How to prepare an impressive CV

Don't stress, here's everything you need to write the perfect CV.

Every year, what employers are looking for changes and you should adapt your CV accordingly. For instance, after the pandemic, a lot of industries are now wanting people who can work remotely so it's good practice to state this in your CV if possible. Then on the other hand, there are also lots of stuff that is now considered "old fashioned" which you should avoid including. Here is a full rundown of what a 2023 CV requires and some extra tips to maximise your employability.

Everything you need to include in your CV

So first of all, you'll want to create your "base CV". This will essentially include everything you've done, all your strengths and skills, with some general details on yourself and why you would make a good employee for any kind of job. Once you have done this you then. can tailor your base CV for each job you apply for (more on that later):

• Personal/contact/portfolio information - Full name, mobile number, email, basic address (no need to go into full details here, just generally where are you based/operating) and any links to a portfolio, website or LinkedIn if the employer would preferably like to see examples of your work.
• Personal profile - A short but sweet description of what makes you perfect for the job role. This will likely change the most with each version you do for different jobs but the basic gist is you're summing up why you are great and also showing a bit of your personality/interests. 
• Skills/area of expertise - What are the key things you can do that will make you perfect for the role? Again, these must be tailored for different roles so everything you list is relevant. They can be social skills such as team player, good listener/communicator, etc or they can be measurable skills like software proficiency or having a driving license. 
• Work experience - From this point on, you are essentially forming a timeline of what you have done, right up to the date you are writing the CV. For the base CV include everything with detail on what you did and what you learned/gained. This includes any full-time jobs, temp roles, volunteering, etc. You'll also need to include for each one the dates you worked there, the exact job title and the name of the employer. This may seem like a lot but once you have it all written out you can then easily remove or add to it when tailoring it for a job role. We'd recommend having at least something down for what are you currently doing (present role/endeavour) even if it's just you working on a certain skill or adding to your portfolio outside of being employed.
• Education - You can choose to combine this with your work timeline or keep them separate if you think that reads better. Include details on the name of intuition, start and end dates, courses and grades. Better to keep this short and to the point as employers generally only want the overview with education unless stated otherwise. If you feel it would benefit you to go into more detail on one particular subject then feel free to expand.
• References - Sometimes the employer will want to contact either a professional referee (such as a line manager or coworker) or an academic referee (lecturer or course head) in order to check you are who you say you are and have done what you've said you've done. It's less common nowadays but still important to include so make sure you stay in contact (and on good terms) with these people. 

Tailor your CV for each job role

So now you've got your base CV it's time to take that and turn it into the best version it can be for the job you want to apply for. This is done by making everything relevant to the role. Go through each section and think about how you can edit it so it's all in line with what the employer is looking for.

The easiest way to do this is by reading through the job description, highlighting key terminology and requirements and then bringing those into your CV. For example, if the job you're applying for has a heavy emphasis on teamwork, then reword your sections to reflect this. So yes you have experience working in retail but now you can state how this role made you a team player and/or give an example of a time which challenged you, resulting in better team working skills/understanding.

You also should remove/cut down on anything that isn't relevant. There's no point in wasting space on things that won't score points with your employer. Again, knowing exactly what your employer is wanting is crucial. You can do this by reading the job description, making notes, researching the company, and possibly looking into current employees' LinkedIn profiles. Build up a solid picture of what they are looking for then tailor your CV based on that. Make sure you save the tailored version as a separate document so you don't lose any content from the base CV that could be relevant to a different job role.

A few more tips...

• Format - We'd recommend going for the simple but effective approach. Use standard fonts and sizes with headers for each section. Have your name and the job type you're going for in a large bold font at the top of the CV (e.g. Sam Taylor - Project Manager). You can use a bit of colour but remember to keep it professional and legible. A lot of companies will use ATS (applicant tracking systems) bots to filter large amounts of applicants quickly so keep it bot friendly by having a simple format with no images.
• Length - If you can keep it to one page then great but if not, preferably no larger than two pages. An employer will have to go through tonnes of applications and will throw out any that are unnecessarily long. Keep it punchy.
• Document name - Name the file your name + job title you are going for. Avoid naming it "CV" or having the draft or version number included in the name.
• Gaps in your CV? Fill them - Employers are not fans of big gaps in your CV so come up with something that fills that time. There's no need to lie, you will have been doing something, even if that's just travelling and seeing the world. 
• Spell check - Make sure to properly read over your CV checking for any mistakes. You can always use software like Grammarly to help you with spelling and grammar.
• Save as - Usually, the employer will state what format they want the CV in but if in doubt, save it and send it as a PDF.

So now you're a professional CV writer, link up with the LSE careers department to find the role that's right for you.