Employers and recruiters look at a CV for an average of 8 seconds, so yours must stand out to be noticed. Here we have put together a list of 11 easy to follow hints and tips to help you make the perfect first impression.

1. First things first: Get the basics right

When making a start on your CV, try not to overthink or overcomplicate the process. Begin with the beautiful basics; so that includes adding important information such as your name and contact details, so that they're easily accessible when someone's trying to contact you.

Include your first and last name, job title or profession if you’re currently employed, email address, phone number (that you can be reached on easily), and your town & country of residence. There's no need to include your full address, or a title that says "CV", "Curriculum Vitae" or "resume".

2. Make it personal

Add a short personal statement or a covering letter (sometimes these are requested separately as part of an application process) that explains why you're interested in the job, and what aspects of your personality and skillset you think would fit with the employer's culture.

It is so important to research the company you’re applying to, and tailoring your CV to each application you send. There isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ approach – recruiters will see right through it.

Pick out requirements from the job advert that you're confident you can match and tailor your personal statement to compliment them. Recruiters and employers will appreciate the extra effort.

3. Employment history

Include details of current and previous employment, with the most recent at the top. Include the company name, your job title, the dates you were there, and a simple description of your responsibilities.

We suggest not going into too much detail here; save some insight back to discuss in more length during your interview, when you can really delve into your experience and what you can offer. But of course do make sure you mention things that are as relevant as possible to the job you're applying for.

4. Fill those gaps

If there are gaps in your employment history, don't hide them. You're better off including them and explaining them, rather than hiding them and having to lie on your CV. Try to think of things you did during that time, other than job-hunting. Did you learn a new skill or gain a qualification? Or perhaps you spent some time travelling, gaining new experiences or volunteering? I

t is likely that you weren’t just lazing around during your time of unemployment, so don’t let anyone assume that you were!

5. Skills and Qualifications

Write a skills section that is relevant to the role you're applying for. Remember that it may be worth making alterations to your CV for each application you send, to ensure that it perfectly matches the job description and the culture of the place you’re applying at. Also, search the job title you're applying for online to see what skills are desirable, and if you've got any of those, add them in.

When it comes to your qualifications, what you include depends on what level you've reached. If you've got a bachelor's degree, a masters and a PhD, then you probably don't need to include your GCSE results. But if you've got A Levels or an apprenticeship, then including your GCSEs might still be relevant as supporting qualifications. It's a judgement call and if in doubt, more is more in these circumstances.

6. Tell the truth and back it up

This is pretty simple: don’t lie on your CV. Even if you think you can get away with it, you don’t want to take the chance. When you’re asked about your CV in the interview and you’re either trying to avoid certain points or, much worse, double down on a few fibs you’ve told, the interviewer will see right through it.

And even if you don’t get caught out, get through the interview and get the job, it’s worth remembering that you’ll likely trip up once you start your new role, which won’t be a good look.

If you’ve lied about a previous employer or gap in employment and your new boss finds out while you’re still in your probationary period, the likelihood is you’ll be out of the door.

It’s all very well saying you increased sales in your last role, provided great customer service, or carried out a task successfully, but numbers will help back up your claims. You increased sales by 70%. You had 92% customer satisfaction. You carried out this task in one week rather than two. Back. It. Up.

7. Keep it short(ish)

It’s best to keep your CV to two pages or under, but it’s important not to just squeeze stuff in. If you’ve got so many relevant skills, qualifications and previous jobs that you can’t fit them all in, then go to three pages. On the other hand, overloading your CV with information can dilute the details and points you really want to get across. It’s a tricky balancing act.

Relevant is the most important word here – be brutal and only keep things in that the employer will actually care about.

8. Check, check and check again

Employers and recruiters get so many CVs that any with errors will be likely be assigned to the ‘no pile’ immediately, simply because it shows a lack of care and attention.

If you can’t be bothered to spell-check your CV (even when the computer does it for you), then why should a recruiter be bothered to consider your application? It doesn’t show a level of care and attention either, and these are vital traits for any employee.

Make sure you sense-check, too. Does your CV flow well and make sense? And, if you can, get someone else to check it, so that you can get an outside perspective.

9. Make it look good!

With so many CVs to read, employers and recruiters will want something that displays its information in an attractive, easy-to-read format.

So use a simple font, and include paragraphs, short sentences and bullet points, with plenty of white space around each text element to make it easy to read. Don’t go OTT, though.

Microsoft Word gives you all sorts of options from WordArt and borders, to colourful text and ClipArt, but you want to keep it simple. Having one simple colour scheme throughout is fine, but no bright or clashing colours. Images aren’t necessary and just take up space.

10. Keywords are key

Including the job titles you’re interested in and buzzwords related to them makes your CV pop up when those words are searched for on search engines and job boards. If you’re not sure what to include, search your job title on Google and see what related terms come up.

This might seem like a lot of things to think about, especially if you’re changing your CV for each job you’re applying for, but if you’re serious about getting the perfect job for you, it’ll be worth it. Plus, once you’ve got a perfect format in terms of look and layout, you can just change the details when necessary and save the new version.

11. Keep it up to date

Every time you leave a job, achieve a new qualification or gain a skill, get it on your CV as soon as possible that when it comes to applying for jobs in the future, you're all set with the best possible version of your CV.

If you’re looking for more help and advice about applying for jobs, you can contact us here.