CV Guide

Introduction
Most of the websites that you visit which give you CV advice are more likely to give you a CV headache. You are generally confronted with a litany of CV advice, tips, pointers, hints, which more often than not, start to make you worry about all the mistakes you could make!
At JobBoard.ie, we are presenting you with a simple, short guide to CV tailoring, which will help you to avoid the pitfalls of CV writing and produce a CV to be proud of.
Your CV is essentially a sales tool. As you will most probably not be there in person, your CV is the only tool at your disposal when trying to sell yourself to a potential employer/recruiter. You will have only one chance, in fact approximately 30 seconds, to make an impression. This 30 second "opening" is critical and will ultimately determine whether the prospective employer/recruiter will read your CV in greater detail. They will have many CV's to sift through, therefore an in cohesive CV will not make a favourable impression.

The following is a guide on how to tailor your CV so that it won't end up along with the countless others in the rejection pile.


Layout
The layout of your CV is very important. If you can imagine the huge amount of CV's that a recruiter or a HR person would go through on a daily basis, a number in the hundreds, the last thing they need is a CV that has no easily discernible layout, with no order or coherence. Keep it simple and symmetrical.

The JobBoard.ie layout
1) Professional Profile
2) Biographical Details
3) Education
4) Employment History
5) Interests, Hobbies and Achievements
6) Referees


Format
While a jazzed up CV with several different font sizes and colours along with italicised writing may look good on paper, it will do you no favours by the time it lands on the screen of a prospective employer/recruiter. Irrespective of what position you are applying for, this approach will give the impression that you the jobseeker are not overly serious or corporate and once again, your CV will most probably end up in the rejection pile. Our advice: A simple Arial font size 12 for the content of your CV with size 14 and bolding for your headings.

Length
This is an area that depends solely on the experience of the individual in question. For example, if you are a recent graduate, the likelihood is that you will most probably not have had a great deal of professional experience, therefore your CV should generally not extend past 1 page. On the other hand, if you are an individual with over 10 years corporate level experience that relates specifically to the job that you are applying for, then there is no compelling rule with regard to how long the CV should be. At the same time, it is important not to lose the run of yourself and produce a biography!

Chronology
This may seem like an insignificant aspect of CV writing, however don't be fooled, it is very important. In the Employment History section of your CV, ensure that your most recent work experience is placed first and then work backwards. The main reason for this is that it can be confusing to a prospective employer/recruiter and indeed make it difficult to read your CV.

Relate
You should, as much as possible, ensure that the details of your Employment History relate specifically to the position that you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for an accounting position, we would advise avoiding the inclusion of any irrelevant experience not pertaining to the position such as a summer spent selling ice-cream in Italy! This avoids clutter and disperses the idea that you are just trying to fill your CV.

Be humble but don't fumble!
Obviously, the purpose of your CV is to sell yourself to a company. Make sure, however, that you do not over-sell yourself. Do not exaggerate about your experience as you will be found out. Do not make any brash statements of how you will single-handedly turn the company around if hired. That said, it is still important to portray yourself in the right light, therefore do indeed highlight professional and personal achievements.

Re-read
The importance of rereading your CV cannot be over-stated. A few simple spelling mistakes could all but ruin your chances of gaining an interview. It gives the impression that you, the jobseeker, does not pay attention to detail, consequently, has no real interest in the position, even if the position is the job of your dreams! Read it once, twice and even thrice to avoid the usual errors such as typos and formatting mistakes.

Conclusion
Hopefully, these few pointers will have given you confidence in sending your CV to companies. If you follow and make a check-list for the above, it should not be long before you get that interview call!