In the last quarter of the year, we recruiters are quite busy. Most of our clients would like to have their vacancies filled by the end of the year to ensure a smooth start to the new year. If you are in the job market, this is the perfect time of the year to give your CV a make-over or, if you do not yet have a CV, create a CV! So, what should you include in your CV and what should you rather exclude?
The most important thing to remember when creating your CV is that it is like a first introduction and impression. The recruiter/HR/hiring manager that receives your CV does not know you personally, all they know about you is what you put on your CV (and what they find on Social Media, but that is a topic for another day). It is important to keep it professional and only include relevant information. Professional does not mean boring; you can put some personality into the format to make it stand out but don’t go nuts with different colours and fonts. You want a neat document that contains all the required information in an easy-to-read format.
What falls under “required information,” you ask? In short: personal details, education and training information, work experience, skills, and references. Let’s delve a litter deeper into each section.
Personal details:
This section is vitally important and should in the least include your full name; contact details, including email address and phone number; if you have a valid driver’s license and your own reliable vehicle (this is particularly important for Sales positions or any other position requiring travel); and the area where you live. Additional details that can be included is your nationality, gender, date of birth, whether you are willing to relocate, and your notice period.
Now that we know who you are, we can move on to your educational background.
Education and Training:
For us (recruiters/HR/Hiring Managers etc.) to determine if you have the necessary educational requirements for a position, it is important to include the year you graduated and the school/institution you attended. Make sure to indicate if a qualification was not completed. You should include your matric details as well as those of each post-matric qualification. Don’t forget to also mention any additional courses you attended or certifications you completed to improve your knowledge as these could make you stand out above other applicants.
Work experience:
This section should show if you have the necessary experience and knowledge for the position that you are applying for. You should include the company, position you were employed in, dates you were employed (include the month and year), duties and responsibilities, and the reason why you left the position for each of the positions you were employed in. If your CV is exceptionally long (we’re talking more than about 8 pages here) you can consider leaving out your more historic experience for brevity; however, judge this on how relevant this information is on your current application. If you are a graduate, remember to include all part-time, internship, or student positions as you acquired specifics skills and experience through each of these.
Skills:
This is a particularly important section in which to showcase your instrumentation/laboratory/scientific skills. Make sure to list all the laboratory techniques and instrumentation that you have hands-on experience with, making sure to include those required for the position (if you have experience with it, of course; never lie!). Also mention your computer skills and all soft skills you might have.
References:
Lastly, remember to include at least 2, but preferably 3, recent contactable references. These could also be character references or references from previous lecturers if you do not yet have work experience. You should include the name of the reference, where you worked together, a contact number, and an email address.
These are the most important sections to include in your CV, but others such as achievements, publications, conference contributions, etc. can also be added if relevant to the application or field. You can also include a photo if you feel like it but keep it professional (think “headshot” not “selfie in a party dress”).
Hopefully, this has given you some insight into what to include in your CV, giving you the best chance for a successful job application.
