Introduction

To get yourself noticed it is important to use a CV format which will best represent you in the jobs market. There are any number of ways of laying out a CV, but these can in fact be reduced to 5 basic examples: Chronological CV (traditional approach - superseded by the Performance CV), Functional CV, Performance CV (an updated form of the Chronological CV), Targeted CV and Alternative CV. Each of these formats has its advantages and disadvantages (see below).

In general the Performance CV works best for most people, assuming that you are staying in the same field. If this format is unsuitable for you then you could try either the Functional or Targeted CV formats and see which reads/looks better for you. Even if you create a Performance CV for yourself, there are times when a Functional/Targeted CV may help you secure an interview when a Performance CV would fail.

Advantages:

1. If you are planning to stay in the same field/work area.
2. If you want to show-off your promotions.
3. If the name of your last employer is highly prestigious.
4. Most people prefer this format to the other formats listed here because it is easy to see who you have worked for and what you did in each particular job.

Disadvantages:

1. If you are planning to change career direction.
2. If you have frequently changed employer.
3. If your work history has been patchy in recent years, either through unemployment, redundancy, self-employment, ill health, etc.
4. If you do not have many achievements (you could just leave out the achievements section as in a traditional Chronological CV) or your achievements are not in line with what you want to do now - either leave out the achievements section or consider using a Functional or Targeted CV.

This type of CV highlights the main functions/achievements of your whole career and it can therefore be very useful if you have had a varied career or you are seeking a change of career direction. In this format, job titles and company names are given less dominance or even omitted in some cases.

Advantages:

1. If you want to emphasise abilities and achievements that have not been used in your most recent job(s).
2. If you are changing career direction.
3. If you have had a large number of jobs and you would prefer to describe the experience you have gained in total.
4. If you want to include voluntary/unpaid experience.
5. If your work history has been patchy in recent years, either through unemployment, redundancy, self-employment, ill health, etc.

Disadvantages:

1. If you want to highlight promotions/career growth - you could include this sort of information on the second page of your CV, but it would not be as prominent as on a Performance CV.
2. If your most recent employer is highly prestigious, because their name will not be prominently displayed on the first page. You can get round this by putting their name in both the profile and cover letter.
3. If your job has only a limited number of functions.
4. Unusual CV format - may not be liked by everyone.

Advantages:

1. If you want to emphasise abilities and achievements that have not been used in your most recent job(s).
2. If you are changing career direction.
3. If you have had a large number of jobs and you would prefer to describe the experience you have gained in total.
4. If you want to include voluntary/unpaid experience.
5. If your work history has been patchy in recent years, either through unemployment, redundancy, self-employment, ill health, etc.
6. If you have several completely different job targets and you need a CV for each.

Disadvantages:

1. If you want to highlight promotions/career growth - you could include this sort of information on the second page of your CV, but it would not be as prominent as on a Performance CV.
2. If your most recent employer is highly prestigious, because their name will not be prominently displayed on the first page. You can get round this by putting their name in both the profile and cover letter.
3. Unusual CV format - may not be liked by everyone.

Advantages:

1. If the job requires exceptional talent in either the written or visual mediums.
2. If you will be applying directly to the person you will be working for.

Disadvantages:

1. Not to be used if you are seeking a management position.
2. If you are planning to apply through normal channels such as advertised vacancies/the Personnel Department.
3. This CV format may fail utterly if your ideas are not well received by the recipient of your CV.

This section will teach you how to write a CV if you have identified that you need a performance CV. Generally you will find the layout described here will work for you. Please feel free to add other sections as required or change the ordering of later sections to suit you.

Profile/Summary

This should be a short summary of your experience, skills and abilities, and be contained in four to six lines of text. Only list the attributes that will be of interest to your next employer; do not include irrelevancies.

Achievements

List 3 to 6 achievements which you feel will be in line with your next position. Do not list achievements which are not in line with what you want to do next. Bullet point your achievements to make them stand out. Start with the strongest point in your favour and then work backwards from there.

Experience

This should be in reverse chronological order starting with your most recent job and working backwards. You only need to include the year you started and the year you finished each job. You do not need to include the month or day, e.g. put 1993 - 1995 rather than 1.8.1993 - 4.6.1995. If you have had a lot of jobs you may need to group some of the earlier jobs together, e.g. '1975 - 1980 various engineering positions'.

If your job title does not reflect what you actually did, or it sounds a bit obscure, consider changing it. For example, if you are applying for a position as a Sales Representative and you are currently a Sales Representative but your job title (given to you by your company) is Customer Home Representative, you would be well advised to change your title to that of Sales Representative.

When you are describing your experience for each position you should start with the strongest point in your favour and then work backwards. If you have a lot of points to put under one specific job you may want to break this description into two or more sections. You could break up this section into responsibilities and achievements or you could break it up into specific functions, e.g. management, sales & marketing; the choice is yours.

If you have had a number of positions for a particular employer you may not want to include every individual job (in which case leave out the year designations for all jobs titles and just include the start and finish years for this employer), or you may be able to combine one or more of the jobs. If the jobs are completely unrelated you may be better off using a Functional or Targeted CV.

Make sure you stress your responsibilities and achievements under each job which will be useful in your next job, but do not repeat information in your CV as this will just bore the reader.

Training

Only include the most important training courses on your CV. You may not want to bother with a section on training or you may combine it with Education/Qualifications depending on how much space you have on your CV.

Education/Qualifications

Only list the most important qualifications. If you are a graduate you do not really need to list your 'O' Levels/GCSEs, just indicate the number of 'O' levels gained. You may want to put this section before the Training Section. Unless you have just completed a degree or MBA, this section should go after work experience. In the case of recently completed education, if your work experience is more likely to be of interest to an employer, you should still put work experience first. You could perhaps mention your recent qualifications in your profile or in your cover letter.

Personal Details

Include date of birth, marital status (you may leave this out if you want to), and driving licence. If you have a clean driving licence, say so.

Interests

Keep this part fairly short, but make sure you list any current positions of responsibility. If you do not currently have any management responsibility and you are applying for a management position you may want to include positions of responsibility that you have held over the last few years, e.g. Play football for a local team - Captain, 1993 - 1996.

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• CV tips introduction
• FREE email guide: Is your CV letting you down?: How to dramatically improve your CV
• Professional CV writing service by Bradley CVs
• Why are CVs rejected?
• What information will you need?
• What should you leave out?
• Selecting your CV format
• General CV writing tips
• Example performance CV
• How to write your performance CV
• Example functional CV
• How to write your functional CV
• Example targeted CV
• How to write your targeted CV
• The alternative CV
• Example student CV
• Example graduate CV
• How to write your student / graduate CV
• Word-processing and printing
• Cover letters

Curriculum Vitae

 Education: -

 Certifications:

 Teaching Experience: -

 Employment:

 Projects Completed:

 References for Recommendation  (at least 2)

• Persone Name,   Designation, Address, Phone No.
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