You know your career better than anyone, you can identify your career highlights and achievements, you can define your personality, your style of working and your career objectives are clear. You also know what gels with agency and company recruiters, you know how to ensure your CV is highly visible in on-line databases and when evaluated by computer rather than a human; and you have reasonable writing skills and an eye for a well presented document that ouses confidence, appropriate status and credibility and you can be objective.

So why not create your own CV and application letters? Until you have experienced the difference between a perfect CV, professionally crafted from a reputable Company and a DIY version you will never be able to answer the question.
We find that professionally constructed CVs result in 4 to 5 times as many interview invitations as even very good personally written versions. They also provide the applicant a significantly better chance of being shortlisted because a high proportion of interviews are CV based and since a professional CV will be written with the interview in mind, you will be more in control of the interview and its outcome.

Buy hey, why not give it a go, what have you got to lose - other than a shot at maybe your dream job. If you are confident writing your own CV, the CV Help and tips below will assist. If you are not so confident of producing a first class document, we offer friendly professional services that are effective, readily affordable and tailored to the specific sector and job type of interest to you.

Should you choose the self-constructed route, send your finished CV to us and we will provide you, completely free of charge and without any commitment from you, a detailed written report of how it would be rated by a recruiter. Just click on the button below.

Chronological CV Help
These are the most common form of CVs, usually and best written in reverse chronological order and ideally with a header summarising skill set, career highlights, style and specific expertise and career objectives. This is the style of CV preferred by many recruiters and probably the easiest to construct, usually maximum 2 pages. It should however, not be used if you cannot demonstrate clear career progression, if you have been a "job hopper", or if your career has taken an unusual route.

Focus on the last 5 or 6 years, summarise the rest

List the Companies that have employed you and their location with the dates of employment and your titles, make sure these are accurate

Under each Company name say very briefly what you actually did on a day-to day-basis and list your main responsibilities

Detail how many people reported to you and to whom you reported, perhaps highlighting managerial effectiveness, special circumstances e.g managing a geographically remote team, multi discipline team etc

Highlight achievements and your role in these - this is the most imporatnt section

Show career progression, promotions etc but dont repeat the same activities in more than 2 successive roles

Detail relevant qualifications, recent courses attended, certification, awards

Use language that reflects your personality, management style etc and sets the correct tone for the level of responsibility sought.

Research and use keywords relevant to the industry sector and job type of interest

Explain any gaps in your career e.g gap year, maternity leave, redundancy etc but if these are extensive, the explanation may be better explained in a different style of CV

Functional CV Help
A functional CV is a statement of your skills, achievements and experience, most usually ordered under relevant headings such as General Management, Administration, Change Management, Consultancy, IT, Marketing, Six Sigma, Sales / Commercial, Finance etc. This style of CV describes what you have done rather than where and should be considered for those with extensive or specialist experience, particularly if in more than one sector, individuals with unusual career routes, those with career "problems", those wishing to downsize their career and those wishing to change sector. It should be noted that some recruiters have difficulty matching suitable candidates offering functional CVs with vacancy specifications and care should be taken to ensure obvious relevance to the type of role sought. Functional CVs, properly written show up well in job-board database searches and when scanned by automatic selection software since it is relatively easy to include keyword rich statements.

Set the tone of the CV with a header summarising your expertise, your discipline(s), the industry / public sectors in which you have operated and the level of recent employment / engagements

Select 3 or 4 headings under which to describe your skills and experience using achievements to demonstrate the skills and experience in action. Ideally use a bulleted, short statement format

Table some examples of roles undertaken, naming employers if they are recognised names and providing dates / terms of employment if appropriate. Make it clear this is a selected list and not a career history. Make sure unusual elements in your career, gaps etc are fully explained - don't under any circumstances try and hide what you may view as negative career history.

Show how you have kept abreast of trends and practices in your discipline(s) and how your skills, style, network, experience are appropriate to the type or role sought and state your career objectives, include relevant qualifications or vocational study

Versions of Functional CVs may also be relevant for some graduates, those seeking their first appointment, some consultants, contract and interim workers and those considering non-executive roles. They can also be appropriate for experienced applicants wishing to engage at a more junior level than previously.

A combination of functional and chronological CVs, is sometimes appropriate but care should be taken to avoid confusion and brevity is of particular importance to avoid a lengthy document.

Graduate CVs / School Leavers / Those with limited Career History - CV Help
A very different format of CV is required for this group. The focus should be on: hard skills acquired, education and qualifications, work experience (particularly if relevant to a desired career path or career objectives) and a clear description of your personality, working style and suitability for the career path chosen.  

It should ideally present the picture of a well rounded, realistic individual with enthusiasm in abundance. Interpersonal skills are particularly important; recruiters are citing lack of these (or at least a lack of their description in a CV) as one of the main reasons they have difficulty hiring new graduates.

Typical "student CVs" will not generally win interviews for the better roles or careers. Employers like to see evidence that academic results can be applied in the real world, they prefer to see some work experience as this reduces the risk associated with hiring new graduates and school leavers. The challenge every new graduate faces is getting that real world experience. Moreover, student CVs tend to look the same, so it is essential to distinguish yourself from your peers with a dynamically presented CV.

At Perfect CVs, we have developed a "Skills Converter" in which academic knowledge gained from education, training, projects etc is presented in business language appropriate to the sector in which the candidate wishes to carve out a career. This ensures that employers can easily evaluate the value of the candidate to their organisation.

Start with a "profile" making a statement about who you are e.g. school leaver with 5 "O" levels, an outline of any work experience, your preferred career path and why this is your chosen career

Detail your education and qualifications, awards and any vocational achievements making these as "business world" oriented as possible

Detail any work experience gained with Companies / Charities etc and highlight any relevance to your preferred career, also highlight any responsibility you were given, state what you did on a day to day basis

Expand on your career aspirations and objective

List relevant skills and interests without qualifications or awards e.g computer skills, manual skills, organising ability, driving licence holder etc

Either include details of referees who have agreed to provide a reference or state that references are available

 

Target CV Help
As the name implies a Target CV is one directed at a specific vacancy, a specific organisation or possibly a specific type of role or job title.The content and style / format will vary, so we make no attempt to detail this here, but will usually be a combination of Functional and Chronological CVs with only that specific content that is relevant to the target audience included. For the avoidance of doubt we are not describing here, modifications to an existing CV to tailor it for a particular application. Producing a Target CV requires a thorough understanding of the hiring organisation and the role of interest that usually goes far beyond what is contained in a vacancy advertisement. Target CVs are often directed at larger organisations that use "competency profiles" in their recruitment process. These relate to a department or organisation as a whole and it is crucial that any application covers general competency requirements as well as the skill set and experience for a particular role. With or without a Target CV, such applications are best made via a carefully worded Application (Cover) letter that highlights how general and role specific requirements are met.

Keywords
Keywords are now critical to the success of virtually all CVs. Job boards and other commercial organisations collect CVs to construct CV databases and "sell" access to the CV databases to recruiters. These databases are huge and a recruiter will search them using keywords in exactly the same way as you would search for a product or service using a search engine such as Google. If the keywords that the recruiter selects are not prominent in your CV, the recruiter will quite simply never know you exist, no matter how suitable you may be for the vacancy. Similarly, many recruitment agencies use software to scan CVs for keywords to identify relevant CVs.

Some keywords relate to an industry sector. some to skills, experience, specific jobs undertaken etc etc, but these are not what some people refer to as CV Words. A quite a large amount of research is required to determine what keywords are likely to be relevant to the indusrty and role in which you desire to be engaged. Clues are contained in the adverts appearing in job boards but most have been identified from recruiters themselves over a lengthy period. This makes it a little difficult for a self constructed CV to contain sufficient relevant keywords and phrases to be really effective in database search, particularly so because the relative position of keywords has a significant impact.

Templates
Templates for construction of CVs are available from a variety of CV Companies either free or for a fee. They basically set out the headings under which the main content of the CV is organised, the better ones provide detail of what content is required, similar to the advice above and they offer different graphical styles. Some people find them a useful aid but they do little to create the tone of a CV or the language to reflect the real "you". In 2007, Perfect CVs conducted a survey to assess the effectiveness of these templates, supplied by a wide variety of organisations including ourselves. We found that templates did little to enhance a self constructed CV and recruiters could very often recognise when a template had been used and often reacted negatively. As a result of our findings we ceased to sell our templates and we do not recommend using them. If you have the capability of producing your own CV, you should not need the aid of a template.

Now the Tricky Bit - exactly what to write!

Make sure your value to a hiring organisation is absolutely clear
Recruiters tend to "speed read" CVs and they are looking for 2 or 3 statements that link a job seeker's CV with their specification for the vacancy. The CV should therefore be written so that these statements stand out both physically and in the dynamism of their content. If the recruiter sees these statements quickly, the chances are they will read the CV properly, otherwise they tend to press the reject button. Recruiters want to understand very quickly the value you would bring to the hiring organisation. One good method of creating the key statements is to imagine yourself actually doing the job for which you are making application; then write a list of all the reasons you are suitable for the job; from this list it should be easy to construct a few really eye catching statements. To give an idea of what the list may contain, here are some examples: analytical, work well under pressure, flexible, team player, goal oriented, friendly, highly qualified, experienced, business manager, charismatic, leader, highly skilled /proficient an/at..., delivered X% growth, managed resources..., ambitious, motivator, motivated by, achieved....etc etc

Make sure your personality and style comes across.
Do not under any circumstances use templates or on-line CV construction systems. See above under "Templates". Personality and style in a CV comes across with the CV words or wording used in describing achievements, skill set and experience, so choose the CV words carefully. Use words that reflect your style. If you are a go-getting new business developer use dynamic words, if you are not so extrovert then use language that is not so bold. Don't say that you are a good communicator - the way your CV is written will tell the recruiter whether you are or not, and if you describe yourself as highly motivated, ambitious or a leader etc then qualify what you say with examples from your work history or your life outside work. Personal qualities described and qualified are one of the best methods of increasing your likelihood of being invited to interview since they paint a picture for the recruiter and separate you from the bland norm. Above all, make sure that the CV words used to portray your style and personality to the recruiter actually do reflect the "real you", be honest, highlight your strengths and if possible avoid paraphrasing the text in the vacancy advert.

Be Concise
Most CVs should not exceed 2 pages and never more than 3. Say what needs to be said in as few words as possible, avoid adding information that is not relevant to the application. If your work history is extensive, summarise it highlighting just 2 or 3 key achievements. If you feel this will diminish your application status or if you need to provide e.g. graphic illustrations of your work, consider an e cv published on the web. These can be formatted so that the key messages are delivered on the "home" page and via links you leave it up to the recruiter what further detail (on separate pages) they may want to view.

Make it look interesting
Your CV doesn't have to be just text, in fact for most CVs it shouldnt be; CV words are only part of the document. Subtle highlighting, bullets, background, graphcs, font, font size and style can all be used to effect but dont overdo it! If the Market Sector you want to work in is formal such as banking then make your CV formal, use numbers and industry terminology. If you are applying for a marketing job then the CV style should demonstrate that you can market yourself; if you are seeking a job in an art sector, eg. graphic design, fashion, photography etc, demonstrate appropriate design skills in your CV construction. A good looking, well formatted CV, appropriate to the job type or sector of interest will always score over "a CV word list". Remember that your CV will need to look good on screen as well as on paper so choose a font and style that displays well in both media and avoid itallic fonts, they dont show up well when documents are scanned.

Make sure it is relevant
It is good practice to tailor CVs for each application, it is not good practice (and can be dangerous!) to re write a CV for each application but this is one area where professional CV help can avoid problems with various potentially conflicting versions of a CV being in circulation. The skills and experiences described in your CV should reflect the specification of the vacancy advert - if there is a wide discrepancy you are probably looking for the wrong job. The recruiter is likely to have a check list of all the details required, some recruiters have weightings against each attribute sought. A relevant CV will score highly.

Make sure it is accurate and reads well
Make sure that your application is made in line with any requests of the advertisement. Check the CV words used, check the impression they give, check spelling, then check it again. Write in relatively short statements but make sure the CV reads well and progresses from one point to the next in a natural way. Highlight the value you would add to an organisation. We realise this may be obvious but it is amazing just how many CVs we see without personal contact details. Name, home address, telephone, ideally mobile and email address are essential and web address if you have an e cv hosted on the web.

Not being in the serious running for a job you desire and for which you offer a good fit is a totally avoidable situation. There is no point in taking risk with something as important as a career when professional CV help is readily on hand and is readily affordable. The message that is heard time and time again from recruiters is that if any doubt whatsoever exists about the quality or suitability of your cv, e cv, web profile or application letters then get CV help and assistance before the rejections start rolling in.

Perfect CVs offer a free of charge, comprehensive review of your existing CV - find out what a recruiter thinks of your CV

Frequently Asked Questions

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CV Writing Personal Statements

"I am applying for University entrance and require a CV Writing Personal Statement, can you help?"

Yes, although a Personal Statement is a very different document to a CV designed to win Interviews, the process to construct a properly worded and interesting text that reflects your style and personality and "bonds" with the reader is actually very similar to that required to produce a conventional CV. An example of a personal statement can be viewed by clicking here. Personal Statements are produced using Perfect CVs Standard CV Writing Package and will be written by an experienced specialist who understands the academic environment in which you are wishing to engage.

"I have to complete an on line form as part of an application in local Government that asks for a personal statement describing why I am suitable; is this a service you can offer?"

Yes, this is becoming a very common requirement in the Public Sector Application process and our Web Profile Service provides exactly what you require.

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CV Templates

Sorry but we no longer sell templates. They may appear to be a convenient method of constructing a CV but in practice the CVs produced from templates and on-line CV construction systems are very poor and very rarely result in interviews. Everyone's situation is different, even if applying for one particular type of vacancy and in order to ensure that a CV accurately reflects the style, personality, achievements, skill set and experience of each candidate, CVs need to be individually constructed. Also we no longer publish CV Writing Examples or CV Samples as CV help since the copying of CV Writing Samples actually does a dis-service to Job Seekers. Similarly, tools such as CV Builders on some job boards are usually un productive. It should also be noted that errors or ommissions from a CV can result in dismissal from a role secured with a false CV. Many larger organisations now routinely heve the CVs of persons they wish to engage verified by external bodies; using a CV constructed for anyone other than yourself is likely to fall foul of the verification process.

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Functional CVs

"My career has some gaps in it when I have taken time out to travel. I have heard that this is something that recruiters do not like but a Functional CV can hide the gaps in my CV and help the impact of my CV"

Recruiters do look for career progression in applications but gaps should not be regarded as negative elements of a CV - they do however need to be fully explained and benefit in skills or experience gained as a result should be quoted whatever style of CV is constructed. Take a look above for CV Help that we provide in writing Functional CVs and in what circumstances this CV format should be selected.

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General

"Are there such things as CV Words, ie words that make a CV special and should be included in a CV and is this part of the CV Help that you provide"

The important thing is that the words used to create a CV properly reflect the style and personality of the candidate and reflect that candidate in a true light. There is no point in using CV words just for the sake of it if they are not the type of words that you would use in everyday life. Often Job Seekers like to see CV words such as "dynamic" and "pro active" etc in their CVs; the use of these CV words is fine if they accuartely describe the candidate but if they do not then more relevant CV words should be chosen. What we call "Action Verbs" such as "leading", "drove", "managed", "created", "devised" etc are the type of words that will help define what a candidate has achieved and also reflect personality. CV words are often confused with Keywords - those words, strings and phrases that need to be included in a CV to ensure high visibility in searches of CV databases.

"What is wrong with my CV, I am not getting interviews and need some CV Help"

The main reasons why CVs get rejected when the applicant has the appropriate skills and experience for the vacancy are: a clear picture of the applicant's value to an organisation is not clear, achievements are not presented in a way that links them to the requirements of the vacancy advert, a lack of appropriate keywords necessary for a CV to gain visibility in a database search, lack of or innappropriate style / personality portrayed, poor format and CV words used, CVs that are too long or conatin irrelevant information and the list goes on and on. When Perfect CVs offer CV help, many are surprised to hear our views of why their CV fails to win interviews. Many CVs are written from the perspective of the individual not as a selling document for a recruiter, very often the CV words used describe skills etc but are not oriented to show the individual's value or style etc. Whilst these may seem like minor issues, it must be remembered that the recruiter is only looking for a limited number of strong candidates and when applicant numbers are high, only those CVs that are clearly of the highest quality are considered. Recruiters themselves encourage applicants to seek professional CV help if there is any doubt abot the suitability or accuracy of a CV.

"What is a CV Library"

CV Libraries are essentially databases containg CVs from applicants that have not been successful securing a position but meet the job specifications. These are held by many organisations and accessed when a vacancy appears for which recruitment has been undertaken previously, usually prior to external advertising. Candidates are often asked if they wish their details to be held on these databases since they are subject to data protection and privacy laws but sometimes inclusion is automatic and the legal right to add to the database is contained in the wording associated with the original application.

"What does optimising a CV mean"

Basically it means writing the CV using keywords that will make the CV highly visible in the job board and CV databases used by recruiters.

If you apply for a vacancy, particularly on line, your CV is likely to be scanned for suitability rather than assessed by a human. The recruiter will select some keywords or strings relevant to the specific vacancy under consideration and use software to identify the applications that are closest to the keywords selected. It is exactly the same process as using a search engine such as MSN, Yahoo or Google to find information about a selected topic. Optimisation is the skill of including the keywords, strategically placed in a CV for high prominence that a recruiter is likely to pick for a particular type of job.

Similarly many recruiters use CV databases or job board databases as a primary source of candidates. These databases contain hundreds of thousands of CVs. Again the recruiter uses keywords to select a few CVs relevant to the vacancy.

Knowing what keywords and strings to include in a CV and where they should be positioned is absolutely key to a successfully securing a new job. Professional CV Writing Companies have learnt by experience over many years what keywords work and which ones dont, and some of the results are surprising. It is therefore quite difficult for an individual to properly optimise a CV and lack of optimisation is the main reason why some CVs in job board or CV databases never generate any interest.