CV Structure

It is important to realise that your CV is normally the first impression you will make. If your CV is not effective and does not sell you, then your chances of being offered an interview are likely to be dramatically reduced.

Points to remember

Always consider what you would like your CV to say about yourself. For example, what are your strengths? And why would you make a good employee? If you are looking to secure a particular type of role, then make sure this is reflected in the information you provide. Your CV must be clear and easy to read from start to finish.

You should consider the following points to make your CV stand out:

  1. Structure your CV logically (see below example)
  2. Only use white A4 paper with black print.
  3. Always check for spelling, grammatical and typographical mistakes. Don’t rely solely on your computer’s spell check for this. If possible, get someone else to cast their eyes over your CV too.
  4. Remember to use spacing appropriately. Also, ensure that your margins are consistent with each other.
  5. Highlight the different sections.
  6. Think about the font you use. Arial and Times New Roman are probably the best. Courier and Comic Sans are probably the worst. The font should be no smaller than 10 pt.

Ensure your CV holds enough information to spark interest. It doesn’t need to be a literary masterpiece, but 3-4 pages can often be ideal depending on the role. Be positive and take full advantage of all of your skills and experience. Also make sure your CV is achievement-orientated.

In IT, every role is slightly different. One of the most important things you can do is to thoroughly review the job spec and tailor your experience and skills so it is the best possible match it can be. The last thing you want to do is lie, but if you have the experience an employer is looking for and there is something you can do to make it stand out more, then this should be a top priority. You could also bold up the terms and experience that is relevant to the role. This can make it far easier for the employer to read and highlight your suitability.

We are aware that constantly updating your CV can be a painful process, especially if you are applying for a large number of jobs. However, no other method will be so successful in enhancing your chances of getting an interview. Most employers receive huge numbers of applications and your CV may have just 30 seconds to make an impact. If you are applying for a job that you really like the sound of, we recommend you spend enough time on your CV to put yourself in the best possible light.

An Ideal Layout

The following template is a good example of how to structure your CV and help employers see your skills and experience quickly and easily.

Your Name

Personal Details:

Address: 25 Newport Road, Cardiff CF24 1AB

Telephone Number: +44 (0)29 20 123 456

E-mail Address: john.smith@hotmail.com

Date of Birth: 23 September 1974

Marital Status: Married

Nationality: British

Driving License: Full, Clear

I.T. Skills Profile:

This should be a brief outline of your IT skills – some people choose to write them in a paragraph, others prefer to list them in a skills matrix with their experience level (either 1-5 or in months etc). Either way, for an IT CV it is important to provide some sort of snapshot of your skills that will stand out immediately.

Qualifications:

It is a good idea to list any professional qualifications you may have – for example:

  • Microsoft Certified Professional
  • Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer - Windows Server 2008 R2

Training:

You could also list any courses you may have been on or exams you may have sat recently – if it’s not relevant simply delete this section.

  • Courses
  • Exams

Education:

  • 1993 – 1995 Birmingham University
    Degree: BSc Hons Computer Science. 2:1 Gained.
    You may want to give a very brief description of your course and the most important modules you covered.
  • 1991 – 1993 Yale Sixth Form College, Bristol.
    A Levels: List subject and grades.
  • 1985 – 1991 Berry High School, Bristol.
    GCSE’s: No need to go into too much detail here – simply list the most important subjects or mention how many 'above C' grades you got.

Employment History:

  • Sep 2003 – Present: Company Name, Location
    It’s very important to include the months as well as the year when you write dates.
    Senior IT Support Engineer
    • When it comes to your commercial experience you really need to expand as much as you can on your last two positions (or your last 2 years’ experience if you have had quite a few short term contracts) as they are the most relevant to your next job.
    • Use bullet points to make your experience stand out from the page and easy to read.
    • It is very important to include everything you think may be relevant to your next position. This is the part of your CV that every future employer will concentrate on most.
    • It is also very important to include the skills that you have used in each position even though you have a skills profile already as employers need to see when and where you had experience of each skill – see example lines below:
    • Maintaining all IT hardware and software for clients including networking, servers, Windows 2000, 2003, Exchange 2000, 2003 and 2007, IIS 5 and 6, SQL 2000 & 2005, Terminal Services.
    • Performing PC builds for clients using Windows XP & Vista with Office 2003 and 2007.
    • Performing remote support of systems including remote monitoring of servers, services and networking ensuring high uptime meeting corporate SLA’s.
    • Project work management and maintenance for all clients.
    • Developed helpdesk system for clients to log queries.
  • Oct 1997 – Sep 2003: Company Name, Location
    IT Systems Manager
    • Again, you need to be quite specific in this section and really include as much as you can. The idea is to sell your skill set as much as possible keeping to bullet points that are easy to read. A few more example lines below:
    • Provided full support to all employees on all major operating systems including Win95, Win98, NT4, 2000, XP along with the range of software used daily including MS Office 2000/XP and in-house applications.
    • Evaluate and recommend purchases of hardware and software.
    • Perform regular software audits and keep both software and hardware asset registers to ensure license compliance.

Personal Interests:

Your interests do not have to be very long. You just want to give a good impression of yourself and include anything that you think may help you fit in to a new organisation. Team based sports are often good to include as they show you get on with others but you can include anything really.