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How to write the best CV

This is one of a series of articles by Andrew Fisher – CEO of Media C2C.

A good CV is the best way to secure the all important Media Job interview

It should highlight your achievements - not just list what you have ‘done’. Your skills need to be easily identified and your experience clearly explained. It is essential to make a good first impression as it will only have the attention of the hiring manager for a very short time.

There are many books, cv writing services and articles that can provide advise – but in order to provide a simple, straight forward and easily understood guide here are the key lessons.

How to write the best CV - Here are the Media C2C tips...

Make it easy on the eye - use a simple 11pt or 12pt font, single spacing, bold text for headings and a maximum of 3 pages. Do not use boxes, columns or changes in font size or typeface.

Keep to the message – this is a sales document telling the reader about you and your abilities. Do not put in irrelevant detail and focus the most space, time and effort on your most recent experience – which should be on the first page.

Grab their attention – use a short and expressive summary statement at the start of the cv. This should summarise your skills, experience and personnel qualities. It leaves the reader wanting to learn more and it should be similar in style to an ‘elevator pitch’ – a brief summary of ‘you’ that you may use when you first meet someone new. This is also the answer to ‘tell me about yourself?’

Each job should then be explained in detail. Highlight your achievements and not just your responsibilities and be clear on what you have achieved personally and if acting as part of a team be clear what the team achieved and your individual contribution. This can include facts, figures and timescales. The focus should be on the quality of your achievements rather than the number of achievements.

List details of any qualifications gained including your grades at the end. You can also include details of any additional qualifications or courses that you have attended which would be relevant to the role that you are applying for. Interests, details of referees and any other points of relevance – such as languages, driving licence and specialist IT skills - should again be at the end.

There is no excuse for poor spelling and / or incorrect grammar so you should have 2 / 3 other people read the cv to check. Also do not use abbreviations that are not commonly known or have not been defined / explained..

You should never lie and you should be prepared to provide references backing up your work experience and certificates confirming your education.

Finally make sure that you are easily contactable and have your full address, email, mobile and home phone numbers.

Media C2C is the employer only job board and candidate database specialising in Media Jobs in the UK.

To learn more: http://www.mediac2c.co.uk/
To upload your cv: http://www.mediac2c.co.uk/candidates/register.aspx
To advertise and search: http://www.mediac2c.co.uk/recruiters/register.aspx