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PawSteps · Pets on the Green

Writing a CV

A CV builder that checks itself as you type — length, skills, email address, and the title mistake almost everyone makes.

What a CV is for

A CV is a personal marketing document used to sell yourself to prospective employers. It should tell them about you, your professional history, your skills, abilities and achievements, and ultimately highlight why you are the best person for the job. Employers may also ask for a cover letter and an application form.

Never title it "Curriculum Vitae" or "CV". It is a waste of valuable space, and the employer already knows what they are holding. Treat your name as the title.
Don't try to wing it. Lies, no matter how small, have a nasty way of creeping up on you. Even if you get the job, being caught out later means embarrassment at best and losing it at worst.

Name and contact details

You no longer need a full address — town and county is enough. Email and phone are essential.

On email addresses: your email gives an insight into the sort of person you are. Use a professional one. Not "demon-lord@", not a nickname, not the address you made when you were thirteen.

Personal profile

Flagged automatically if it runs over eight lines.

A short paragraph under your name and contact details giving an overview of who you are. Tailor it to every job. Short and sweet — no longer than a few sentences.

It should answer three things

Who are you?What can you offer the company?What are your career goals?

Key skills

Four to five abilities at most, underneath your personal profile. Match your skills to the skills the employer asked for, and give the quantifiable evidence of how you gained them. Adapt this section to every job you apply for.

There are seven boxes here on purpose. Fill in more than five and the page will say something — because a list of twelve skills reads as a list of adjectives, and a list of four with evidence behind them reads as a person.

Experience and employment history

Reverse chronological order — most recent first. State the job title, employer, dates, and a line summarising the role. Then bullet the key responsibilities, skills and achievements, choosing the duties most relevant to the job.

Positions from more than ten years ago can be deleted. If a job is old and irrelevant, the space is better spent elsewhere.

Education

Also reverse chronological. Institution name, dates attended, qualification and subject, grade.

Additional sections and hobbies

If you have room: languages · IT skills · customer service skills · clubs, societies and positions of responsibility.

Hobbies

This section shows what you are like as a person, shares your personal values and shows personality.

Be bold in this section and not boring. "Socialising with friends, reading, going to the cinema" tells an employer nothing. What do you actually do?

Referees

A referee can be anyone not related to you. It does not have to be a previous employer — just someone who will sell you positively.

Check with them first. You need their name, address and telephone number, and they need to know a call may be coming. A referee taken by surprise gives a worse reference than a referee who was asked.

Formatting

Consistency is what makes a CV look professional — not the font choice. Pick one way of writing dates and use it everywhere. Pick one heading style and use it everywhere.

Your CV

Live preview. Print this page and the CV prints on its own.

The three questions employers want answered

What can you do for me?
What have you done before?
Can you do it for me again?

Read your CV back and answer them honestly, as if you were the employer.

Saves automatically as you type