Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Please use CV Builder and the information below to produce and refine your CV. When you have a CV do visit Careers & Employability to get objective feedback before you send. We don't correct grammar or English but we do advise on the layout, structure, style and impact of your application.

CV Builder
What is a CV and how does it differ from a covering letter?
CV Essentials
Types of CV
CV Layout & Style
Key sections on your CV
Commercial Awareness
Disclosure (disability, poor grades, age)
Example CVs (see also Step 4 of CV Builder)
Links

CV Builder

CV Builder is a tool providing space to chart your activities and skills developed from academic work, employment and leisure time. It can act as a personal inventory of your progress at UEA and helps to translate it into the language used in CVs and applications. Use it from year 1 onwards.

What is a CV and how does it differ from a covering letter?

A CV is your marketing document and opportunity to market yourself to an employer who may know nothing else about you. A CV is a summary of your experience and skills to-date that highlights your strengths and suitability for a particular job or employer. Ultimately, however, a CV is always intended to get you to an interview.

The covering letter is usually the first document that recruitment staff read when they receive your application. Its purpose is to make a positive first impression by highlighting the most relevant parts of your experience and capabilities as included on your CV. See our page on how to write a covering letter for more details.

As a rule of thumb, put factual information and experience into the CV and use the covering letter to demonstrate your enthusiasm and suitability for the role, saying why you are applying for that job at that particular organisation.

CV Essentials

Your unique document. A CV is your personal document and will reflect your unique combination of experience, interests and abilities. It is best to avoid CV templates for this reason.
Targeting. Target your CV to the opportunity or organisation you are applying to; a simple list of your qualifications and work experience is not enough. Highlight your relevant skills, experience and achievements that will interest the employer, based on the job description and your research into the organisation.
Best first. Prioritise the information. Ensure that the most interesting stuff has a higher priority. Think about what you want to go on the front page that will make the employer want to read on.
Accessibility at speed. Recruiters rarely have sufficient time to review applications. As a rule of thumb, assume that the person reading your covering letter and CV will have no more than one minute to make decisions about the quality of your application.
The perfect CV myth. There is no ideal way to produce a CV. Each person and organisation will have their own specific preferences and priorities. However, if you follow the points on this page you will considerably improve your chances of success.
It takes time. Writing a marketable CV cannot be done perfectly the first time and will evolve as you make more applications.

Types of CV

Chronological CV

The commonest style of CV, this states the facts about your education, experience and other activities in date order, with the most recent information first. The information on this page relates mainly to the chronological CV, as it is easier to write and can be effective in most cases.

Functional or skills-based CV

This style of CV places an emphasis on the particular skills needed for a job by using a different subheading for each skill. Employment and education is then listed as relevant under each heading. This approach can be useful if for whatever reason you have gaps in your work or education history or other details you would rather not draw attention to on the first page of your CV. Visit this link to view an example of a functional CV.

Academic CV

The academic CV differs from conventional CVs mainly in the emphasis that is placed on academic qualifications and research experience. It is common also to produce an appendix page with a list of publications/ conferences attended/ papers presented. Take a look at the Vitae website for further advice.

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CV Layout & Style

Length should not usually be more than 2 sides of A4 unless you are applying for an academic post or you have considerable employment experience.
Use consistent fonts - smallest size 10pt, consistent bullet points and style.
Consider printing on good quality paper.
Avoid spelling mistakes or poor grammar. Get someone to check it over before sending and do not rely on computer spellcheckers alone.
Arrange all sections in reverse chronological order, most recent first.
Do not include a photo for the majority of UK employers.
Use concise and positive language. Strip the text down to the essential information and facts.
Avoid drawing attention to your negative points or lack of experience.
Begin some of your sentences with action words.
Use short paragraphs and experiment with bullet points.
Provide evidence to back up your claims by using examples. Avoid general and vague statements like 'A good communicator'. An employer will want to know how you have gained these skills. Take a look at the following link for examples of how to demonstrate the skills that employers want.

Key sections on your CV

These include personal details, education, work experience, additional experience/ skills, interests and achievements (example of a two page graduate CV).

Being creative with sub-headings

You don't have to stick to the same old headings used in so many CVs - be creative. For example, 'work history' as a heading forces you to write all your previous work experience in chronological order. By using instead headings like 'relevant experience' or 'professional experience' you can draw the employer's attention to the more relevant information so they do not have to scan through your entire employment record.

Personal Details

Ensure that your name is prominent and stands out. This should be your main header rather than the word Curriculum Vitae as employers already know this.
Use up-to-date and reliable contact details - this could include email, phone, mobile, and both term time and home addresses.
You no longer have to give your date of birth due to age discrimination legislation but if you choose to list this, give your date of birth rather than age.
Marital status and state of health are best excluded from a CV. Health issues or disabilities are normally disclosed on a separate form and your marital status should not affect your eligibility for a job in the UK.
Nationality is optional.

Education & Qualifications

Reverse chronological - include your most recent course first.
Unless you tell them, employers are unlikely to know what your course has involved, even less your specific choice of units and projects. You can list relevant units taken, dissertation title and subject, notable skills developed (presentations, research skills) year abroad and project placements.
List A level subjects and grades.
GCSEs can be listed horizontally to avoid using too much space and you can either give all grades or group them into categories such as 5 at grade B including Maths, English and Drama.

Work Experience

It is common for graduates to begin a CV with their education. However, when you think about it, it is your work experience that is more likely to set you apart from other graduates having done a similar degree. This is why it is important to begin listing your work experience on page one.
Whichever headings you use make your experiences work for you by highlighting relevant skills and experience that you have gained.
Work experience includes paid work, internships and placements, part-time jobs and voluntary work. What was your job title? What were your responsibilities? What skills have you developed as a result? Were there any notable achievements?
The employer will most likely not know any of this unless you tell them, so don't leave them guessing.

Additional Skills

It is often appropriate to include a section that lists additional useful skills such as your IT ability and other languages that may not have been referred to earlier in your CV. Again, give enough detail to evidence your competency in each.

Interests & Achievements

Employers are often interested in this section as it gives clues to your motivation, interests and personality and yet it can be the most difficult to write.
You can include anything that you feel is relevant including: voluntary and community work, membership of professional organisations, positions of responsibility, music, arts and sports.
The same principles apply as the work experience section. Think what message you are giving to an employer. Activities such as reading, socialising and going to the cinema are common to most people, so try to make your interests sound unique to you by giving more detail.

Referees

It's usual to put down two contacts: one academic and one employer.
Avoid using personal referees such as friends or friends of the family.
Ask permission before you offer their contact details.
Provide them with a copy of your CV and applications so they have positive information to refer to when they are writing your reference.
For speculative applications or occasions where you have provided your references on a different form, it is fine to use 'references available on request'.

The Personal Profile

Also known as a 'career aim' or 'profile' this is a short summary of what you have to offer in a nutshell that is usually included near the top of the first page of your CV. The aim of a statement like this is to enhance an employer's positive first impression of your CV by appearing professional and focused.

A motivated management graduate with proven analytical abilities and excellent communication skills seeking work in an IT environment. Experience includes placements within the IT and retail sectors and advancement to a management role within a part-time job during the degree at UEA.

The only general rules are to keep it short, punchy and positive and to create something that you feel comfortable with. Looking at examples by other people will help, but do not use one unless you feel happy that it represents you and adds to your application.

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Commercial Awareness

You can improve your chances of impressing an employer by doing some research and learning the language they speak in their sector.

What are the current 'buzzwords' in their field of work?
What kind of business terminology do they use?
Are there any technical terms or acronyms for systems or training, etc. that you need to be aware of?

Disclosure

The following sections give brief advice and resources for each issue. If you are still uncertain come in and discuss in confidence with a careers adviser.

Disclosing Age

If you are sensitive about disclosing your age:

Consider omitting your date of birth completely.
Put your personal details at the end of your CV.

In either case, the employer will still be able to work out your approximate age by looking at your education and work history, although they are legally required not to discriminate on the basis of age.

The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (October 2006) were established to:

Ban age discrimination in terms of recruitment, promotion and training.
Ban unjustified retirement ages of below 65.
Remove the current age limit for unfair dismissal and redundancy rights.

The Prospects website has a good section on handling discrimination. See careers advice and handling discrimination.

Disclosing Disability

There is no simple answer to whether you should disclose a disability or health problem to an employer. The links below give information and advice to help you make this choice.

Disclosing Poor Grades

Although entry into some professions like Law or Accountancy requires good A-level grades, for many other opportunities it will be your education and experience achieved in the last 3 or 4 years that it is more important. The question still remains should you include them or not?

If you decide to include poor A-level grades on your CV, ensure that your subsequent education shows improvement and progression. There are many reasons for poor grades and in cases of illness or unusual circumstances it is possible to include a cover note with your application briefly explaining the situation and how your academic performance was affected, highlighting your subsequent achievements.
If you omit your grades then it is likely that the employer will want to know why you have excluded them. If the rest of your application is excellent then you will probably get the chance to explain at interview.

Disclosing a Criminal Record

Please see this Prospects page.

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Examples of CVs

These are not 'perfect CVs' and are given for guidance only. Consider for yourself how successfully the information is subdivided. Are the main points easy to access at speed?

Careers & Employability