Your job / career today is your responsibility, with career advancement very uncertain, unlike a few years ago. You will or may have changed jobs even career a few times already, therefore a good CV is an essential tool in the survival kit of every ambitious employee. Today your CV or Résumé is your passport to new opportunities, your personal invitation to meet new employers, your marketing tool.YOU plc.
There really is no right or wrong way to do a CV as we all have different stories to tell to different prospective employers, which is why it is critical to tailor your CV to the organisations / people that you want to meet.
CV's serve four different functions:
The most important parts of interest in your CV should cover the following or a combination of (in order of reading):
Included in your Presentation is the Cover Letter/ Email, which can be as important as your CV.
No matter where you are in your career, whether just starting your first job, in your third or fourth job, or choosing your final job in your career, the CV's function always remains the same - to tell prospective employers how you can help solve their problems.
The rule of thumb is two to three pages, depending on your career history and role (executive summary's are recommended for more senior positions). Proof read it many times to find, correct and eliminate spelling / grammar errors. Fill your document with as much white space as possible to allow the reader to:
Your CV should read like a story from start to finish following in a logical order and sequence.
Do devote a lot of time to writing and preparing your CV, ask the Recruitment Agency if it fits with their requirements for their client, make it personal and tailored to organisations / people that you would love to work in / meet.