What Do Employers Look for in a CV?
- Your CV is the first step in convincing a recruiter that you are a suitable candidate for the job
- A CV will not get you a job, but a good CV will increase your chances of reaching the next application step
- Recruiters are looking for evidence that you are suitable for that particular job and the company
- Employers want to see your relevant academic performance, work experience (paid or unpaid), activities, and interests. It is strongly advised to tailor your CV to different roles
How Will Your CV Be Assessed?
Step 1: Software Screening
- For companies that have an online application process
- Searching your CV for keywords in the job description. Make sure you include the skills required by the role
- Looking for grammar and spelling mistakes
Step 2: At-a-glance Review
- Assessing the layout and appearance of your CV
- Screening out CVs that look unprofessional, too long, or poorly presented
Step 3: Skim Read
- Spending 30 to 60 seconds reading through the CV
- Looking for skills and qualities/experience required by the role
- Make sure information recruiter is looking for is easy to find
Step 4: Thorough Review
- Large number of CVs are reduced to a manageable amount to read thoroughly
- Looking for tangible evidence of the skills and qualities required for the role
Best Practice
- Read the job advert to highlight key skills required
- Find out more about the company
- Tailor your CV
- Proofread your CV
Top Tip: Create a master copy of your CV with all your experience and skills.
Common Mistakes
- Not tailoring your CV: sending the same CV to different jobs
- Under-selling yourself: be proud about your achievements and focus on what you can offer
- Not paying attention to the 'appearance' and detail of your CV: have another person look through it, have clear and consistent layout with no spelling or grammar mistakes
- Having a list of skills and qualities without proving them: you need to provide evidence
- Only listing duties and responsibilities (like a job description): highlight relevant skills, achievements, and impacts
- Using an unprofessional email address: include and use your professional University email address, such as N.O.Name@sms.ed.ac.uk
What Do I Include In A CV?
The following is considered best practice in the UK but can differ across industries.
Presentation
- One or two sides of A4 (not 1.5 sides)
- Use bullet points to avoid large chunks of text
- Don't over-format - bold is more effective than underlining and capitals
- Give more space to the most relevant sections
- Avoid spelling and grammatical errors
- Use reverse chronological order where appropriate
Personal Details
| Element | Required? |
|---|---|
| Name | Mandatory |
| Contact Details (Email/Phone) | Mandatory |
| Address | Optional |
| Personal Statement/Professional Profile | Optional |
| Link to professional blog or social media account (such as LinkedIn) | Optional |
| Date of Birth | Not Necessary |
| Gender | Not Necessary |
| Nationality | Not Necessary |
| Photo | Not Necessary |
Education
- Include your current University of Edinburgh degree even if you haven't finished it yet
- Present it in reverse chronological order or order of relevance but always include dates
- University Qualifications - mention all that is relevant, such as:
- Grades
- Courses
- Dissertation
- Outside subjects
- Societies and extra-curricular activities
- Awards
- Pre-university: consider whether these are essential and don't give too much detail
Work Experience
- Includes paid work, internships, voluntary experience
- Keep only the most relevant but make sure to avoid time gaps
- In bullet points, highlight your impact, achievements, and skills developed as well as responsibilities
- Make results quantifiable
- Use action words, such as influenced, established, illustrates, implemented
Extra-curricular Activities
- It's important to include this section, especially if you don't have a strong work experience section
- Can include competitions, projects, societies leadership, conferences
- Use the same format as 'Work Experience'
Additional Skills and Interests
- Include languages and IT skills
- Don't list your 'soft' skills - these should be highlighted in other parts of the CV with evidence
- Select interest(s) that are relevant for the job, demonstrate skills, or say something interesting about you (make an impact)
Further Information
The Student Development Team offers CV workshops and a 1-to-1 service.
Remember to check online resources available on the rest of this site, and CV guidance on the Careers Service Website.