CV Template Advice

• Principle format? – Written CV, portfolio, video, niche software etc - know your audience
• Increasingly with the development of the digital market, and certainly within creative industries, there is a movement away from conventional Consider who you are presenting to and what are their expectations. Create something bespoke if this highlights your skills in a stronger way. In the future, Corporate functions will move further away from the traditional CV but it’s still the preferred format, and established process for now.
• 3 pages is now accepted as the norm; more than this and you may be including detail from an early career that detracts from your current experiences.
• Do consider that if you don’t grab attention on page 1 you may not have the opportunity for them to find the key aspects on pages 2 or 3.
• Do consider LinkedIN as an extension of your If you introduce yourself via LinkedIN for a role, the reviewer will probably look at your LinkedIN profile for further background.

Impact

Personal details – name, email, contact number Personal profile – Show the passion you have for your profession, your areas of focus and interest. This is the readers first introduction to you; make it sound individual… four lines that summarise you professionally. Ask colleagues and network connections for phrases that summarise you.

Key Achievements 

• These are not Key Skills but should incorporate the same Key skills are often presented just as words. These are largely meaningless unless they relate to specific technology, systems, or key words potentially essential in a specific role, beyond those that can naturally be assumed you will possess.
• Key achievements should always be tailored for a specific role, and are key skills demonstrated through outcomes. They may be different for certain Consider your 6 most impactful achievements.
• Key achievements will be drawn from beyond your current role and will allow you to highlight aspects from a previous role on the first page.
• All must be measurable, detailed, but Numbers to highlight improvements, development, success etc should be included.
• To help identify key achievements, consider what are those examples you would most often use during an interview, what qualities do they demonstrate.

Current role (final 1/3^rd of page 1) – Company name, dates, role title

• Brief description of role, reporting line, reports, budgetary responsibility etc; scale and context are relevant here (or that which is factually relevant to you and the role you are going for)
• Build all responsibilities into achievements beyond this with a measurable outcome wherever possible; this role is likely to be the most relevant to the role you’re applying for, so go into detail.
• Consider the range of competencies your achievements cover. Do these reflect your full range of competencies, are there other achievements that whilst not as significant do demonstrate the breadth of you and the role you undertook?

Detail 

• Previous roles in chronological order, and detail, as per the current Do remember to move significant achievements into your key achievements on page 1
• Gaps in dates? – include these; detail in one line what the period Some processes require full detail like this, and unexplained gaps could be interpreted as something being masked. Lots of great achievements can be drawn from during these periods, even if not from employment.
• Consider the amount of detail to include, reducing from one role to the Early career summaries can be sufficient to support the early 20-25% of your career; note company, role, dates.

Validation

• Potentially Early Career summary, if not on page 2
• Education and professional qualifications – Make the judgement on which are most relevant to your role currently or your range of skills; some early qualifications are not necessary to include, or only briefly.
• This will be more relevant and important for roles and careers that involve specific technology, systems or

Interests – A highlight for myself, but something that some consider draws people only to those similar to themselves.

• A further opportunity to promote your informal side, a critical aspect in any recruitment Interests can and should be as far ranging as you feel relevant to yourself.
• A favourite of mine - “I love great food, travel and all forms of sport, but with a young family this involves local take outs as I never go out, watching Michael Palin re runs and Ski Sunday as we get ready for bath time”
• NB: Spending time with your family is a duty, not a hobby!!!

Other considerations & tips

• Cover Letter for applications? – An introduction is important, and it is an opportunity to begin to focus your experience on the role, however it is more advisable to tailor the CV to a role than to send a generic CV with a personalised cover note as the 2 documents may not be presented together.
• ‘Blank piece of paper’ – what am I good at, what competencies does this show, when did I achieve them?
• What words have people used to describe me, or shared in feedback – why?
• Tailor and evolve your CV continuously, yes, but feel comfortable reducing detail as you gain more experience. I often speak about my life in Canada, but the work I did there is no longer relevant!!!
• Seek feedback from trusted colleagues and friends that know you
• I haven’t referenced whether to include a photo or not, this is not for me to say and is probably more contentious than any other cv feedback I have gauged in 22 There is no right or wrong, some people want to include this, other don’t – you decide.
• Recognise these are only one set of ideas and options, Google will suggest many more, none are wrong, just remember: know your audience!!