To make all of these things happen, it's essential that your CV is as up-to-date as possible, reads well, and of course, tells the truth! It's a good idea to have more than one version of your CV available so you can tailor it to fit specific jobs.
Writing your CV is probably one of the hardest things to do. Most employers don't have the time to read through every CV in detail so it needs to grab their attention.
What information does a CV need? Fundamentally, your CV needs to state your skills and work experience in a logical and interesting way. The writing needs to be brief, as usually there is a limit of two pages. A typical CV will state:
Your personal details at the top (name and contact details.)
A profile
Skill-set
Work experience (in chronological order)
Qualifications and training
Membership of professional bodies
Publications that you have authored or co-authored
Hobbies and interests
Anything else that you feel is relevant
Personal Details It's not essential these days to have your address on your CV, particularly if you want to post it on job-boards. Most people state their name, telephone numbers, and email address. It used to be common practice to include your date of birth, but nowadays, as part of the Age Discrimination Act it's recommended that you leave it off.
Profile A profile is simply a statement, usually a paragraph in length, that sums up your career history and achievements. It should also mention your personal traits and aspirations. It's useful to have a profile on your CV so that anyone can quickly see whether you are right person for the job.
Skill-set This is an opportunity to show what you know and how well you know it. As well as listing software (Outlook, Excel, Word etc), you should also state your knowledge of directives, assays and procedures (GMP etc).
Work-experience You need to start with your most recent job, stating the company name, your role and the period of time you were employed there. Keep the wording simple and to the point. The style of the CV is completely up to you (see links below for advice).
Qualifications and Training This is where you list your qualifications, including:
O-Levels/GCSE's A-Levels Degree MA PhD Professorship Any other qualification or training that is relevant to the industry
Membership of professional bodies In this section you can list membership of any professional bodies and, if you want, how many years you've been a member.
Publications that you have authored or co-authored These are useful for the employer to see so they can gauge your experience and understanding of different topics. If you've written several publications, your CV will exceed 3 pages!
Hobbies and interests What do you do in your spare time? What interests do you have outside work? Employers are just as interested in this as they are in the professional aspect of your CV.
Anything else that you feel is relevant If there is anything else that is not covered by the usual sections, but you feel is worth including in your CV, you can add it in at the end.
