How to Write a Graduate CV That Gets Noticed

Non-negotiable CV rules

• –One page for students and recent graduates. Two pages only once you have five or more years of experience.
• –Clean, readable font - Calibri, Arial, or Georgia at 10.5-11pt. No decorative typefaces.
• –Consistent formatting - if one job title is bold, all job titles must be bold
• –No photo, no personal statement written in third person, no "references available on request"
• –Saved and sent as a PDF unless the employer specifically requests Word
• –File named clearly: FirstnameLastname-CV.pdf

1. 1Contact details - name, email, phone, LinkedIn URL, location (city is enough)
2. 2Education - most recent first. Include degree, university, expected class or actual grade, and relevant modules if applicable.
3. 3Experience - work, placements, internships, volunteering. Most recent first.
4. 4Skills - technical skills, software, languages. Not "good communicator" or "team player".
5. 5Activities and interests - society roles, sports, projects. Only if they add something.

The bullet point formula

Weak: Responsible for managing social media accounts
Strong: Grew the society Instagram following by 40% in one semester by introducing a consistent posting schedule and a branded content format

Weak: Helped customers in a retail environment
Strong: Handled customer queries and complaints on a high-footfall shop floor, maintaining a calm and professional approach during busy periods including Christmas trading

• No typos or grammatical errors - print it out and read it aloud
• No dates that do not add up - gap years and career breaks are fine but should be accounted for
• No vague skills claims without evidence - "strong leadership skills" means nothing without an example
• No irrelevant information that wastes space - GCSE results from ten years ago do not belong at the top of a graduate CV
• No generic personal statement that could apply to any job at any company