There are five essential elements to include in your CV. Your name and contact details, a personal statement, work experience, education and qualifications and key skills.
Five essential elements to include in your CV
- Your name and contact details should be written clearly at the top of your CV. Include your name, phone number and email address so employers can easily contact you.
- Your personal statement should be at the beginning of your CV and must outline who you are, your unique selling points, why you are suited to the role and your career goals. Try keeping it around 200 words and include keywords taken from the job description.
- Third on the list is your work experience. Make sure to put your most recent job first. In this section, include your full job title, your start date and finish date and a brief summary of your responsibilities and achievements. The best way to format this section is to use bullet points.
- List your education and qualifications in reverse chronological order, this means putting your most recent first. Include the course or qualification name, the school or university you attended and your grades.
- Finally, list your key skills. This section is a vital part of your CV. There are two main types of skills, soft and hard skills. Your key skills section should mainly focus on your hard skills, but its good practice to list your soft skills throughout your CV. Soft skills include things like time management and teamwork skills, whilst hard skills are usually job-specific, for example data analysis or copywriting skills.
And there you have it, the five essential elements you need to create a successful CV. Find out what not to include in your CV and more in the advice area.
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