This page provides a description of the content you should provide in your CV. Your CV should include your personal details, a profile, skills, employment history, work experience, education, training, personal details, hobbies and interests and references usually in this order.
FIRST NAME AND LAST NAME
ADDRESS, POSTCODE (OPTIONAL)
M: 07624 123456 E: aperson@mail.im
Isle of Man Worker (if applicable)
PROFILE
The purpose of your personal profile is to concisely present your skills, qualities, work experience, and if you think relevant your career goals and ambitions. Your profile is usually no longer than five or six sentences. It should be relevant to the job you are applying for, highlight your personal qualities and contain some real examples of your achievements in education, work experience or employment experience. Your personal profile is not a place to be humble you have to honestly and positively explain who you are, what you can offer and what you can do.
SKILLS
- Highlight in three or four bullet pointed sentences your skills and strengths.
- Does the role require you to be organised, creative or adaptable? Think again about what you can offer and how you can fit.
- When are at you’re best? What do you do really well? What do you enjoy doing?
- Do you excel in team work, communication, problem solving, self-awareness, the ability to learn or being resilient?
- Again focus on all of your positive qualities and match them to the type of job you are applying for.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Start with your current position and work backwards. Dates should be in years, if possible and should be at the left hand side of the page. You can put the dates in months, if you were employed in a summer or a temporary position over TT. Explain this to the employer in the text you write about the role you played and what you did.
2019 – 2020
Include the company name.
- Job title - description of your role within the company.
- Highlight your transferable employability skills.
- Bullet point your achievements within each position.
If you haven’t had a job yet focus on your work experience(s) and then your education.
WORK EXPERIENCE (S)
Lay this section out in the same way as employment history. Dates - Company name, what you did, what you learnt, what employability skills you have.
EDUCATION
Start with your highest level of qualification higher education (e.g. HND, Degree), and secondary education A’ levels and GCSE. Details include:
• Date (year only)
• Name of establishment
• Qualification title and grade
TRAINING
Your training courses need to be relevant to the position applied for. Details include:
• Date (year only)
• Name of course and duration
• Name of training provider
It’s another chance to highlight your skills. This may include qualifications you have achieved through extra-curricular activities such as St. John Ambulance, sea, army or air cadets. This could include training which an employer or a voluntary position has asked you to complete such as Health and Safety, a first aid certificate, coaching and life guarding qualifications. This could include learning you have completed outside of school such as specific IT training. When completing this section you need to consider what you should highlight in your skills section at the top of your CV what is most relevant to the job you are applying for?
HOBBIES AND INTERESTS
You should use this section to demonstrate that you’re a well-rounded person who is engaged in extracurricular activities and the community. Do not mention any irrelevant hobbies on your CV that do not add additional value to your application.
PERSONAL DETAILS
You could include information about having a driving licence and your own transport if relevant.
REFERENCES
The part of your CV that contains the contact details of two people who know you well, have worked with you before and who can vouch for you to the employer. This is usually a teacher, tutor or employer. Family members and friends cannot provide you with a reference. You will need to ask permission from your teacher, tutor or employer to use them as a reference. Put the contact details of your references in this section.
If you decide not to include references on your CV, you can simply write “references available upon request.”