CV Heading
This should be simple and contain your full name and the title Curriculum Vitae or CV.
Personal Profile
Keep in mind that this section is optional, but when used it should reflect your skills, experience, attitude and behaviour. For example, you may want to describe your career aspirations and why you are looking for a new role. Here, you should avoid buzzwords and clichés – keep it simple and concise.
Key Achievements
Your achievements form a key section of your CV. It needs to really engage your prospective employer, so use facts, figures, and timescales to demonstrate that you are a competent achiever in your current and previous roles.
Don’t be afraid to sell yourself, but support your claims with solid evidence.
For example, you may want to use bullet points that strongly demonstrate what you did and your impact.
- Significantly improved absence results and staff turnover, reducing staff turnover from 30% to 3% and absence from 10% to less than 1%. This was achieved through improving staff communication systems, introducing absence procedures and developing team morale.
- Achieved consistent high mystery shopper results of 90%+, being rewarded with the responsibility of Regional Customer Service champion.
The achievements you select for this section should reflect a number of different competencies, tailored to the job for which you are applying. Make sure you cover a range of areas, including financial and sales elements, people management and customer service.
Finally, compare your achievements to the results of your colleagues whenever appropriate to convey the real impact of your contribution – this adds a useful perspective to your achievements and enables the reader to fully understand what you have to offer.
Career History
Your career history is a compact summary of your employment history and the responsibilities that you held in each post.
Start with the most recent or current employer, detailing the month/year you started and finished, with the company name and location as shown below. If you had a number of different roles within the same company, list the dates and then detail the specific roles and responsibilities below.
For every position held, summarise the key facts and figures below each employment entry – include details about the size of your team, turnover, square footage and the number of units for which you were directly accountable, if relevant.
Your key responsibilities should be bullet-pointed, and remember to include any extra responsibilities that may make you stand out. Finally, explain any gaps in your employment history by detailing the dates along with a short, concise sentence providing the reason why you were not working – for example, travelling the world or spending time with family.
Education & Qualifications
Present your most recent qualifications first, providing details for your most important and relevant qualifications – reduce this detail for less significant qualifications. Detail all relevant courses or company training you have received by the date and course title.
Personal Details
Your personal details comprise your full name and title, your postal address and full contact details including your e-mail address, home, mobile, and work telephone numbers. You should also include your marital status and state whether you have a full, clean driving license.
References
You need to supply two references – and ideally, one of these should be your current or most recent employer. Rest assured, they will not be contacted without your permission being requested. However, it demonstrates that you are comfortable with the referees being contacted at the appropriate time.
Proof Reading
Make sure you fully proofread your CV to make sure that you have accurate spelling and grammar. If you’re unsure, ask a friend or relative to read your CV for you.
Visual Format
Your CV should look standardised, so avoid using fancy fonts and stick to a standard font size of 10/12. Print it on white paper and use black ink, colour formats rarely impress and can detract from the real message you are trying to convey.
Download CV Template 
