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CV Template (Word Version) : CV Template (Text Version)

Your CV (Curriculum Vitae) or Resume is essentially a selling tool. It outlines your skills and experience so that a prospective employer can see at a glance how you might perform in a given role. It is often the first impression a prospective employer will have of you, so you need to present yourself in a way that makes the reader want to read everything you have put down.

• Your CV should be printed on high quality white or ivory paper, preferably on a computer, as it will look more professional.

• Traditional fonts such as Times New Roman or Arial are best, because they are easy to read and readily available on most word processing software. Another plus point is that they are easily scanned and a growing number of companies use scanners to process CVs.

• As a general rule, one typeface will be sufficient - never use more than two typefaces, perhaps one for the headings and a second for the copy, any more and the result will look messy. Also, avoid using anything less than 10-point type as smaller type will be difficult to read.

• Italics, underlining or similar design features should be used sparingly, but it makes sense to put job titles in bold type, for example. Bullet points can also draw attention to important information, but don't overdo the design features or they will lose their impact and end up irritating the reader. Do not use capitalisation within the body of the CV apart from headings, as it is harder to read and will distract the reader's attention from the rest of the copy. Aim for elegant simplicity and make sure that any design element you use draws attention to your content and not to itself.

• Avoid the use of tables, text boxes, shading etc as these can create difficulties when scanning the CV into a database.

• Whatever format you use, the general layout should look inviting and easy to read. Imagine the poor person who has to sift through dozens of CVs each morning, if they are unable to read the CV, (even though you might be the perfect person for the job), they will put it straight into the reject pile.

• Leave as much white space as possible, using adequate margins and line spacing to keep the page from looking too crowded.

• If you are posting your CV, ensure that it will be easy to process. At some point it will be photocopied or scanned, so don't staple the pages together, only print on one side of the paper and make sure there are no faint or blurred letters.

• Finally, proof-read your CV carefully (and if possible, ask a friend to read through it also), as nothing will damage your credibility and professionalism more than typing errors and grammatical mistakes.