What is a CV (Curriculum Vitae)?
A Curriculum Vitae, better known as a CV, is Latin for “The Course of One’s Life/Career”. It is a document, detailing the skills and experience you have gained throughout your working life. What is a CV for? A CV is a document used to sell yourself to a prospective employer. Its main purpose is to make a prospective employer interested in finding out more about you, and ultimately invite you for an interview. Often, organisations receive a large number of responses to job advertisements so it is very important you make your CV stand out from the crowd. Employers often take under 20 seconds to read a CV so take time to consider what to include and how to present this information. CV Hints and Tips • Make sure your CV is well spaced out so that it is easy to read and understand. • Ideally keep your CV to 2 sides of A4 paper. • Use concise, clear sentences; avoid exaggerations and do not go over the top. You can oversell yourself! • Honesty is definitely the best policy. Do not make false