How To Write Your First CV

Writing your first curriculum vita (CV) may seem daunting and easier said than done, but remember CVs are just documents. This means you can draft and re-draft as many times as you like before sending yours out to anyone.

You should use your first CV to highlight your skills, qualifications and experience, and be sure to use strong verbs to make it really stand out. When you’re done writing, proofread for grammar and spelling, and format it so that your CV is crisp and clean for the reader. It’s silly to waste all your time and effort on devising a great CV to lose points on presentation!

What to Include In Your First CV

If you’ve only ever worked student or part-time jobs, it can be daunting to imagine making a full CV out of these positions. The good news is that this is not all that a CV should include. In fact, a CV is your chance to let employers see everything that you can offer them, including your skills, qualifications and experience. This means that in addition to previous employment you should be mentioning your education, voluntary positions and outside interests or skills as well.

Draft your first CV to include:

• Name and contact details. Include home and mobile phones, email address and postal address.
• Education. Including predicted grades for GCSE’s.
• Professional experience, work experience also counts! You should include the duties you were assigned in each position and any major achievements (for example, employee of the month, promotions, etc.)
• Interests or miscellaneous skills. Include language skills, computer or technical skills, or any outside certificates or qualifications that you have achieved (for example, Duke of Edinburgh awards, NVQ’s, etc.)

How to Write Your First CV

Writing a CV can be hard for many people because you must use every single word to form a complimentary picture of yourself for future employers. If you find it hard to discuss your talents and achievements then most likely writing about them will be hard as well. Unfortunately, you must move past this. If you don’t make yourself sound employable, then why will anyone else think that they should hire you?

One of the best ways to write a glowing CV is to use strong verbs, so get your thesaurus ready. Most CVs will include verbs such as:

• Achieved
• Analysed
• Awarded
• Balanced
• Collaborated
• Coordinated
• Established
• Entrusted (with)
• Implemented
• Organised
• Reviewed
• Reported
• Taught

How to Format Your First CV

Employers and recruiters will skim every CV that they receive, so make sure that there are no formatting issues that could lead to your CV being discarded from the very start. Instead, make sure that your CV looks neat and can be read clearly and crisply so that it will go straight to the “interview” pile. Be sure to:

• Run a spelling and a grammar check on your CV.
• Read each draft of your CV out loud to see how it flows.
• Have others proofread your CV to catch any minor errors.
• Use clear margins to make your CV attractive.
• Print your CV onto good quality paper.

Writing your first CV can be a tense time, but it doesn’t need to be!

Start writing your first CV before you ever leave school so that there is plenty of time to get help from others and look at templates no doubt stored in the career guidance office.

Even once you perfect your first CV you’ll need to keep updating it every six months or so to add new achievements and skills. And if you’re ever tempted to lie or embellish your history, like Lee McQueen from the apprentice... Don’t! It’s better to lose out on a job that you’re not ready for right now than to be branded a liar forever.