There are many styles used to compile a cv. Below are a few hints to build into your own style.
Your cv must contain contact details and an address. It is customary, but not compulsory, to include a date of birth.
You should, somewhere in your cv, include a summary of your personal skills and experience. This should be written with the type of job you are applying for in mind. For example, if you are applying for a molecular biology sales vacancy, your ability to follow SOPs or write instruction manuals would not be the most relevant things to say about yourself. You should, instead, highlight experience gained in molecular biology and sales from previous jobs, along with personality traits and achievements that are relevant to the position.
You should describe your employment history chronologically, starting with your current job, and working backwards. Generally the further back you go, the less relevant the experience is - bear this in mind when deciding how much space to allocate to each job.
If you are applying for any technical role, the techniques and equipment you have experience of are highly relevant to your prospective employer. Make sure you describe these, either under the relevant job, or in a separate "technical experience" section. Taking, again, the example of applying for molecular biology sales vacancies you should list all hands on experience you have in molecular biology: both the techniques and the instruments you have used.
If you are an experienced sales person the markets that you have sold into are highly relevant too. i.e, for molecular biology sales vacancies, your cv needs to show that you have sold into the molecular biology market. You should also include achievements which indicate your proven ability to succeed within the role.
Your hobbies / interests say something about your character - so do include a few.
Your cv needs to be "employer friendly" so lay it out in a way that is easy to read and to the point. Avoid long chunks of descriptive text. Split your cv into clearly headed sections so that it is easy to navigate.
Think of your cv as a sales document - because prior to the interview your cv has the job of selling you to an employer. For more detailed information on compiling a cv visit www.thecvstore.net
