5 CV Writing Tips Every Graduate Needs to Read

So you’ve finally completed your studies. After investing many years of time, money and emotional resources into your undergraduate education, it’s time to find your perfect job. This is a time of celebration; your investment is about to pay off and you’re about to take your first step into the working world.

However, it is very important to ensure you don’t make the same mistake as so many other university graduates: using a poorly prepared CV. A professionally written CV can be the difference between securing your dream job and having to take on work that you’re totally uninterested in. Here, CV Nation provide five tips to ensure your CV gives you the best chance of securing the job you want.

1. Education – For graduates, education is the biggest selling point. Unlike professionals who have multiple years of working experience, you can go into much deeper detail when adding your education details to your CV. Draw attention to the experiences you gained during your education, rather than just the grades. Did you lead the Student Union? If so, use this to demonstrate your leadership capabilities. Using your education to highlight your capabilities in this way is a very effective means of showing how you can add value.

2. Professional Profile – A strong Professional Profile – often called a Personal Statement – is essential in CVs for those with little hands-on work experience in their targeted field. Use this introductory profile to sell yourself, highlighting your capabilities, skills, achievements and passion for your profession.

3. Key Skills – Create a section in your CV that is dedicated to your key skills. These key skills may include ones that you have picked up yourself or acquired during work placements. Also, use the additional sections of your CV to talk about your soft skills. For example, in your education section, you could discuss how you utilised your communication skills while working collaboratively on projects.

4. Work Experience – As a graduate, you may not have any paid work experience. But try to include any experience that you have acquired, whether it is voluntary work, work placements etc. Try to demonstrate how you contributed to the success of the organisation in these positions and draw attention to any achievements. As previously mentioned, it is very beneficial if you can use sections such as the one to demonstrate your skills.

5. Hobbies & Interests – You will likely be highly interested and enthusiastic about your subject of study. Use a Hobbies & Interests section to highlight this. Outline any relevant extra-curricular activities that you participate in. Go into as much detail as possible, and detail any awards, achievements and experiences that you have acquired.

These five tips are intended to improve your graduate CV and ensure it is optimised for your applications. For further assistance with preparing your CV, please feel free to get in touch with our professional CV writers.