Contact details
full name
phone number
email address (make sure it’s a professional one)
Make sure this information is up to date so a potential employer can reach you. They won’t want to have to chase you.
Introduction
This could be a top line summary about yourself, and it shouldn’t be longer than a few sentences. You might want to mention some of your key strengths and attributes here, especially any that the role explicitly requires.
Expect to back these up in the main body of your CV, and to talk about them during an interview.
Work experience
Beginning with your most recent or current position and going backwards, list out your previous jobs, including different roles at the same employer.
For each role, you should include:- company name
- your job title
- how long you’ve been employed (years and months)
- your main responsibilities
Try to highlight what you achieved or the impact you made in a previous role and tie these back to the required skills or experience.
- Education
Like work experience, beginning with your most recent education, list out your formal education history, going back to secondary school.
You should include:- the name of the place you studied
- when you studied there
- the qualification and grade/s you achieved
Other achievements, qualifications, and skills
You might want to list other things that don’t quite sit within your work or education history. They may be asked for explicitly in the job description. Depending on the role, examples you might include could be:
- specialist training like health and safety or first aid
- the ability to speak different languages or sign language, for example
- knowledge of software or equipment, such as video or photo editing programmes, or use of Microsoft Excel
- awards you may have like the Duke of Edinburgh award or an academic award or scholarship
- links to online portfolios or blogs if you’re interested in a job around journalism or content, for example
Hobbies and interests
Hobbies, passions, and interests can be a great way to stand out from the crowd and a nice icebreaker in an interview.
But it's unlikely that they will be the reason you're offered a position – work experience and qualifications will usually be the deciding factor when an employer makes a job offer.
If you have room in your CV, you may want to include some hobbies or interests which help showcase your personality.
References
A reference is a way to back up what you’ve put on your CV and a way for potential employers to check what you’ve said. The person who writes your reference is called a ‘referee’. You can simply write ‘References available on request,’ and provide their contact details later.