What to put in your CV , and what to leave out

What to include:

- A clean CV header with your name and contact details - A short personal statement - A skills section - Work experience written as bullet points - Education - Any additional section that genuinely adds value

Also get the basics right: spacing and margins, a readable font, sensible length, consistent format, and flawless spelling and grammar.

What to leave out:

- Your full postal address , it is unnecessary and takes valuable space - Personal information such as a photo, date of birth or marital status - References, unless specifically requested - Excessive content , the best CV length is one to two pages - Anything untrue; it will be found out, and it is a crime under the Fraud Act 2006 - Spelling and grammatical mistakes - Buzzwords, clichés and overly technical language - Personal pronouns , no "I did x" - Unexplained gaps in employment

Three trends worth acting on:

1. Highlight accomplishments from projects, assignments, remote study or work outside your main role. Employers are actively short of those skill sets. 2. Make your CV ATS friendly. Applicant tracking systems are used by around 75% of employers, so avoid downloaded fonts and special characters and keep formatting simple. 3. Tailor it. Build a different version for each position, industry or company size you apply to. Targeting your CV is the easiest way to turn a no into a yes.

On cover letters: they are becoming less common but are not going anywhere. Always write one if the job post asks for it, and including one otherwise is rarely a bad idea , provided it is good. Keep it to one page, be confident, make it personal and target the company.