A CV is an all-important first impression and selling tool. It must be more than a history of your life; it needs to be corporate, concise and relevant, conveying your skills and experience in the most effective way possible.

Format 
A well-structured CV is critical to presenting yourself in an effective manner. At Law Professionals, we have found that the following formatting rules are favoured by most employers.

Length
Keep your CV as relevant as possible and focused on your career. The optimum length for a CV varies with experience, ranging from two to four sides of A4. If you are concise and to-the-point with your CV, it should not be overly long.

Style
Ensure it is written in the third person. Make sure that everything on your CV is spelt correctly, that the grammar is precise and that the CV does not look too cluttered or spaced out. Bullet points are often an excellent way of breaking up a long piece of text and catching the eye.

Main content
Begin by listing your professional and academic qualifications, starting with the most recent and continuing back to your A levels or equivalent. There is no need to list earlier examination results. After education, ensure that your employment history is organised chronologically, with your most recent work experience first. You should provide an accurate reflection of the type of work you have been involved in and the responsibilities you have had, demonstrating where you have added value and how your career skill-set has advanced as a result. Do not leave off any employment periods – the reader will only ask you about it if you get the interview stage.

Language and Computer skills
All language skills and familiarity with computer packages should be included as separate points respectively.

Personal interests
This is an important area for some employers and less so for others. As a rule, do not list your hobbies unless they have led to achievement. Keep your explanations concise.

What now?
Once you have collated all the information and arranged it in a suitable format, it is important that you check it thoroughly. An employer can sometimes be looking for reasons to make quick eliminations from the pile of CVs on their desk; spelling mistakes, poor grammar, glaring omissions, etc. are the perfect excuses. Once you have checked it, you can then talk it through with your consultant who will advise you on the rest of your job-hunting strategy. If you are unsure about any aspect of writing or updating your CV, please ask for advice from your consultant.