Preparing / Writing An Effective CV

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A good CV is an important tool

A Curriculum Vitae (CV or Resume) forms an important part of the recruitment process and you should not underestimate the value of this document. Take the time and effort to prepare a CV that you can present with confidence. A well presented CV will make all the difference to a prospective employer’s first impression of you.

Your CV should be a carefully prepared document, neatly laid out and correctly typed, remember to spell-check. If you decide to use the word “curriculum” spell it correctly!

The document should contain an honest and factual account of your history, embellishments can only do you harm.

There is no set format for preparing a CV, but its layout should be easy to read and easy to follow.

Up to five pages is considered acceptable, but one page, in our opinion, is not sufficient to present you effectively. If you feel five pages is not enough, it is best to consider a “Summary of Work Experience”, and then you can add a more detailed breakdown of your career as an addendum ie “Work Experience in Detail”.

Sample CV Content

Modern CVs are always in reverse order with most recent experience/qualifications first. However, the following format is only a guideline, but a good CV should at least contain the following:

Personal Details

Name
Address
Telephone numbers – work, home, mobile, fax (if applicable)
Email address

Date and place of birth

This is optional and a personal choice.

Marital Status and dependents

This is also optional.

Tertiary/Professional Qualifications

Clearly indicate your qualifications and where they were completed, including dates.  Eg Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), Mechanical option, University of Canterbury 1976.

Memberships

Give the names of any professional bodies or organisations you belong to.  Eg MIPENZ (Member of the Institute of Professional Engineers of New Zealand)

Training/Courses (summary)

List all relevant training and courses, particularly if you have served an apprenticeship.

Personal Strengths

List the personal strengths you believe you possess (in bullet style). As an example:

• Self motivated and responsible
• Committed to customer service
• Commitment and loyalty
• Leadership capabilities

Technical/professional strengths

List your fields of expertise (in bullet style). For example:

• Project/contract management
• Commercial/financial capability
• Broad exposure to an industry

Career Overview/Recent Experience

It is helpful, particularly if you have had a longer career, to include a career overview, eg experienced engineering and project management professional with 20 years in the petro-chemical industry, plus maybe a brief description of your recent experience.

Career Aspirations

Don’t be afraid to tell people what you really want to do and where you would like your career to develop.

Employment History

When preparing your CV remember that its readers will be busy senior management personnel who want to take in maximum information at a glance, and therefore the contents of your CV should be comprehensive, but easily read and not long winded.

When your employment history is extensive a summary of your work experience may be necessary in addition to your detailed employment history.

Where a CV doesn’t “read right” (eg perhaps two short jobs in succession), give an explanation, if there is one (optional). The jobs could have been temporary, or you might have been made redundant from the first and filled in time with the second. Allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions will not help your cause.

Employment positions should be listed in reverse order with most recent experience first, give details of:

• Company names and locations
• Dates of employment
• Description of companies
• Your job titles/positions held
• Duties and responsibilities
• Achievements
• Reasons for leaving (optional).

Other information

This can include anything you think is relevant to the industry you seek employment in, such as experience gained outside of employment, papers you have written that have been published, level of computer skills etc.

Referees

Ideally you should identify at least three people who you know will give a verbal assessment of your character and capabilities, but make sure they have agreed to do this for you. You may wish to simply state that referees can be provided on request.

Interests

List some of your favourite leisure activities etc, don’t go overboard! This helps a prospective employer, and us, to formulate an overall picture of your general personality.

CV Presentation

Add to your CV copies of relevant certificates and references – never include originals in your CV – if the potential employer loses them, you are left with nothing.

Your CV should be prepared on good quality paper for presentation, but you should also supply a copy on white paper for reproduction purposes.

If you require assistance creating a CV, please contact us.