In a competitive market, graduates need a good CV or Resume to succeed in securing a job. Your CV or Resume is an advert for you, an opportunity to sell yourself to potential employers. Your CV or Resume is the first step in the recruitment process so it has to be right – our CV guide tells you everything you need to know about creating a successful graduate CV.

• Personal Details
• Career Aim/Personal Statement
• Education and Qualifications
• Work Experience
• Specialist Experience
• Activities/Interests/Positions of Responsibility
• Additional Information
• References/Referees
  

Personal Details

You don't need to write 'Curriculum Vitae' at the top of your CV or Resume – it's pretty obvious what it is! Make sure your name appears at the top and is in a larger font than the rest of your CV so it stands out. Beneath, all you need to include is your home address (and term address if you are still at university) and contact information. Don't include a novelty email address - boozyfloozy@hotmail.co.uk doesn't sound very professional.

Career Aim/Personal Statement

This is optional but if you do include it, make sure it isn't vague or generic. Keep it brief (three or four lines max). Demonstrate your career focus and perhaps evidence of two or three main strengths and where they were developed. This part of your CV or Resume should be tailored to the role and company you're applying to. However, to save space, this could be included in your covering letter.

Education and Qualifications

Start with your most recent education – your degree or postgraduate qualification. University qualifications will be of more interest to an employer than what you did at school so devote more space to this. Include the dates, name of university/s, degree title e.g. BA (Hons) Philosophy, and the grade you are expecting or have achieved.

It is advisable that you include any modules you studied that are relevant to the job application in addition to your thesis/dissertation research or project work. Time spent abroad or work placements attended as part of your degree course should be mentioned.

For school education, include dates, name of school/college and A-Levels or equivalent qualifications studied with grades. Unless specified, it is not normally necessary to list every subject studied at GCSE or equivalent level. The number of passes achieved is enough but state the grade you got for Mathematics and English.

Work Experience

The Work Experience section of your CV or Resume is where recruiters will focus most of their attention. You must include the dates of your employment, the job title you held and the name of the employer. For international applications, cite the country in which you were employed.

Employers are realistic about the fact that students and recent graduates have mostly done part-time and summer jobs that may not relate to the career you want to pursue. However, employers will still expect you to be able to show the responsibilities and skills you got out of your work experience.

More CV Advice

What NOT to write on your CV

Make your CV look professional

Tips for a successful CV

Postive language on your CV

The most common way of presenting work experience is to do it in reverse chronological order (most recent first). However, if you have very relevant experience in the career field you are applying to e.g. an internship with a company, you may wish to include this first under a separate heading such as “Relevant Work Experience” and list less relevant jobs under “Other Work Experience”. This will immediately show an employer that you have taken the initiative to gain knowledge of the sector and have experience of that work environment.

Don't despair if this isn't the case for you. Thousands of graduates don't have that head start but still get the position they want because they capitalised on the experience they did have. Remember, employers are looking for the skills you have used and developed, and more specifically they are identifying links between your experience and skills and the requirements of the job. Here are some tips to help you:

• Target your CV to the specific job advert - Read over the terminology used and the skills mentioned in the advert and where appropriate, use these words in your CV.

• Back up your claims - Avoid writing bland content; if you have "good communication skills" demonstrate how you have used them effectively to get something done.

• Identify the contribution you made - Rather than just stating a list of duties you had, think about ways of demonstrating success in a particular role. Mention your achievements at work and any concrete results you achieved (in measurable terms if possible). For example, rather than writing, "designed company's web site," you could say, "designed company's web site, which increased company's overall product sale by 50 percent."

More Tips on Writing CVs or Resumes

When describing your job responsibilities, avoid sounding monotonous in your CV or Resume and use a variety of action verbs and skills.

Action verbs and language of CVs and Resumes

Specialist Experience

List any specialist experience and or qualifications that are relevant to the job role under specially designed sections. For example, researchers may provide the sections 'Research' or 'Research Interests,' and those having worked abroad may choose to include a section titled 'Research Experience Abroad'. Professors may include 'Teaching Experience,' 'Foreign Lecturing,' or 'Lectures and Presentations'; likewise, physicians may include sections such as 'Community Service,' 'Licensure,' or 'Qualification Examinations'.

Activities/Interests/Postitions of Responsibility

CV Templates

 

CV Example - 1 page Resume

CV Example - Skills CV

CV Example - Table format

CV Example - Graduate CV

These are all relevant sections to include because they demonstrate that you are motivated to pursue other activities and are a well-rounded individual. Positions of responsibility and achievements can be extra-curricular, for example, significant involvement in the Student Union, organising events in a social or sporting club, spearheading charity fundraising at school or university etc. Stating your interests doesn't mean just writing a list. Try to indicate your level of involvement and what you gain from the activity.

Additional Information

Languages
If you are applying overseas then you should indicate your native language and any additional languages you know accompanied by your level of proficiency.

Skills
Skills in this section include anything vocational that has not appeared elsewhere on your CV, for example, IT skills and driver’s license. For IT skills, list the software packages and applications you use and your level of competency for each. Any certificates you have such as First Aid or Health and Safety for example, should be listed in this section.

Conferences
If it is relevant to the job you are applying for, then you may want to mention any conferences, workshops or seminars you have attended. Give the name of the conference, date, place and organizers.

References/Referees

If you don't have space on your CV, a simple"References available on request" is acceptable. If you do have space, it is very common to give the details of two referees: one academic and one employer. Give their names, position, address, phone numbers and email addresses. Always ask for their permission first and remember to keep them informed of your career aspirations and achievements to date.