I'm sure a lot of employers would like to see financial details of their competitors on CV's.
I'd be very warry of including any sensitive information about your current employer on your CV, especially if it's going to be in the public domain (on Monster for instance). At the very least it could lead to disciplinary proceedings, at worst you could end up in court for breach of contract. Even if you hate your current employer with a burning passion it's not worth doing stuff that will weaken your position (it's frequently easier to get another job if your employed).

Back to CV's though. Spelling, grammar and puncuation all have to be spot on, never more than 2 pages unless this is specifically asked for (and avoid page creep - if you have a CV with 3 lines of text on the second page and the rest is blank it looks bad).

Read the job description and tailor your CV to address as many of the required skills and qualities as possible but avoid waffling.

Avoid having any gaps in your employment history but don't go nuts. It's not generally worth including stuff you've done before university if it's over 10 years ago and/or is completely irrelevant. If you were unemployed for an extended period of time you need to be honest about it but try and turn it your advantage - say what your were doing at the time (voluntary work, studying, developing your own skills, experiencing a different culture that sort of thing).

The first time I was made redundant the company brought in recruitment consultants and we were advised not to include details of referees, just to put that they were available upon request - if they want the referees then they need to show an interest in you. Whether that's still true I can't say.

Yes. They like to see it so they know you haven't been bone idle, but they don't need to know 'you were responsible for receiving goods in and pricing them during stock rotation'.



Same here. Ten years in the film industry with countless 2-3 day jobs for different companies intermixed with longer projects is a bugger.
For the one page CV, put down your job title, who it was with, and how long it was for, going back as far as necessary - running out of space? Stick in a statement explaining this.
Seriously, the HR woman made a point of complimenting my CV.
If they want to learn more about what you did and the types of things you were in charge of, they'll ask, and equally, it's for you to tell.

I would never suggest a three page CV. In fact, were it received by most people I know it'd be top of the pile when it came to the immediate sifting out stage. If you can't be concise and keep it to 2 pages maximum, they're not interested.

OK so most have done the spelling, punctuation, grammar bit

Personally I always get someone else to proof read mine

I always tailor my CV to the job / company. I am a Programme / Project Manager and if the job is asking for the technical PM then I will emphasise my experience in those areas, if its a team leader roll then I will emphasise those areas

For keeping it down to 2 pages – my current job is in detail. Old jobs > 10 yrs are just a 1 bullet point with my highest level of responsibility

OK, another question.

It also has my GCSE subjects listed.

Should I get rid of them too?

The lowest level of qualification I'd put down is an AS/A-level (or Higher/Advanced Higher/CSYS). Unless it's particularly low level possition and they've asked specifically about GCSE's/Standard Grades in the advert then it's not necessary to include them.

I only include school exam results on mine because I didn't get anything higher!

I just put
X O Levels inc English and Maths,
X A levels.

At my age (hence O levels and not GCSE’s) all they are really interested in are my professional qualifications

I just put 9 gcses a-c, they can always ask what subjects if they want, but seriously, who's interested?

It's all about staying pertinent.

Your most current experience is key to an employer - as it shows you're still on the ball/in the game/etc
BUT
if your last two jobs were simply quick-fix money makers, breeze through them to get to your more-applicable employment.
(For example I don't mention my ten years in bar work at all but I do mention my mentored-tutelage/work experience when I was 16 - as that was a key foundation stone in my career.)

If you're applying for an industry where the work is little & often like Dave & Alex, then list them, as that's what the employer will expect.
There's a point where we're much the same in Architecture - once you've done enough projects, you only start talking about "the big ones", "the succesful ones" and/or "the interesting ones" - all the others can be bunched together.



As for qualifcaitons, again what's key to the employer?

If it's evidence to prove you know your stuff, and/or have the letters after your name or accreditations to show for it, put them in - and don't worry about saying any more...
certainly don't waste your time mentioning your Duke of Edinburgh (which we saw on EVERY CV recieved this last round for some reason!?)

Personally, without much of an academic leg to stand on, I still fill out my "Education" section with a list of my GCSEs & my A-Levels just like Hifi suggested, and (sometimes) add relevant subjects "including Geography/Physics/etc" when it'll position me better with certain outfits (Architecture having so many sectors as it does) - but that really is just a footnote to my "Work Experience" section these days.

Avoid printing it in Comic Sans.

I'd love to think there's someone out there with the balls to gamble on a graphics office having a sense of humour and doing quite the opposite.

It'd be better that than some of the cliched efforts I've seen that have employed letrasetting, acetone-rubbed print and worse, construction-line "drafting font" styles.

What would the font be for IT anyway? Courier? Or is that too-typewriter-like?

If you're applying for a job with a graphics / design agency then surely Papyrus is just the ticket!

I used to love gold Letraset. I was thinking about it just the other day, because it's perfect for "badging" home-brew kit. I'd heard they stopped making it, but a quick search shows it is still available.

If I saw a cv in comic sans, I'd look at it to have a laugh with my colleagues, but if they made reference to the use if it in a way that resonated, they could be employed just for that if their portfolio was good enough.

I employ people on the strength of their portfolio and their personality. Though that is fairly industry standard and wouldn't hold true for an admin job.

Reading with interest. I’ve never written a CV for myself - jobs have pretty much come my way by way of recommendation and reputation - which is bloody lucky, I know.

However, I find myself in a position where a CV is likely to be necessary. One thing which will upset one of my clients (who just pulled the rug from under my feet at the point where it seemed that I had just landed a decent lump of work every month for a while) will be when I ask them if I can use them for references (this may jolt them into reconsidering). When my summer break is over, I’ll be taking stock of stuff and seeing what testing the water will produce.