londonHiring.com Career Centre - Jobs in London.

Type of CV/Resume

A CV/resume should never be static. You should update it regularly and should even go to the trouble to update it for every job you apply for, but that may not be possible. At londonHiring.com you have some choices, you can upload your CV directly or complete one online over 10 minutes or so. The latter provides you with an editable document that you can change. We will shortly allow you to store multiple versions of the same CV or different formats.

A CV/resume is the first impression that an employer will have of you and should help you get shortlisted from many candidates for an interview. It is your window to the world. It must convey enough about you to 'sell' the employer on calling you in. You have to take time in its preparation and, if necessary, take advice. It is worth it believe us. With all the good jobs on londonHiring.com we are always updating our CV's and thankfully the boss does not have our passwords. One day we will get the call!

A good CV will transfer key information about you. It will indicate your contact information, educational background and work experience along with any additional information you feel relevant to the job. The keyword here is relevant. Remember also that your CV will be used at all interview stages and you will be questioned on it - make sure everything is in order. Your CV should be easy to read and be laid out properly. Complete the online CV at londonHiring.com to see how. It should not have typographical errors and should be on clean paper without the marmalade from breakfast. It should be crisp, clear and concise. It should contain sufficient information for the interviewer to choose you but not so much as to take too much time to read. Really, it is a balance - you have only a little time within which to make an impression with a CV and you want it to leap off the paper that you are the ideal candidate.

A good resume should contain these elements, and there are probably more.

  • It should be easy to understand, be logical in format and contain relevant information
  • It should display information in easy to read layers or blocks and should follow a well known format (see later)
  • It should leave a positive impression and make you memorable to the interviewer
  • Neatness, organization, layout, good paper, good typing and a clear font go well together
  • Assume the interviewer has limited time available to read each CV
We suggest you follow the format provided by us within our CV Builder. Have a look at a sample derived from it. The primary types of CV are
  • Functional
  • Chronological (preferred)
A functional CV usually details a candidate's information under areas of function or expertise within a function. For example, a heading might be 'Business Development' and a candidate would list achievements within this area. There would be a number of functional areas e.g. Planning, Budgeting, Sales Development, etc and achievements against each with, perhaps, a number of companies. The CV will have contact information, functional information, employment history, educational history and other relevant information. Many employers are familiar with it and it will allow you to highlight the key functional areas of expertise and your achievements in order of some importance. It could be written for an individual job and will allow suppression of some information e.g. unemployment. It can be useful in situations where you want to emphasize your overall experience without detailing it year-by-year per employer. It lends itself to some 'puffery'.

A chronological CV is, on the other hand, is the most popular and universally used format. We recommend it to our users and we base our CV Builder on this format. It is readily recognizable by employers who can easily find information within it and are therefore comfortable with it. This puts you at an advantage and allows you to create your style of presentation rather than CV. It focuses you on content. This format is easy on the eye and easy to follow. When presenting a CV you do not want to build obstacles to getting an interview. It is therefore best to stick with what is familiar to the reader.

We have seen examples where candidates use the chronological format and include some functional areas of key achievement within. This is the best of both worlds.

Have a look at our CV builder and try it out. It is a useful way to prepare your CV and for you to change it regularly. Best of all its available to you free and you may print your CV for use when applying to all sorts of jobs.

Happy writing. The londonHiring.com team.