CVS are the first thing an employee will judge you on. Condensing the best version of yourself onto a single page can be both daunting and challenging, but getting it right could mean a road to the jobs of your dreams. To assist you in this process, we’ve compiled our top tips on how to write a CV in 2024.

How to make your CV stand out.

The design of a CV super important and should always be professional and uniform. If you’re applying for a creative role, you can afford to have more fun with it and make it more reflective of your personality.

In general, you should make sure you use a clear font. The government careers service recommends using ‘a clear font like Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri in size 11 or bigger’. You should commit to the same font throughout the CV and make sure you keep the design consistent. Employers might have hundreds of CVS to look through, so make sure you use clear headings, and concise language throughout. This allows the employer to find the information as quickly as possible, they might only have time to quickly scan each CV. 

Useful resources for writing a CV in 2024.

https://resume.io/ - This makes the resume and cover letter process incredibly simple. It includes a range of pre-set designs that allow you to make a professional CV very quickly. It’s free to create and download one CV and one cover letter. However, if you wish to create any more it costs around £2.50 each month.

https://www.grammarly.com/ - This is another useful tool when designing a CV, you can add it to an extension on your browser and get free grammar and spelling checks. It also has AI prompts to help you with your writing if you’re struggling.

Why you shouldn’t include a picture of yourself on your CV?

Including a photograph of yourself on your CV can inadvertently subject you to potential discrimination by an employer. Moreover, a photo takes up precious real estate on your CV and ends up diverting attention from your skills and accomplishments. Make sure you emphasise your professional attributes rather than your appearance, they’re much more important anyway!

What sections should be in my CV? 

Our consultants are CV writing pros they look at hundreds every week! We caught up with our team of talented consultants to ask them which sections you should include in your CV, and what tips they might have to make sure your CV is interview ready.

Start with contact information: This should include your name, email, phone number and city of residence. You would think this would be a given, but some people do forget to put their email and phone number on their CV. How are employers supposed to contact you if they think you are a good fit for the role? There is no reason to include personal information such as marital status, nationality, or sexual orientation. It’s illegal for an employer to ask for this information anyway!

Personal summary: This should be a few short lines that illustrate who you are and what you do.  Make sure you avoid using a sea of buzz words like 'I'm really passionate', 'team-player', 'results-oriented' or 'able-to-work-off-own-initiative'. They've been used so much that they almost don't mean anything anymore. It’s far better to offer examples and results.’

Education history: This should be a chronological list of your education history –  Employers don’t want to have to piece together when you did each qualification. Make it as simple as possible for them to see your achievements! A-Levels are more relevant than GCSES. We recommend leaving GCSES off your CV if you have studied higher education such as A Levels or a degree.

Work history: Think about the dates of your working history.  Make sure none of your dates overlaps this can look unprofessional. You should also consider explaining any gaps you have in your employment history. Remember to keep it relevant! Employers don’t want to see that you worked at Pizza Hut in 1987, so only include relevant and recent job history.

Skills: Make sure you show off the skills you have gained throughout your employment history this can be a mixture of soft and hard skills. Hard skills are often applicable to a certain career (for example being able to use Shopify, Data Engineering, Adode Creative Cloud) and soft skills are transferable to any job (for example public speaking, timekeeping, and work ethic)

Relevant links: This will be specific to the role you are applying for. If you’re applying for the role of graphic designer, you might wish to include a link to your portfolio. Or if you’re applying for the role of social media assistant, you might choose to include a link to a previous account you have managed.

References: This is the name of your previous boss and their job titles. However, you should never include somebody else’s contact details on your CV. Instead, you could say that references are available on request.

Hobbies: this one is a love or hate thing. Including hobbies can humanise your CV but it does take up valuable space. Our recruiters recommend only including relevant hobbies in your CV.

Why you should have more than one CV?

Customising your CV is crucial for success in the job market. Tailor each CV to align it with the specific role you're targeting. Focus on including only the skills and experiences relevant to the position. We recommend maintaining a portfolio of CVs, tailored for various job types. While personalised cover letters are often emphasised, ensuring that your CV reflects the job requirements is essential if you want to stand out.

How often you should be updating your CV?

Ensure regular updates to your CV, even if you’re currently employed. Make sure to add any new skills and completed projects. This practice prevents oversight of valuable learning experiences and achievements accumulated along your professional journey. By consistently maintaining your CV, you reduce the risk of forgetting things when you decide to seek new employment opportunities.

How long your CV should be?

No employers want to read a 10-page novel about a candidate. Employers will have multiple CVs to look through and if yours is too long, it won’t make the cut. According to Reed ‘91% of recruiters surveyed said that a CV should be no longer than two pages’  Make sure you are keeping it short, sweet, and straight to the point. 

How do you write a CV if you don’t have that much experience? 

If you don’t have a lot of work experience, think about your skills. Sit down and try to reflect on anything you have achieved. Maybe your degree gave you valuable academic writing and data analysis skills. You could also include relevant modules for the role you are applying. What knowledge and skills did you gain from this?

You can also list any part-time work you might have and think about the transferable skills. For instance, if you worked at a coffee shop whilst studying for your degree you could talk about the valuable customer service skills you gained from the role.

Making the most of your personal profile/ statement can also be very useful if you don’t have an employment history. ‘It’s not an essential section, but when you don’t have much experience it can add direction to your CV and help the employer understand why they should take your CV seriously.’

Another way to help with an application with little experience is to hammer down on creating an impressive cover letter and concentrate on showing off your hard and soft skills. It’s also always a good idea to outline why you want to work for the company; this shows the employer you’ve done your research about the role. And finally, don’t forget to state your availability and give contact information.

If you leave school or university without an employment history, it’s not the end of the world! Gain experience from voluntary work, online courses, personal projects, and part-time jobs.  Try to be proactive and consider reaching out to professionals in the area you want to work directly. Networking sounds like a corporate buzzword, and to some extent it is. But it really can help you find opportunities. Everyone must start somewhere…

To conclude writing a CV in 2024:

To sum up, having a well-formed CV is the only way you can expect to get an interview. Tailoring a CV to align with specific job requirements remains a MUST, as it not only demonstrates a genuine interest in the position but also showcases your relevance to the role. Ensure you’re adding regular updates to your CV, regardless of your current employment status, ensuring that new skills and accomplishments are accurately reflected, reducing the risk of oversight when seeking new opportunities.

For those navigating the challenge of limited work experience, take the time to highlight personal skills cultivated through academic achievements and relevant part-time positions. Utilise accessible tools such as resume.io and Grammarly to elevate the quality of your CV.

The exclusion of a photograph, a common practice when creating a CV in 2024 , helps steer clear of potential biases and directs attention towards the core competencies and accomplishments. Be sure to include a compelling cover letter that shows off your knowledge of the company and transferable skills.

And if you don’t have an extensive work history; don’t panic! Seek experience through strategic networking, volunteer opportunities, and targeted online courses. Remember, your CV is like the first hello to your potential new employer! Let's make sure it's a standout one.

[1] https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/careers-advice/cv-sections

[2] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cv-writing-how-turn-story-your-life-kofi-pemberton/

[3] https://www.reed.co.uk/career-advice/how-long-should-a-cv-be/

[4] https://www.york.ac.uk/students/work-volunteering-careers/apply/application/no-experience