How to structure your CV
Over the last couple of weeks I have covered the basics that need to be put in any CV. In this post we will be looking at the structure of the CV.
Readers of my blog may range from manual workers to senior executives and the way you structure your CV will depend on your personal circumstances.
There are generally two types of CV structure that you can use.
Chronological and functional CVs
The chronological CV lists your employment and academic history, beginning with the most recent, working backwards, with a brief description under each position. This is most popular CV.
The functional CV lists your experience under different functional areas, such as Customer service,or Management, and forms the main core of the CV. It focuses on specific skills rather than a full history. This is more appropriate for those with a very varied career history.
The mixed CV
This is a mix of the chronological and functional CV. It lists skills/experience under different functions at the top of the CV and then goes on to list previous positions in reverse chronological order.
Which CV should you use?
Chronological CVs look more professional and are the most common type of CV. Statistically they also generate more interviews.
However, for those deciding on a career change, it may be that you use the functional CV, or a mix of both.
One of my client’s did this when she changed career from a Head Chef to a Manager of a large department store. (see my case study). Her only job had been as a Head Chef, so if she had the Chronological CV, she may not have got an interview because her employment had only been in restaurants and kitchens and her academic qualifications were nothing to write home about, apart from her cookery ones.
However, to work as a Manager it was a requirement that she had Leadership skills, communication skills, organisational skills and good customer service. As a Head Chef my client possessed all of these skills in abundance, so the functional CV was best for her in this scenario. This stood out, she was invited to the interview and has now been the Manager for almost a year.
Section Order
Another structural decision to make is whether to list your Education and qualifications before your career history.
This really depends on what your greatest selling point is. You should make sure that all your most important information is conveyed on the first page.
If you’ve just qualified and have little work experience then your Education and qualifications is going to be of much greater interest. However, if you left school 20 years ago then your career history is likely to be more important to a recruiter.
Depending on your circumstances you may have a whole range of additional sections to include within your CV – Publications, Research, etc.
Reverse chronological order
It is standard practice to use reverse chronological order on CVs to present your most recent information first.
Some people find this illogical. However, if you are now a senior executive and you started off in the post room filing post, that first job is probably going to look irrelevant for the job you are now applying for. Furthermore, when recruiters look at Education and qualifications details of GCSEs you sat 30 years ago, compared to a Masters you have most recently completed, it is obvious that the recruiter is going to be more interested in the Masters, so put that first.
Length
A two page CV is acceptable, but it is preferable to get your CV onto one page and many recruiters will insist on this.
Regardless of the length, as mentioned above, all the important information should be conveyed on the first page. For a one page CV, this information should be in the top half of the page. This is because too many recruiters simply won’t bother to look any further.
What if your finished CV is more than two pages long?
There’s only one answer to this question and this means that you need to keep working on your CV until you’ve reduced it to the standard two pages.
Consider the following:
- Remove some of the less important points you’ve made
- Find ways to communicate the same points you’ve made
- Eliminate all unnecessary words and phrases
- Axing non-essential sections, such as your Objective
- Placing your Interests and activities under Other details
- Changing the design and page layout to create more space
- Editing, rewriting, polishing and perfecting until it fits
Next week we’ll be looking at Building your CV: Section by Section
