Candidates · Guide
Write your CV
Your CV should promote your skills, experience and attributes clearly. Here is the advice we give every candidate.
Presentation
- Use a clear, widely available font such as Calibri or Arial, at 9 to 11 point.
- Avoid text boxes, which often cause alignment and formatting problems.
- Skip decorative graphics. They can hide missing information, and a CV that is hard to read often gets closed.
Length
Don't force a long, strong career into two pages, as important detail gets lost. Four or five pages is fine when the experience justifies it.
Honesty
Don't hide career breaks. Label them clearly, for example "Career break" or "Actively seeking new employment". Reference checks usually reveal gaps anyway.
Writing style
- Use bullet points rather than long paragraphs.
- Be specific. Name skills and tools instead of phrases like "dynamic" or "high energy".
- Tailor your CV to each role you apply for.
A structure that works
- Header: full name, email, phone number and address.
- Personal statement: a few lines on your attributes, goals and what you offer.
- Achievements: key results you personally delivered or led.
- Education and qualifications: degrees with grade, subject and dates, plus professional memberships such as CEng, PRINCE2 or MCIPS.
- Key skills: the technical tools you use professionally, for example MATLAB, Simulink, C++, UML or SysML.
- Work experience: job title, company, location and dates (Month YYYY), with achievements and the skills behind them. Keep older roles shorter.
- School education: especially important early in your career.
- Interests: particularly ones that show how you develop your skills.
- References: "Available on request" is enough.
Early in your career?
Expand on responsibilities and projects from your education, and connect them to real situations: what you did, and what you achieved.