What sections should your CV include and what order should they be displayed in?

There is a lot of conflicting information on what sections your CV should contain. The truth is that this is going to vary from profession to profession.

Due to the rising popularity of online applications over the last 18 years, recruiters are now receiving over 8 times as many applications as they did in 2003. This has completely changed the way in which recruiters review your CV. They initially read it like consumers browse webpages, looking for keywords that spark a desire to read on, if they don’t find any within the first ten seconds they add it to the no pile.

With this in mind, it’s important you aren’t wasting prime real estate space that simply isn’t relevant. These are sections like hobbies and interests, the recruiter is looking for someone to solve a problem within their business, not someone they can go scuba diving with on a weekend, so leave this out, this space can be better utilised with content showcasing your suitability for the position.

Also, don’t list your references, recruiters don't contact references at the application stage. Instead, at the end of your interview, ask the recruiter whether they would like your references, this will give you immediate feedback on how the interview went.

Your CV should contain the following sections in this order;

• Personal Information

• Personal Profile

• Key Skills or Areas of Expertise

• Employment Experience

• Education

• Awards, Achievements and Licenses

I’ll explain how to write all of these sections in the following videos within this series.

For more information on our CV writing service, visit the services page of our website. Our professional CV writers are always on hand to assist with your application.