CV Writing: | CV Objectives | CV Taboos | Chronological CV | Functional CV | Hybrid CV | One-Pager | CV Comparisons

CV Writing: CV Objectives

The purpose of curriculum vitae (CV) is to help you get an interview, that interview may lead to a job offer. However it does not matter how good you are in interviews if you cannot get to the interview stage. Most employers are looking for a reason to reject the CVs they are reading, as they wish to reduce a large pile of applications to a short list of usually three or five. Your CV is therefore one of the most important documents you will ever produce. It has to sell you, without you being present in front of the reader.

Your CV is your main written marketing tool, you are the product and it is advertising you. It is competing against a lot of other advertising (CVs), so your CV must be outstanding. Sometimes you will also need to fill in an application form, but if you have a good CV as a guide, your task will always be much easier.

The CV that you post should be constructed with the specific job in mind, rather than simply a standard historical list of your achievements. You should first think about what job you want, then what achievements you would like to discuss in the interview to create the best impression and finally you should put the results described by your achievements in the CV.

Designing a good CV is a labour intensive exercise that requires a huge effort. Be prepared to spend a lot of time on your CV and to go through many drafts, before you are happy with the finished product. It is best to produce a core CV, which you critically review and heavily tailor for each specific job application.

Do not include too much detail and make the key areas stand out, as research shows that most CVs are initially speed read and only have a few seconds to pass through the initial filtration process.

The main CV types are:

Chronological, select CV chronological
Functional, select CV functional
Hybrid, select CV hybrid
One page, select CV one page