Writing your Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Your CV should include the content which is detailed below. We recommend that you construct it in the same order and layout as we have done. 

• Personal

Name
Address
Mobile Number
Home Number

• Education

Professional Qualification and date attained
Name of University and details of Degree and Degree Class
Name of School and Exam results achieved at 16 and 18

• Career History

A complete chronological account of every job held which starts with the most recent employment.

Each job must include the month and year it started and finished and include some detail regarding the content of the job. (Please see Job Content* below.)

Every gap between jobs must be explained

• Professional Referees

It is essential to provide names and contact details of professional referees when applying for temporary work. A recruitment agency is bound by law to take up references for applicants searching for temporary work.

Job Content*

• The amount of detail will depend on both the relevance to the job for which this CV is being put forward and how recently the job was held.   

• Job Content should be easy to read and absorb. Bullet points are effective. If writing a paragraph, ensure sentences are short and factual. (Avoid adjectives and subjective comment.)

• Keep the information factual and as precise as possible. Eg. 'Managed a full residential property caseload, from initial instruction to post-completion matters for high net worth individuals. Properties ranged in value from £800K - £10 million'.

• Include major achievements, projects undertaken, responsibility for staff, daily activities.

• The reader should understand what you did and what you achieved and the context of your position.  

• Whilst the career history must be complete it is seldom useful (and maybe detrimental) to put extensive detail about the jobs held over five years earlier. A brief summary will suffice. 

Interests/Hobbies

The inclusion of an Interests section on your CV is a matter of personal taste. If you do choose to add one, ensure the ‘interests’ (as with everything else on your CV) are genuine and that you will be able to discuss them in detail if your interviewer wishes you to do so.     

The length of the CV will depend to an extent on the length of your career, however, the ideal is that it should not exceed four sides of A4.