Only your full name appears in bold at the top of each page
Each page is numbered
There are no graphics, pictures, url’s, colours or borders in your CV
Your CV is in Word format and you include it as an attachment, not in an e-mail
Your font is Arial and between the size of 10 - 12
Your CV is ideally no more than 2 pages long
EDUCATION SECTION
YES
NO
Do you include all the information for each course completed? Start and end dates, institution’s name, full title of the course and qualification obtained, i.e. degree, national certificate.
Incomplete course information: Do you provide full information on course as per above and provide an expected completion date?
WORK EXPERIENCE
YES
NO
Is your CV in Chronological order? Do list your most recent experience first?
Do you provide full employment dates for each employer? DD/MM/YY to DD/MM/YY
Do you name each company/organization?
Do you state the nature of the company’s business?
Do you list the job title which appears on your pay slip under each employer?
Do you explain Gaps in your employment history?
WORK EXPERIENCE
YES
NO
Have you given referees’ names?
Do you include referee’s job titles and contact details?
Have you asked your referees for permission to include them in your CV?
SELF MARKETING
Do you include a list of work and relevant personal achievements in your CV?
YES
NO
Do you indicate how well you did your job by linking your duties/responsibilities to targets or expectations set by your employer?
Does your CV contain power words such as: created, added, executed, increased, decreased, saved, changed, improved, organized, solved and led?
Do you have a Skills or Abilities section in your CV where you highlight your strengths?
YOUR SCORE Count how many Yes boxes you ticked.
22 – 26 Well done! Recruiters love reading your CV! It is well structured, easy to read, professional and sells you! All you need now is the right opportunity to apply for!
12 – 21 Your CV requires further work and development. Identify the areas your CV lacks and turn your lacking CV into a selling CV!
1 – 11 Your CV is in bad shape and is currently doing you more harm than good. If your CV is not reader friendly, informative and sells you then it’s pointless to have one. Start with the format and work your way up to selling yourself.
