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Nine essential CV details ‒ and some that should be removed
So, you're looking for a job and want to know how to write a CV? There's an art to creating an application that turns the hiring manager's head. The first thing that you need to know before you get started is what to include in a CV. Luckily, you've come to the right place.
In the following guide, we'll share everything that you need to know about this topic. Take a look at the top nine things that you should always include in your CV ‒ plus what details you should remove ‒ to ensure that your job applications impress every employer.
How to structure your CV
Before we take a look at what to include in a CV, let's discuss how you should structure it. This document needs a solid format that hiring managers understand. If you fail to structure it well from the offset, you'll fall at the first hurdle. Luckily, we have the answers you've been looking for. Let's take a look at the main elements that your CV needs:
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Header (name and contact information)
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Core competencies / skills section
The above are the core elements that you need. However, there will be times when adding extra sections will be advantageous. Of course, you have to judge this on a case by case basis. When you're considering what to include in a CV, here are some extras to think about:
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Professional affiliations and memberships
In the following sections, we take a look at how you can fill out each of these sections and what you need to include. As you will see, there's a right way to position each of these sections. Ensuring that you cover all bases will help you to get noticed by the hiring manager.
1. Name and contact information
The first thing to include in your curriculum vitae (CV) is your name. Let's clarify that only your first name and surname are required ‒ no middle names, please. Then put your professional job title with your name. These details act as the title of your CV. Therefore, the phrase “curriculum vitae” should not get a mention.
Your contact information sits comfortably beside your name and professional title. At the very least, you should detail your phone number and email address. Once upon a time, it was customary to include your full postal address too. However, as snail mail is largely a communication method of the past, there's little need to add this information. You can limit your location to your town of residence.
2. Personal profile
The next section of your CV is your profile. Whilst this section goes by many names in the recruitment industry, such as personal profile, professional profile, or personal statement, it has one main purpose.
Your personal profile needs to give the prospective employer a snappy overview of what you're all about, covering your profession, what you can bring to the role, and your current career goals. It's a short section – only about five lines – but it needs to showcase your relevance to the job and make an impact to convince employers that the rest of your CV is worth reading.
3. Core competencies
If you have a selection of skills and qualifications that make you a great fit for the role, you should introduce a Core Competencies section to make them stand out.
Typically, Core Competencies, or Key Skills, sections sit underneath your personal profile. Bullet point between six and 10 of your best attributes, which will immediately signal to the hiring manager that you're a match for the vacancy.
These skills can be hard or soft, they could be certifications or awards, they could be a list of tools or software – whatever best shows you're qualified for the role. Not only will the prospective employer get an overview of your abilities immediately, but also, your CV will be optimised for applicant tracking systems.
4. Employment history / work experience
Another key component to include in your CV is your employment history. This section details your positions of employment in reverse-chronological order ‒ so your most recent role is at the beginning.
For each job, include your dates of employment, your job title, the company, and bullet points detailing your duties and achievements. The experiences you gained in these roles are key components of your CV, since they let the hiring manager get an understanding of your skills and abilities based on your work history.
In theory, your most recent role should take up the most room, because it's usually the peak of your career so far and therefore showcases your best abilities. The older the job, the less detail it requires. If you have a role that's older than 10 years, you may decide to remove it from your CV completely.
5. Volunteer experience
Next up, let's take a look at an optional section. Volunteer work can be extremely valuable on your CV, especially if it's related to the role you're applying for. Adding this type of experience is also a great way to fill an employment gap in your CV, supplement work history if you're changing careers, or support your CV as a new graduate.
When adding volunteer work on your CV, you may choose to include it as a standalone role in your Employment History section, the same as any other work experience. Alternatively, you can add a separate Volunteering section. Add your job title, the organisation's name, and the dates you held the position, followed by bullet points detailing your main duties and achievements.
As always, tailor your volunteering experience to the job you're applying for and optimise your write-up with keywords from the job advert to make its relevance clear.
6. Education
Like your work experience section, your education must be listed in reverse-chronological order. As a minimum, you need to include the name and level of your qualification, the institution of study or awarding body, and the date you achieved the qualification.
If you're just starting your career, and your education is still a huge selling point on your CV, you can add bullet points explaining relevant modules, assignments, placements, and skills under each institution.
7. Awards and certifications
You may also consider adding awards and certifications to your CV. The awards could be academic, industry, work, or volunteering-related.
When writing accolades on your CV, include the official award title, the purpose of the award and what it recognised, the scope of it, and the date of recognition. For example: "Awarded the 2015 Student Publication Association's Best of Student Media Award for 'Ant Infestation at Telford Court' news story."
Certifications are written slightly differently, limited to the official title of the certificate, the awarding body, and the date it was obtained. For example, "Hubspot Inbound Marketing Certification Course 2018" or "PRINCE2 Practitioner 2016."
By adding awards and certificates to your CV, you offer third-party validation which proves your competency and worth to prospective employers.
8. Professional affiliations and memberships
If you're a member of any professional bodies, it is worth adding them to your CV to highlight your involvement in your industry and demonstrate your commitment to your profession.
Include the name of the organisation and the type of membership you have (which is often Student, Professional, Fellow or Associate). For example, you may be a member of The Law Society, which you could write as "The Law Society (Member)," or you may be a Fellow at the Royal College of Nursing, which may be written as "Fellow – Royal College of Nursing (RCN)." There's no one way to list the memberships ‒ just be consistent.
9. Hobbies and interests
Looking for a way to bolster your existing CV? You can introduce a Hobbies and Interests section if you feel it will boost your candidacy in some way.
If you're applying for a marketing position at an e-scooter and e-bikes company, they are unlikely to be interested in your passions for football and reading. However, if you're a keen cyclist, or perhaps have an interest in sustainability, those interests would be more appropriate inclusions as they show you align with the company's offering.
For those that are just starting out in their career or are changing careers, adding a Hobbies section can bring colour to your CV and give the recruiter a better understanding of your personality and abilities. Just make sure they aren't run-of-the-mill and watch out for oversharing.
Bonus: Words and phrases you should never include on your CV
Just as there are certain details that always belong on your CV, there are others that shouldn't be included. Specifically, there are words and phrases that can worsen your CV because they're overused and boring, out of date, or just plain confusing. If you notice that any of these things are currently featured on your CV, it's best to remove them right away.
Repetition
Prime offenders: managed, responsible for, assisted with, handled, worked
Get creative! Saying that you "managed this," "managed that," and "managed something else" is pretty uninspiring to read. There are hundreds of ways of avoiding this repetition. Instead of "managed," consider "spearheaded," "led," "directed," "oversaw," and so on.
There's really no excuse for repeating the same old vocabulary when you can create a more engaging and compelling CV with a bit of extra thought (or with the help of your thesaurus).
Buzzwords and clichés
Prime offenders: hardworking, reliable, motivated, enthusiastic, team player, results-focused, goal-oriented, passionate, proactive
If a recruiter has read one CV for a "hardworking," "reliable" candidate who is a "team player" with "excellent communication skills," they've read a thousand. Remove these cheesy words from your CV right now. They are overused to the point of meaninglessness and add nothing of value.
If you really do possess these skills, aim to show, rather than tell. This means that instead of saying you're a team player and expecting the reader to believe you, provide a solid example of when you used this particular skill.
Trendy job titles
Prime offenders: Guru, Rock Star
Whether this is part of your official job title or how you've personally chosen to describe yourself, overly creative job titles do not help your CV at all. Recruiters look for job titles aligned with the vacancy, so using a common, clear job title will highlight your suitability better.
Don't leave the recruiter guessing what you do. If you're a Business Development Manager applying for a Business Development Manager role, then describe yourself as a Business Development Manager ‒ not a BusDev Guru. You'll improve your search rating and sound more professional.
Personal details
Prime offenders: mailing address, unnecessary social media links, date of birth, family situation
None of these details prove your suitability for the job. In fact, most are covered by anti-discrimination legislation, meaning that they should be ignored anyway. Plus, if you're uploading your CV publicly online, excessive personal details can also present a security risk.
As stated, cut your mailing address down to your town only. Ensure that your email address is sensible, and add only your customised LinkedIn profile URL and link to an online portfolio, if applicable for your field. Leave out links to your Facebook profile or mentions of your marital status.
Objective statement
The objective statement is considered outdated now. Remember that you will be hired to fill a need, not because the vacancy suits your requirements. For that reason, you want to leave this old-hat section out of your CV entirely.
However, there is a section that you'll replace it with. This is where the aforementioned personal profile comes in. It's the modern version of the objective statement. This section is more tailored to the needs of the hiring manager than an objective statement would be.
Contentious issues
Prime offenders: religious affiliations, political affiliations, sporting affiliations
There are some topics that just don't need to be brought into the workplace. If you're active in a particular political party or a devout member of a religious congregation, it's safe to say that - unless it directly relates to the role you're applying for — there's no place for this information on your CV. Even football team allegiances can prove controversial, so think carefully about what you're including if you do decide to add a section about your personal interests. There's no point alienating the reader and provoking bias for a reason completely unrelated to your suitability for the role.
First-person pronouns
Prime offenders: I, me, my, mine
CVs should be written in the absent first person, not the typical first-person. Instead of saying "I analysed data and presented it to my senior management”, you should say "Analysed data and presented reports to senior management."
This is a standard CV writing convention, which firstly avoids the rather egocentric repetition of "I, I, I" and secondly sounds much more professional. While it may take some getting used to, dropping the first-person pronouns will also save you precious space on your CV.
Referees
Prime offenders: References available on request, referee contact details
If your references are required at any stage of the application process, the recruiter will ask for them, regardless of whether your CV includes "References available on request." Even worse is including the contact details of your referees; they won't appreciate you sharing their private details when you upload your CV online for the world to see, nor will they appreciate being bombarded with reference requests for jobs that you ultimately don't come close to getting.
Try to keep this information back until you're well into the recruitment process and a potential employer specifically requests it. Plus, the space you save by removing this information from your CV can be used to sell yourself further to the recruiter, thereby increasing your chances of progressing to the interview stage. Here are more tips about how to best use references in your job search.
The takeaway
Figuring out what to include in a CV doesn't have to be hard. In this guide, we've given you the inside scoop on the sections that you need to feature on your next application. You must always include the core sections we've highlighted. However, when it comes to the optional sections, consider what value they add to your application in each case. If a section doesn't strengthen your application in any way, you should always leave it out.
Does your CV have all the right elements? Find out with a free CV review. Check that your CV hits the mark and get ahead of the competition in one simple step.