Before you touch a template, you need to know what employers actually do with your CV. Most spend less than a minute on a first look. Your job is to make that minute count.
How a CV really gets read
A busy person, or sometimes software, looks at your CV to answer one question: "Is this person worth a call?" They scan the top of the first page, your last one or two jobs, and anything that matches the advert. That is why a clear, simple page beats a clever one.
The four parts every CV needs
- Your name and contact details at the top: name, phone, email, and town or city. You do not need your full address, age, photo or marital status for most jobs in most countries.
- A short profile of two or three lines: who you are, what you do well, and what you are looking for.
- Your work history, newest first. For each job: title, employer, dates, and three to five bullet points.
- Education and skills: short and relevant. Training and certificates count as much as school.
That is it. One to two pages is plenty. If you are early in your career or returning after a break, one page is usually best.
Write bullets that show results, not duties
Compare these two lines:
- Responsible for serving customers.
- Served around 80 customers a day and was thanked by name in three customer reviews.
The second one tells the reader what you actually did and gives a sense of scale. You do not need big numbers. "Trained two new colleagues" or "Kept the stockroom tidy so orders went out on time" are great. Only use facts that are true, as they can be checked.
A simple formula: action word + what you did + the result or size. "Organised the rota for a team of eight, so shifts were covered every week."
Match the advert
Read the job advert and underline the three or four things it asks for most. Then make sure your CV uses the same words, where they are true for you. If the advert says "customer service", do not call it "client relations". Simple matching helps both humans and software.
Keep it clean
- One plain font, size 11 or 12, with clear headings.
- Plenty of white space and no tiny text.
- No spelling mistakes. Read it aloud, then ask a friend to read it too.
- Save as a PDF unless the advert asks for Word, and name the file "Your-Name-CV".
Gaps and worries
A gap in work is normal: caring for family, illness, travel, study, redundancy. You do not need to hide it. Put one honest line, such as "Career break to care for a family member, 2021 to 2023", and move on to what you can do now. Volunteering, courses and informal work all count.
Try it now: your raw material
Take a sheet of paper or open a blank document. Spend 15 minutes on this list. Do not worry about neat wording yet.
- Write down your last three jobs or roles, with approximate dates.
- Under each, list five things you did, big or small.
- Circle the two in each that you are proudest of.
- Next to each circled item, add a number or result if you can: how many, how often, how much better, who thanked you.
- Find one job advert you like and underline its top four requirements. Which of your circled items matches?
This sheet is the raw material for every CV and cover letter you will write. Keep it. Add to it whenever something goes well.
What to remember
- Readers give you under a minute, so keep it clear and simple.
- Use results and facts, not a list of duties.
- Match the words in the advert, and be honest about gaps.
In the next lesson we turn your raw material into a short, strong profile.