Help writing first CV

Make sure you put skills down like good working in teams and stuff, also if you did work experince put that on or any volunteer work youve done hope this helps

Thank you

I found writing my first CV really hard as there's really not much to include! I used this template:-


Personal Details
. name
. date of birth
. address
. phone number

- Personal Profile
. this is where you talk about your qualities. E.g. enthusiastic, reliable, hard-working...

- Education
. list of the schools you have attended (addresses and dates, from-until)

- Qualifications
. those already taken
. predicted grades
. what you hope to study next year

- Hobbies and interests
. keep this fairly short. D of E looks great on CVs - you can mention how it has enhanced your ability to work in a team etc.

- Relevant experience
. if you have any relevant experience that could demonstrate the skills needed for the job you are applying for, include them here. E.g. although I have had no formal employment I have babysat for several years which demonstrates my reliability etc... Volunteering (D of E?) can also go here, talk about people skills etc.

- References
. say you are more than happy to provide references from your teachers at school



It's a very simple template but perfect for when you have no previous experience. You need to keep it brief (must fit onto one side of A4 only). Potential employers need to be able to scan it very quickly and determine in a few seconds whether you are a good candidate, so keep it short but sweet!

Avoid using fonts like Century Gothic or Comic Sans MS, go for something more professional and neat, like an Arial or Times font.

Get someone to read it for you and double-check it sounds as good as it possibly can!


Hope this helps!
Good luck job hunting Finding a job can be a long process, don't give up hope if you don't succeed at first!

Thanks very much this was so useful!

It's also fairly wrong. As previously mentioned, try opening a thread in the CV Help forum where you can get specific advice for your circumstances.

Out of curiosity, what is so wrong with it?

A CV can't really be "wrong" as long as you include everything that's needed and keep it to the point... The template I've used seemed to have worked well for me, and all the other CVs I've seen are similar

Every CV that I have ever seen included a date of birth - every application form asks you for it so I wouldn't see it as being a major mistake to include it on the CV!...

Most employers will want to know about qualities etc which will be useful to them, again this section is always present in a job application form so including it in the CV is surely helpful.

I understand what you're trying to say but to be honest I think you need to remember this is a FIRST CV. At 16-17, when you're looking for a Saturday job, it doesn't have to be perfect and since there are very few qualifications/relevant experience to be included it can be beneficial surely to include additional info about qualities/interests which wouldn't be needed in a more experienced applicant...?

Age discrimination is illegal for most jobs, and like mentioning your faith, marital status, gender etc you should not give employers any information that they cannot use in deliberating your application. Employers should not ask for your date of birth, unless they have some legal requirement for knowing (serving alcohol etc).



I didn't say it wasn't, the main element of your CV are the bullet points you put in giving evidence of relevant skills. The point is that it is only about the relevant skills. An employer simply doesn't care if you speak basic French and Mandarin if they want you to speak English.




It has to be one of the top 6 CVs (the number of people you can realistically interview in a day) in the applicant pool. There's plenty of evidence nowadays that the applicant pool for basic, entry level jobs is often 100+. So it doesn't have to be perfect, but it has to be as good as you can possibly make it to stand a chance.

My position is that I give people the best CV advice I can, based on extensive professional experience in this area. It's not my business to make judgements that people are 'only 16' and 'only going for a Saturday job', so I needn't bother to tell them the real facts and professional conventions of job-hunting. People are only likely to move away from the conventions I advise and that's fine. But I can't in all conscience give sloppy advice because of that.