Do:

• Tailor your CV to the job you are applying for.
•  Include all the important information in the first half page.
•  Mention all the skills you have which may feasibly be relevant.
•  Put key points at the beginning of paragraphs.
•  Concentrate on your most recent experience.
• Identify your achievements, even if you think you don't have any.

 Do not:

• Bury your most important points in the middle of paragraphs.
• Make your CV longer than two pages. Leave gaps in your career history.
• Include large amounts of irrelevant or unimportant information.
• Make the employer search for important information.

Tailor the Content of your CV.

 It is important to tailor the CV to the job you are applying for. If you have a job description read it carefully and identify everything in your background which is relevant to it. Then make sure these points are mentioned prominently in your CV.  If you don't have a job description, or you are posting the CV on a website or sending it to a recruitment agency, the same principle applies. In these cases tailor the CV to the job you would most like to get.  Don't overdo the tailoring though. If you have particular skills which could be related to the job you should mention them. You never know exactly what the employer is looking for.

 For examples of tailoring see Sample CVs

The Vital First Half Page- your Personal Profile and Last Job.

 The potential employer who is assessing your CV will first scan it quickly to ensure that your qualifications, skills and experience are relevant to the job on offer. Therefore it is essential that the layout of your CV provides easy and clear access to this information within a few seconds. This can be done by beginning with a brief personal profile summarising your qualifications, key skills, experience,  characteristics and, perhaps, career objectives. Follow this immediately by your career history, with your last job described first. Remember that you are usually only as good as your last couple of jobs! The personal profile should be largely factual, not an exaggerated description of what a wonderful person you are!  Read about career objectives. If you have not previously had a job the personal profile should be followed by your key training and education. If there are personal attributes which are particularly important, e.g. language abilities, include them as part of your personal profile or immediately afterwards. By setting out your CV in this way all the vital information will be found in the first half page or so. This is the most important part of your CV. If the assessor likes the first half page he will go on and read the rest in some detail. If he doesn't like the first half page he probably won't even bother with the rest.

Read about how to write a personal profile.

Read about the type of language to use when describing yourself.

Read about how to make sure you are specific about the skills you have.

Your Career History.

 In the rest of your CV complete your career history, working backwards, but only include details about the last couple of jobs - just summarise the rest, emphasizing key achievements. Make sure the reviewer can identify at a glance what you were doing at any time in your career, don't make him search for information.  If you want to make sure a particular point is prominent in your CV put it at the beginning of a short paragraph, don't bury it in the middle of a long paragraph. Speed readers will often only read the first line of a paragraph and you would probably be horrified to find out how few long paragraphs are read in their entirety. The work you have done during the past, say, 5-10 years is of the greatest interest to the employer. Don't waste your time with long descriptions of what you did 20 years ago; it won't carry much weight. For jobs in the distant past you should say enough to show that you were working doing something relevant, or at least useful, but not a lot more.   For each job you have done in the last 10 years you should describe briefly the responsibilities you had and then highlight any particular achievements you had in that job, particularly if they are relevant to the job you are trying to get. Put most emphasis on jobs you have had during the past 5 years. Don't leave gaps in your career history - they could become an embarrassing focus of discussion at an interview.

Read about dealing with 'holes' in your career history and dressing up inadequacies in your CV. 

Other Information.

 After your career history include details of your qualifications, contact information, perhaps hobbies, sports and interests and any other relevant personal information. This might include skills in languages or IT abilities, driving licence, etc., but if these are particularly required by the job put them at the beginning of the CV in your personal profile. Details of specific training courses you have been on can also be included here - but just the important ones. If they are essential to the job you wish to get, include them at the beginning. Most employers will want to know how old you are so include your date of birth here.

 Read how to deal with hobbies, interests, sports and humorous content.

 If you are applying for a job overseas it might be important to include something about nationality, visa and work permit status.  Try and keep the total length to no more than two pages- lengthy CVs just do not get read. Make sure to eliminate irrelevant material such as excessive detail on very old jobs, whole paragraphs on hobbies and interests and achievements by old employers without any reference to your role in them.