CVs

• Recruiters will spend circa 6 seconds reviewing your CV in the first instance so presentation is key. We recommend black text – Arial, Tahoma, Lucida Sans with size ranging from 9.5 to 10. Avoid using borders, tables, pictures or fancy formatting. Maintain consistency throughout your CV.
• Bullet points are easier to read than large paragraphs of text. 
• Keep your CV to 2 pages- it is difficult to scan 2 pages in 6 seconds- they won’t scan 4-5 pages in 6 seconds!
• There is no excuse for spelling or grammatical errors – ensure your CV has been checked and double checked for accuracy. Consider your CV being the very first task/project reviewed by your potential employer.

• You will need your email address, telephone number and LinkedIn url. There is no need to give your date of birth, gender or marital status!

Make your personal profile specific to the role you are applying for. It should summarise what can offer and that you are motivated towards this particular role. It needs to be specific enough that it could only apply to you and not others in your class. Highlight to the employer - Yes, I can do this job - not just any job, but this one. Do not include generic statements about being a hardworking students with great communication skills looking for an opportunity to progress. Refer back to the job advertisement when writing your profile to ensure it is relevant to the role you are applying for and use the key words or phrases associated with the job you are seeking so it can be picked by an applicant tracking system.  In summary then highlight:

o   Who you are and how you match this job

o    What you want

o    What you can offer the employer

You may also wish to include information on extra languages you can speak and your fluency level, the fact that you have a driving licence or any extra certifications you have undertaken that may interest an employer.

• If it is a graduate level CV give education details as far back as Secondary School.
• Give the Name and location of your College, years of study and correct course title.
• Include some college modules and projects that are relevant to the job you are applying for.
• Highlight your results if they are likely to encourage a recruiter to call you for interview.
• Highlight any academic awards received e.g. Deans Award

• Provide dates, your job title and employer name. Include part time work, placements, internships, summer work and voluntary work as far back as leaving certificate.
• Use bullet points not paragraphs.
• Start each sentence with an action verb, Don’t give a generic list of duties and responsibilities instead create bullet points that focus on impact & achievement -see https://bit.ly/CVstatements for examples. Ask yourself: 
  • What did I improve?
  • What did I achieve?
  • How did I add value?
• Use facts, figures, statistics and deliverables.

• Graduate CVs are often very similar so the interests and achievements section can really help you to stand out from the crowd. Don’t just list a number of activities and expect the employer to guess at your level of involvement give specific information that shows your level of commitment and any achievements.
  • Do you play sport – for how long? how many times a week do you train? For what club? what team? what league – any wins?
  • Did you raise money – for what? When? how much? What was your role?
  • Did you volunteer – how often? When? Impact/Value added?
  • Do you coach? How often, what age group – what have you achieved with them.
  • Have you travelled?- Give some information – what countries or cities have you been to in the last 3-4 years??
  • Did you win any awards in the last 3 years? Name them- give details if appropriate
  • Show off any interests which link to your industry

We suggest that you do not provide names and contact details for referees on your CV unless these are specifically asked for at application stage. Instead you can simply mention that Referees are available on request at the end of your CV. It is a good idea to have lined up one academic and one work reference for when you do need them.