CV Formats

yellow hen

So it's 9 years since I last touched my CV and whilst I thought it was great then, it looks cramped now. Can anyone point to examples of good ones online? Are we still to try keep it to 2 pages? Profile pic in or out?

OMM 0000

No profile pic unless you're good looking and you're going for a role based on your looks.

2 - 3 pages max.

Format as follows:

Your name
Your phone number - Your e-mail address

Work experience in descending order (most recent at the top)

Education in descending order (most recent at the top)

When listing your work experience, it's OK to include tasks but you need to also include achievements.

This type of question comes up a lot so may be worth your while using the search to find recent threads with many comments.

OMM 0000

Oh, don't forget to write a unique cover letter for each job you apply for.

misstearheus

Do people generally tend to do 3 Pages or stick to 2?

md23040

Ideally in my opinion use two column format for page one at 60% to 40% spacing with two color used throughout CV (except hyerlinks that are blue). Use headers and bullet points and make CV easy to read very very quickly.

Page 1 left column. Personal details to include name, address, mobile, email and LinkedIn hyperlink.

Below this personal Bio or summary - and should be somethind snappy like this (made up).

"I am a manager with over 25 years experience across various roles and industry sectors. I am involved in the full requirements lifecycle from elicitiation to project delivery in line with client and stakeholder expectations.

I have formalized and enhanced my skill set against industry standards by undertaking a degree/accrediations etc from XYZ and achived X.

My core management skills are complimented by my personal and professional conduct. I always strive to acheive the best possible outcome for my clients, whilst representing and postively promoting the company I work for" . Or whatever for your sector.

Below this snapshot of career history dates. Below this educational summary. If theres a degree more than 10 years old its okay to not include but def leave out junior/inter/A levels/O Levels (unless new to the job market). More current industry accreditations are important.

Right hand column first page should be key abilities, this is where AI optical character recognition will pick up your CV or not. Areas of expertise first header e.g. with bullet points such as project management, new line risk evaluation, cost management, guerilla marketing etc. List at least 10. Below this Approach/Methodolgies list things like Kanban, UML, ITIL, PRINCE 2 Certified etc. Need at least 6 bullet points. Below this heading Tooling Skills - Pthyon, R, Cobol, Kanban, MS Office Suite, Jira etc at least 10.

Second page should be employment history normal word layout with 2 colors (I use gold and black) . With list of acheivements and brief description.

CV should not be more than 2 pages. If you have a 20 year plus career only go back the last 15 years. Anything before is irrelevant.

Faux Pas.

Do not add DOB
Any more than 2 pages will go in the bin
Relationship Status - Married/Single
Photo
Only show education results if there's a distinction. Dont put 2.1 etc. Just write the course title and duration and dont breakdown the course curricilum.

I got a graphic design student to do the design for about €30. Keep it snappy and ensure it matches your LinkedIn profile. All employers check LK for consistency. And apologises for spelling but doing from a phone!