The words ‘Curriculum Vitae’ mean 'life story'. It is a summary of the important information about you from an employer's point of view. The CV is the first point of contact an employer has with you and an impression of you can be created within 20 or 30 seconds of scanning this. It is therefore very important that you represent all your attributes on your CV, so as not to miss out on the opportunity of getting the job.

Employers will receive many CVs so it is vital that yours stands out (for the right reasons!), both in terms of its content and presentation. Spending time on creating and writing a good CV is an investment in the long run. Not only can you use it for the purpose it was intended, it is also useful to refer to before and during your interview. A CV will help focus the interviewer's mind on your good points and your achievements. It's good practice to keep your CV updated on a regular basis.

A CV should consist of the following elements, in this order:

Personal Details

• Name
• Full address
• Contact number (mobile & home number - don't forget the area code)
• Email address
• Date of birth
• Nationality
  

Education and Qualifications

• Name of Primary school(s) you attended and the dates you attended.
• Name of Secondary school(s) you attended and the dates you attended.
• Junior Cert subjects and grades achieved at higher/ordinary/foundation level.
• Leaving Cert subjects and grades achieved at higher/ordinary/foundation level.
• Include any further qualifications you have achieved e.g. Computer exams, Speech and Drama, Music, etc.
  

Work Experience

List places where you have worked starting with the most recent and working backwards. Include the following details for each:

• Company name
• Company address
• Contact name and phone number
• Short description of the company
• Job title
• Description of the tasks you undertook
• List of responsibilities held
• Contributions, achievements and promotions
• Your experience (if any) dealing with the following: customers, money, complaints, suppliers, if you managed or worked as part of a team
• State if you have worked at home (on the farm) or in the family business
• Mention any charity or community work you have involvement with

• List of computer packages you can use e.g. Word, Excel, Access, etc.
• Level of competency (basic, intermediate, advanced)
  

Personal Information

This section should give the employer a good insight into your personality and character.

Employers will be able to tell whether or not you like working as part of a team, on solo projects or outdoors. Include the following information:

• Main achievements
• Hobbies/Interests (don't just list them - give a brief account of your role in them and your achievements)
• Membership of clubs and professional bodies
• Particular skills that may enhance your job prospects
• Language fluency
• Travelling you may have done
• Driving licence (full or provisional)
  

References/Referees

Have two to three referees who will give you a positive reference. Suitable referees would be previous employers or your teachers. Make sure that you inform each of the referees of your intention to use them as a contact. You will need to include the following information for each referee you include:

• Name
• Address
• Contact phone number
• Email address
  

Tips on CV presentation:

• Curriculum Vitae/CV is written as 'Curriculum Vitae' or 'CV'. Do not write any of these in lower case ie. c:v, cv or curriculum vitae.
• Use high quality paper to print your CV.
• Use a word processing package (is this term still used?) to process your CV, do not hand write it. Save your CV to disk, so that you can alter and amend it later on.
• Be specific about your skills, responsibilities and achievements.
• Don't be modest about your achievements and qualifications. The employer needs to have enough detail to decide if you are the person they are looking for and whether or not it merits inviting you for an interview. Keep the details short and concise.
• Your CV needs to be attractive in order to catch the attention of the reader. The layout of your CV is important - it also needs to be well organised and easy to follow. Ensure your CV is user friendly so the employer can access the relevant information quickly and easily.
• Try to keep your CV to a maximum of two A4 pages, unless otherwise requested.
• Shorter CVs tend to have greater impact, as it is more likely your employer will read all of it.
• Achieve this by keeping sentences short and concise, while still including sufficient information. Use section headings and bullet points to break up the text. Include as much white space as possible, so your CV does not look cluttered and confusing to the reader.
• When you have completed your CV, ensure you have checked it for misspelling, grammatical and typographical errors. It is advisable to get someone else to read over it, as you may have missed some errors.
• Use an A4 envelope to post your CV, so you will not have to fold it.
• Ensure you have the correct contact name and mailing address, and that both are clearly labelled.
  

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