CV Structure

When writing a CV you must always be aware that this is your first impression. If your CV is not effective and does not sell you, then your chance of being offered an interview is dramatically reduced.

Points to remember

Always consider what you would like your CV to say about yourself - What are your strengths? 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 your details. Your CV must be clear and easy to read.

  1. Structure your CV logically (see example below).
  2. Only use white A4 paper with black print.
  3. Always check the spelling and grammar.
  4. Remember to use spacing well as this helps.
  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.

Ensure your CV holds enough information to spark interest without it becoming a literary masterpiece! Around 3-4 pages is ideal. Be positive and take full advantage of ALL your skills and experience. Make sure your CV is achievement orientated.

In IT nearly every role is slightly different or puts different emphasis on a skill set – one of the most important things you can do is to really read the job spec and tailor your experience so it’s the best possible match it can be. The last thing you should do is lie but if you have the experience an employer is looking for and there is something you can do to make it more prominent then this should be your biggest priority. You can also bold up the terms and experience that is relative to the role which will make it far easier for the employer to read and highlight your suitability.

We know this is a pain and, when you’re applying for a large number of jobs, can be time consuming but there is no other single thing you can do that will result in more interviews. An employer that looks at a large number of CV’s will be used to scanning details quickly and it’s fair to say your CV rarely has more than 30 seconds to make an impact. If it’s a job you really like the sound of we recommend you take some time to give yourself the best possible chance of getting an interview.

An Ideal Layout

The following template is an example of how to structure your CV to help employers see your skills and experience quickly and clearly.

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 Licence: 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:

  • 2002 Microsoft Certified Professional
  • 2003 Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer - Windows 2000

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 5.5, 2000 and 2003, IIS 5 and 6, SQL 2000, Terminal Services.
    • Performing PC builds for clients using Windows 2000 and XP with Office XP and 2003.
    • 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 licence 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.