the job opportunity you are seeking
• work experience - your previous employment in reverse chronological order - with most detail for your present or most recent job
• education - details of secondary and university education - including the establishments and qualifications (but excluding any that are irrelevant to your career)
• personal interests - demonstrating that you are a balanced, responsible member of society with an interesting life outside work

Sometimes, you may need to give additional information for a particular job or because you have special qualifications. Here is a list of most of the possible headings.

Format

2.3.2.1. Word-processed or hand-written?

Your CV should be word-processed, for several reasons. Firstly, in the English-speaking world a hand-written CV would be considered unprofessional. Secondly, many recruitment agencies and some employers like to electronically scan CVs (they cannot do this with hand-written CVs). Thirdly, as we shall see later, it will be much easier for you to update and modify your CV to target it to a specific employer.

2.3.2.2. How many pages?

Unless you are applying to be Secretary General of the United Nations, it is probably best to limit your CV to a maximum of 2 pages. Remember, your CV is a tool to get you an interview: it is not designed to get you the job. You can usually put everything you need to get an interview on 1 or 2 pages. If you put more than this, the employer has too much to read (and may throw your CV into the nearest bin). In addition, if you put everything in the CV, you will have nothing new to say at the interview. Be kind to employers! Leave them some questions to ask you.

2.3.2.3. What size paper?

Do not be tempted to demonstrate your individuality by using a non-standard paper size: you will simply irritate the employer. There are basically 2 standard paper sizes, depending on the part of the world:

• A4 (297 x 210 millimetres) - used largely in Europe, including the United Kingdom
• US Letter Size (8 1/2 x 11 inches) - used largely in the United States

You must judge for yourself the most appropriate size for the company or companies to which you are applying.

2.3.2.4. What quality paper?

Remember that your CV may be read and handled by several people. It will also be an important document during the interview that you hope to have. Choose a good quality, fairly heavy paper so that it will remain in good condition at all times. Normal photocopying paper is 80g/m2 in weight. This is a little too light and will soon look creased and dirty. 100g/m2 or 115g/m2 would be better.

2.3.2.5. What sort of typeface?

Choose an easy-to-read typeface. Typefaces are designed for specific purposes. The standard typefaces Times New Roman or Arial are perfect for your CV. Not too small, not too large! A size of 12 point would be appropriate.

DO NOT USE ALL CAPITALS LIKE THIS! CAPITALS ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO READ AND MAY BE CONSIDERED IMPOLITE IN THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD. Do not use a lot of italic like this. Italic can also be difficult and irritating to read. Do not use a fancy typeface. It is not appropriate for a professional document.

In general, 5 or 6 headings will be enough for most resumes or CVs. However, sometimes you will want to use more headings - when applying for a particular job for which additional information is appropriate. Here is a CV layout with most of the possible headings that you can choose from.

Your name First name Surname (for example, John Brown)	Include a good photo if you want or if requested
Address	17 Any Road, ANYTOWN, Anycountry
Telephone	+44 171 123 4567
Fax	+44 171 123 4567
Email	[email protected]
Personal Information	Marital status:	single married divorced separated widowed
Nationality:	French
Date of birth:	State your date of birth in the form 1 January 1975 or January 1st, 1975
Age:
Place of birth:	Town, Country
Objective	State the position or opportunity that you are looking for. (This must be short. One or two lines only.)
Summary of qualifications	Make a short list of the qualifications you have for this job. (This should be short. Your full qualifications will appear later under 'Education').
Professional experience	List your jobs in reverse chronological order (last is first).
Education	List your university/school in reverse chronological order (last is first).
Specialized skills	Any additional special abilities you have (for example, computer programming) that may be of interest to the employer.
Patents and publications	List any relevant inventions you have made or books, articles and papers you have published.
Additional professional activities	List any relevant work activities not listed elsewhere.
Professional memberships	List any relevant professional associations or clubs of which you are a member.
Extracurricular activities	List any relevant activities that you have outside work.
Volunteer experience	List any relevant activities (present or past) that you have done unpaid.
Awards received	List any relevant awards or prizes.
Accreditations	List any official recognition of you by a relevant organization.
Security clearance	For certain jobs with government or companies contracted by government, it may be necessary to state your level of authorization to work on classified or confidential projects.
Civil service grades	If relevant, list your grades or levels as a civil servant (that is, state employee).
Community activities	List anything you do for your local community (for example church or school) if it is important or relevant for this job.
Languages	If necessary, list the languages you can speak. You can use the following descriptions: mother tongue fluent excellent good
Travel	Details of travel and exposure to cultural experiences that may support your application.
Interests and activities	List things that you like or like doing (for example governor of local school, going to opera, drama or tennis).
Hobbies	List your favourite leisure-time activities (for example, stamp-collecting). You should include this only if you think it will be interesting for the employer. You may prefer to include this under 'Interests and activities'.
Additional information	Add any additional information that is necessary and relevant for a particular job.
References	If required, give the names and addresses of (two) people who can give you a reference. Alternatively, you can state 'Available on request.'

2.3.3. Do's and Don'ts