Curriculum Vitae: an outline of a person’s educational and professional history, usually prepared for job applications.

A CV is the most flexible and convenient way to make applications. It can convey your personal details in the way that presents you in the best possible light and can be used to make multiple applications to employers in a specific career area.
For this reason, many large graduate recruiters will not accept CVs and instead use their own application form.

An application form is designed to bring out the essential information and the personal qualities that the employer requires and does not allow you to gloss over your weaker points as a CV does. In addition, the time needed to fill out these forms is seen as a reflection of your commitment to the career and the company.

There is no “one best way” to construct a CV; it is your document and can be structured and presented as you wish within the basic framework set out below. It can be set out on paper or on-line or even on a T-shirt (a gimmicky approach that might work for “creative” jobs but is not generally advised!).

When should a CV be used?
When an employer asks for applications to be received in this format
When an employer simply states “apply to …” without specifying the format
When making speculative applications (when writing to an employer who has not advertised a vacancy but who you hope my have one)
What information should a CV include?

Personal details
Education and qualifications
Work experience
Interests and achievements
Skills
Referees

The order in which you present these, and the emphasis which you give to each one, will depend on what you are applying for and what you have to offer. For example, the example media CV lists the candidate’s relevant work experience first.
If you are applying for more than one type of work, you should have a different CV tailored to each career area, highlighting different aspects of your skills and experience.
A personal profile at the start of the CV can sometimes be effective for jobs in competitive industries such as the media or advertising, to help you to stand out from the crowd. If used, it needs to be original and well written. Don’t just use the usual hackneyed expressions: “I am an excellent communicator who works well in a team…… “
You will also need a Covering Letter to accompany your CV.

Tips on presentation
Your CV should be carefully and clearly laid out - not too cramped but not with large empty spaces either. Use bold and italic typefaces for headings and important information
Never back a CV - each page should be on a separate sheet of paper. It’s a good idea to put your name in the footer area so that it appears on each sheet.
Be concise - a CV is an appetiser and should not give the reader indigestion. Don’t feel that you have to list every exam you have ever taken, or every activity you have ever been involved in - consider which are the most relevant and/or impressive.
Be positive - put yourself over confidently and highlight your strong points. For example, when listing your A-levels, put your highest grade first.
Be honest - although a CV does allow you to omit details (such as exam resits) which you would prefer the employer not to know about, you should never give inaccurate or misleading information.
If you are posting your CV, don’t fold it - put it in a full-size A4 envelope so that it doesn’t arrive creased.
Fonts
Times New Roman is the standard windows “serif” font. A safe bet - law firms seem to like it! A more interesting serif font might be Georgia.
Arial is the standard windows “sans” font. Sans fonts don’t have the curly bits on letters. As you can see it’s cleaner and more modern than Times and also looks larger in the same “point” size (the point size is simply how big the letters are on the page.) However Arial and Times Roman are so common that they’re a little boring to the eye.
A more classy choice might be Verdana or Geneva - these are both common sans fonts.
FONT SIZE is normally 12 points for the normal font with larger sizes for subheadings and headings.
or 10 points. My favourite CV font is 10 point Verdana with 12 or 14 points for sub headings.
14 points is too big - wastes space and looks crude.
and 8 or 9 points too small to be easily readable by everyone, especially in Times New Roman.
Although many people use 12 points, some research on this suggested that smaller point size CVs were perceived as more intellectual!

Different Types of CV

Chronological - outlining your career history in date order, normally beginning with the most recent items (reverse chronological) . This is the “conventional” approach and the easiest to prepare. It is detailed, comprehensive and biographical and usually works well for “traditional” students with a good all-round mixture of education and work experience. Mature students, however, may not benefit from this approach, which does emphasise your age, any career breaks and work experience which has little surface relevance to the posts you are applying for now. See an example chronological CV here

Skills-based - highly-focused CVs which relate your skills and abilities to a specific job or career area by highlighting these skills and your major achievements. The factual, chronological details of your education and work history are subordinate. These work well for mature graduates and for anybody whose degree subject and work experience is not directly relevant to their application. Skills-based CVs should be closely targeted to a specific job.