CAREERS COMPASS

Perfect Your CV & Standout

from the Crowd
WHY DO YOU NEED A CV?

A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is Latin for Course of Life and is a concise document offering the
reader a summary of your unique academic and professional experience and skills.
Your CV is often the first opportunity you will have to make an impression on a potential
employer so your aim should be to produce a document that is readable, easy to scan, tailored
to your industry and offers enough detail for a potential employer to want to meet you. In
essence your CV is a sales document, so sell yourself and tell your unique story.

FORMATTING SECTIONS TO INCLUDE

Your CV shoud be 2 pages max Personal details

Use an easy to read font e.g. Times New Education
Roman or Arial Work Experience
Be consistent with font style and size Hobbies and Achievements
Bullet points will make your CV easy to scan References available on request
Avoid personal pronouns i.e. 'I' and 'my'
Use clear headings for different sections
EDUCATION

PERSONAL DETAILS
Present your education in reverse
Your name should be in bold at the top chronological order
Contact details should include phone, Include institution name, dates to and from
email, LinkedIn profile and address and course of study
Include a personal statement to highlight List your modules and results as a %
your skills, achievements and career List projects/assignments and include a
objectives. Please refer to the personal title, brief process and results
statement information sheet List any awards e.g. college scholar
List technical skills and compentency level
e.g. lab skills, computer languages, software
WORK EXPERIENCE applications and operating systems
Include name of company, dates, job title Quantify your skills and experience e.g. 20
and a sentence explaining the company lab hours, 5000 word report etc
Use bullet points to list your responsibilities
Write strong sentences using active verbs
INTERESTS & ACHIEVEMENTS
Focus on outcomes
Quantify your experience Start with the most recent
List achievements and new knowledge Concentrate on a few interests that you
Include any voluntary work would be happy to talk about at interview
Dont just list your interests, give some brief
details
RESOURCES Give context e.g. memberships, teams, titles,
How to Create a CV with Impact playing level, dates, roles of responsibility
Write your CV & Cover Letter Include language skills and level
The Graduate's Guide to CVs Have you won any awards?
How to write a CV Do you have a driving Licence/own car?
 CAREERS COMPASS

What your CV content is

really saying
Your CV is part of your personal brand and is your primary self-marketing tool for the professional
world. Taking some time to consider what you include on your CV and how you say it. This will
speak volumes to a potential employer but also allows you to focus on demonstrating your
professionalism, skills, achievements and experience in a clean, concise and unambiguous way.
EMAIL ADDRESS

You must have a professional email address so take some time to personalise your student email or
set up an email address with just your name e.g. jack.bolger89@gmail.com. Email addresses such as
bighotdaddy@ or gigglez217@ have no place on a CV and are sure to lead to the rejection pile.
SKILLS

Do not over stuff your CV with every skill imaginable. Take some time to identify what skills you
truly have and what skills are relevant for the job you are applying for. Weave these skills into your
personal statement, relevant degree modules, roles & responsibilities and your interests &
achievements. Think about where you obtained your skill, how you developed your skill and
remember to give evidence and examples.
AVOID BUZZWORDS

Employers can spot a buzzword from a mile away. Be mindful of phrases like team player, proven
track record, innovative and instead use strong active verbs that demonstrate your skills and
experience such as developed, improved, created, trained etc.
HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

As a student your extracurricular interests and hobbies are a great inclusion on a CV as they offer
an employer a more complete picture of you and may form a great basis for discussion at interview.
Sporting activities demonstrates your energy and commitement. Interests such as music or
photography demonstrate a creative side. Involvement in the community suggests you have good
interpersonal skills. Group based activities indicates that you have good teamworking skills.
SPELLING MISTAKES, BAD GRAMMAR AND INCONSISTENT FORMATTING

All of the above may tell an employer that you are sloppy, unfocused and do not have an eye for
detail. Take time to proofread your CV then give your CV to someone else to proofread, an extra
set of eyes is always beneficial.
HELP IS AT HAND

If you are struggling with your CV ask for help, make a CV Review appointment with your Work
Placement Manager, book some time with a UCC Careers Consultant or use one of the online
resources below. Finally, remember your CV is a work in progress, as you graduate and proceed
through your career you will continually edit your CV with new skills, achievements, and experience.

CAREER SET SKILLS SUMMARY BIG INTERVIEW

Login, upload your CV and A free tool that measures An interview practice tool
receive instant feedback the skills you gain through that helps you create and
from an expert. extra curricular activities. practice interview answers.
 CAREERS COMPASS

CV Checklist
The following checklist is designed as a quick test to ensure that your CV is at the level it should
be and identify any weaknesses. Consider the questions below which are based around best
practices and tick whichever apply to your CV.

CV HEADING

Is your name (not the words CV) in bold format at the top of the page?

PERSONAL DETAILS

Have you included your email adddress and telephone number so you can be easily contacted?
If you have a LinkedIn account have you included a link to your profile?
Do your personal details account for no more than one eight of the page?
Have you included a personal statement focusing on skills, experience and career goals?

EDUCATION

Are the details of your current course of study listed first?

Are the start and end dates given for each institution attended?
Did you include the name of each institution attended?
Do you have the full title of your courses listed?
Have you listed your modules and results in %?
Have you given details of at least one project that you have worked on?

WORK EXPERIENCE

Do your details start with your most recent experience and work backwards?
Have you given start and end dates for all your roles?
Have you listed the company/organisation names for all roles?
Have you listed a job title for all your roles?
Do you include a brief summary of your main duties and responsibilities in bullet point format?

INTERESTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Have you concentrated on a few interests rather than having a long list?
Did you give some information about your interests rather than just one word?
Have you used this section to demonstrate examples of skills and competensies
that the employer is looking for?

FORMATTING

Is your CV arranged in a way that draws attention to the important information?

Is your CV no more than 2 pages long?
Have you used bullet points and avoided long paragraphs of text?
Have you used an easy to read, consistent font type and size throughout your CV?
Have you checked there are no gaps in your history?
Have you proofread your CV?
Has someone else proofread your CV?
Have you uploaded your CV to Career Set for review?