CV Writing & Content

CV Writing & Content

Firstly, what is a CV?

A CV (curriculum vitae) is essentially a sales tool, it is the first impression any potential employer or recruiter will see of you. It is a document that allows you to express and demonstrate the necessary skills, experience, and knowledge for a potential job opportunity.

So, how do you write a CV?

While there is no ‘one way’ to write a CV, there are a couple of elements that most CVs always have:

• Length: Keep it clear and concise, try not to go beyond 3 pages.

• Font: Keep it simple, between size 10-12, and a common type such as Calibri, Arial or Times New Roman.

• Layout: Keep it clean, using headings, formatting (bolding, italics, underlining), and spacing to structure the information and make it easy to read.

• Language: Maintain a formal tone throughout and avoid jargon or any abbreviations, also ensure you check the grammar and spelling!

How do I structure my CV?

Overall, CV’s will all follow a similar pattern in relation to formatting and structure, but the biggest consideration is the content which makes up these sections. It is recommended that CVs are tailored in accordance with the specific job opportunity you wish to express an interest in, using the job advert or job description to ensure that the skills, experience and knowledge are demonstrated throughout the document.

Contact details:

This is the first section the hiring manager should read, begin with the following:

• Full name

• Contact number

• Email address

• Address/location

• LinkedIn profile (if applicable, and you should definitely have one)

Make sure this information is up to date so any potential employer can reach out to you.

Example:

Joe Bloggs

01926 123456 (H) or 07987 654321 (M)

joe.bloggs96@gmail.com

Kenilworth

www.joebloggslinkedin.com

Personal profile:

This should be a couple of sentences that sum up who you are and what you are hoping to achieve in the future. Keep it short and use this area to summarise any career highlights, mentioning some of your key strengths and attributes, demonstrating any that the role explicitly requires.

Any hiring managers will scan this section of your CV very quickly to see what you can offer and your suitability for the role. The main body of the CV will then begin to delve further into more specific areas.

Qualifications & education:

This section of a CV is to present your educational background including professional qualifications, degrees and school/college history.

Begin with your most recent qualifications, going in a reverse chronological order back through your educational history, this should include:

• The name of the school/place of study

• The dates of study or completion of qualification

• The grading achieved

Example:

ACCA Qualified, 2024

University of Birmingham, 2018 – 2021

BSC (Hons) Accounting & Finance, 1st Class Degree

Kenilworth Sixth Form, 2016 - 2018

3 A Levels including Maths (A), Economics (B) & Psychology (D)

Kenilworth School, 2011 – 2016

11 GCSE’s including Maths (A*) & English (A)

If you are part qualified in a recognised accountancy or tax qualification like ACA, ACCA, ATT etc, then highlight the number of exemptions if you received any, the number of exams you have sat and passed and the number of exams yet to sit to qualification. It is also wise to highlight if you have passed first time in all your exams so far.

Employment history:

This section is arguably the most important and is designed to demonstrate an accurate representation chronologically of a candidate’s career pathway. First of all, do not write it in the first person – so no “I did this, I did that”. Keep it factual and highlight achievements.

All the relevant skills, experiences and knowledge in relation the job opportunity should be displayed in this section.

As a summary, each job should include the following:

• The company name

• The dates of tenure

• Job titles

• Key responsibilities

Example:

Jul 2023 – present                          Addington Ball

Position:                                  Management Accountant

Key Responsibilities:

• …

 

Sep 2021 – Jul 2023                        Amazon

Position:                                  Junior Accountant

 

Key Responsibilities:

• …

 

The responsibilities section is best done in bullet point format, as it is straight to the point and easy to read. The content in this section will delve into the day-to-day remit at each employer, explaining personal achievements (where measurable, include numbers), showcasing your technical knowledge as well as any other applicable skills.

It is crucial that the responsibilities section aligns to the job you wish to express interest in. It may not always be the hiring manager filtering through CV’s first, so the detail in this section needs to be straight to the point.

Other key factors to consider in this section:

• IT systems/packages (E.G. QuickBooks, Xero, Sage etc..)

• Technical knowledge (E.G. GAAP, FRS 102)

• Team/staff supervision

• Process improvement/IT system implementations

• Personal achievements/successes

Any details you feel are important and relevant to the application should be detailed in this section.

Any gaps in the CV should be explained, employers understand that people have lives and responsibilities beyond the world of work. E.G. Travelling

Hobbies & interests:

This is a section which can be more important than you may think, and people misunderstand its purpose. Now, it is important to realise this section may not support or back up your interest in the opportunity you are expressing an interest in, but delving into relevant interests can provide a more complete picture of who you are, as well as giving you something to talk about at interview.

This can include any voluntary work, clubs that you participate within or extracurricular activities. For example, learning of languages, any community involvement or raising money for charity.

Keeping it relevant is important because if it was to say something like you enjoy socialising with friends or go to the cinema just for the sake of including something, it’s not going to add value.

If you don't have any relevant hobbies or interests leave this section out.

Other considerations:

• References - You don't need to provide the names of referees at this stage. You can say 'references available upon request' but employers would assume this to be the case.

• Skills – Again, not really needed unless the skills provided are job specific. There are certain words and phrases you should avoid, and they mostly consist of overused clichés.

E.G. Motivated, Hardworking, Flexible, Organised, Detail Orientated etc…

• File Type – Can be either PDF or Word document. Recruiters prefer Word versions!

So, final thoughts?

It is important to remember that the CV is a live document and should always be tailored to specific job opportunities.

On reviewing your own CV, ensure language is formal, is easy to read and most importantly of all, no grammar or spelling errors!

If you would like your CV to be reviewed (for free!), then please don’t hesitate to contact the Addington Ball team.