CV for Professionals

Professional CVs vary from sector, industry and level of experience, remember there is no right or wrong CV. however they sole purpose of YOUR document is to get interviews and job offers.

There are some strategies however which work effectively for CV writing and can help with improving results. This guide details how you can increase the results from submission to interview and some handy information to get you thinking about your document and how you can improve it.

Professional CV design

A professional CV, ideally, should be between 1 and 3 pages in length, there needs to be a good reason why any document should be more than 3 pages. If you have benefited from a varied or lengthy career you need to consider including the most recent employment history (1o years) or utilise an abbreviated format.

The design should compliment you and show off your word processing skills, this is especially true for office workers, supervisors, banking, financial, accountants and roles which require attention to detail. Imagine reading a CV riddled with mistakes. Do not rely on MS word spell check, this can get you into some real issues with grammar, US/NZ spelling and turning abrieviations into entirely new words!

Professional CV descriptions.

You would expect a professional CV to be written in a format which describes what you did, what your day to day responsibilities are and how well you can perform them. CVs which describe responsibilities in three words per line, bullet format are not likely to impress and be responsible for sending your CV hurtling towards the shredder. Where ever possible try to describe your job as if you were selling how ‘great’ the job was/is, and why you were successful.

While it can be difficult to sell yourself, your document is responsible to generating interest and it’s pretty difficult to do this in two to three words per line, bullet style.

CV Fonts

Another issue commonly seen on Professional level CVs are the use of multiple fonts from adding snippets of information onto an existing document. Wherever possible try to write your CV in one standard font and limit decoration. If you are a media designer, graphic artist or artist, by all means, use the creative flair but for individuals less gifted, think twice about dramatising headers and themes.

CV Templates

Templates can be highly effective, however, the free templates are likely to be worth what you paid for them. However if you are thinking about using a paid template, the main points to consider are ; can you edit this easily in MS word and if you have the skill to utilise MS word to ensure a professional finish. If you are in doubt of either of these points ensure you have some one on standby to help you with your CV.