DO'S AND DON'TS OF CV WRITING
DO
Include your contact details - physical address, professional email address and best contact number.
Format your CV so it is neat and easy to read. Include suitable spacing and simple, tidy fonts in size 9 or 10.
Tailor your CV to suit the role - choose only the relevant skills and experience your future employer would be interested in. Read the job description carefully.
Be efficient with your wording - write your CV in a concise manner that includes the most important details and examples.
Use active language. Instead of saying "I had the responsibility of leading a team involved in...' Say "Led a team responsible for..."
Include important aspects of previous roles that show your competence and transferable skills, such as how many staff you were responsible for, which jobs you had a management role in, budgets, and names of major clients when relevant.
Include any awards received or training you have completed which is suited to the role.
Your CV should only be two pages long - three pages should be an absolute maximum.
DON'T
Don't include your date of birth, marital status, race, religion or any disability. This helps to eliminate discrimination. Only add your first and last name, email, contact number, and suburb and city.
We generally advise you don't include a photo. If you must then make sure it looks professional - from shoulders up and with a plain background.
Leave out jobs you had over ten years ago if they're no longer relevant. Skills need to be recent and up-to-date.
Don't lie about your skills, abilities or achievements.
Stay away from long paragraphs. Use bullet points for listing job details and skills.
Don't include a cover title page.
Make sure there are no errors. Proofread your CV, then have somebody else look over it for you.
Avoid trying to be humorous - keep your CV reading professionally at all times.
We advise you not to include interests - save this space for more work-related information.