Candidate Information Guide

Your CV is your passport to a job interview. It's your chance to show an employer you've got the skills and experience required, and that you’re the right person for the job.
Whether you're writing your first CV or tweaking your existing one, you may have questions about what to include, how to word your CV and how to lay it out.

Before you start
Sit down with a piece of paper. Look at the job that you are applying for. Consider how your skills, education, and experience compare with the skills that the job requires.
How much information do you have about the job from the description?
Sometimes employers do not give enough information. Ask for more detail if need be.
Spend time researching about the job and company/employer - their structure, products, and successes
Very often valuable information can be found in: - The company’s own publicity, reports and publications. The Internet is a good starting point if you have access

What to include

Personal details
Name, home address and phone number is the minimum required. An e-mail address can be added if available.

Marital status and family
You don’t have to include details about your marital status or information about whether you have a family or not. However, if you think your status will make your application become more attractive. For example being single might make unsociable working hours more feasible

Date of birth
You may include your birth date if you wish. However, it is no longer necessary since the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 made age discrimination illegal in the recruitment process. If you’re having issues getting interviews, try removing it from your CV to see if it has a positive impact.

Education
Give details of any education and where you studied - most recent education first. Include subjects taken and grades.
Pre-college courses (high school, etc.) should then be included. Again, include subjects taken and grades.
Earlier courses, taken at say age 15-16, may not need much detail.

Work experience
List your most recent experience first. Give the name of your employer, job title, and very important, what you actually did and achieved in that job. Part-time work should be included.

Interests
They will be particularly interested in activities where you have leadership or responsibility, or which involve you in relating to others in a team. A one-person interest, such as stamp-collecting, may be of less interest to them, unless it connects with the work you wish to do. Give only enough detail to explain. (If you were captain of a sports team, they do not want to know the exact date you started, how many games you played, and how many wins you had! They will ask at the interview, if they are interested.)
If you have been involved in any type of volunteer work, do give details.

Skills
Ability in other languages, computing experience, or possession of a driving licence should be included.

References
Usually give two names, one from any work situation you have had. If this does not apply, a family friend who has known you for some time. Make sure that referees are willing to give you a reference. Give their day and evening phone numbers if possible.

Length
Maybe all you need to say will fit onto one sheet of A4. But do not crowd it - you will probably need two sheets. Do not normally go longer than this. Put page numbers at the bottom of the pages - a little detail that may impress.

Style
There are two main styles of CV, with variations within them.

Chronological
Information is included under general headings - education, work experience, etc., with the most recent events first.

Skills based
You think through the necessary skills needed for the job you are applying for. Then you list all your personal details under these skill headings. This is called 'targeting your CV', and is becoming more common. But it is harder to do.

Optional extra
It can be good to start with a Personal Profile/Objective statement. This is a two or three sentence overview of your skills, qualities, hopes, and plans. It should encourage the employer to read the rest.

Presentation
You may vary the style according to the type of job, and what is accepted in your country and culture. So a big company would normally expect a formal CV on white paper.

Covering letter
When sending in a CV or job application form, you must include a covering letter. The purpose of the letter is:

To make sure that the CV arrives on the desk of the correct person. Take the trouble to telephone, and find the name of the person who will be dealing with applications or CVs, and address your letter, and envelope, to that person by name. (In a small company, it may be the managing director. In a medium size company, it may be the head of section/department. Only in a large company will there be a Personnel or Human Resource Department.)
To persuade the person to read your CV. So it must be relevant to the company, interesting, and well produced.
To clearly say what job you are interested in. If you are sending in a 'speculative' CV hoping that they may have work for you, explain what sort of work you are interested in. Do not say, 'I would be interested in working for Widgets Ltd', but say 'I believe my skills equip me to work in the product development department/accounts office/whatever'. When sending a speculative CV, you may try telephoning later to push your enquiry further.
To say why you want that particular job with that particular employer
To draw attention to one or two key points in the CV which you feel make you suited to that particular job with that particular employer.
Start your letter with an underline heading giving the job title you are interested in. (If you saw the job advertised, say where you saw it.)
The letter should only be on one side of A4 paper. It must be polite and easy to read.
Also mention when you are available for an interview. Ending your letter with a request for specific extra information may give a positive response.

Application forms
To apply for some jobs, the employer will send you an application form. You should still use a covering letter, and send your CV also unless told not to. Application forms need as much care to write as CVs. Remember the lessons earlier on this page. Here are some short guidelines:

Plan everything you will say on a separate piece of paper. Or make a photocopy of the form, and practice completing it first.

Only complete the real form when you are exactly sure what is the best thing to say.

It must be very neat and clear, and in black pen so that it can be easily photocopied.
You should 'angle' your answers to the company, in the same way as explained for your CV.
Do not say in answer to any question - 'see my CV'. They do not want to try to read both at the same time.
Take a photocopy to keep, so that you can remember exactly what you said. If you are called to interview, take this copy with you into the interview.

Other points
Keep copies of all letters, applications forms, and CVs sent, and records of telephone calls and names of those you spoke to.