Think of your CV as your shop window. Often the presentation will encourage or possibly even discourage people from coming into your shop so it has to be attractive, clear and interesting for employers to read. This is your first point of sale contact so make sure it has impact and is inviting.
There are no hard and fast rules; CV writing is not set in stone. At Ten Live, we advise that you follow these simple tips to appeal to a majority audience:

• Use a simple, common, widely recognised typeface such as Arial or Times New Roman; artistic or gimmicky fonts often look unprofessional and may put people off.
• Use sub headings to highlight different categories, i.e. employment history, education, etc. This helps employers go immediately to the information that they are most interested in.
• Introduce yourself at the start of the document with a brief overview of your personal details such as your name and contact information.
• Follow your personal information with a brief profile, ideally no more than 3 or 4 sentences giving the reader a snapshot view of your skills, experience and personality. This helps employers get an overall impression of you.
• Education comes next, don’t go back to when you were at primary school, employers are only interested in your senior education or most recent qualifications. Be sure to add any relevant training courses that you have attended.
• Employment history should then follow, starting with your most recent job. List your duties and key responsibilities clearly in bullet point format, and highlight your main achievements and skills you have acquired. However, don’t ramble. This section should include the name of the companies, dates of employment and positions held.
• Make sure you cover any gaps in your employment history, e.g. maternity breaks, travelling, etc. If you don’t, employers will be suspicious.
• If possible, keep your CV to two pages or a maximum of three –  any more than this will be too much and probably won’t get read.
• Always check and double check your CV. A spelling mistake may mean that you go straight on the ‘no pile’ when candidates are shortlisted for interview.

If you are looking for more advice on how to best prepare and present your CV, don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of the Ten Live recruitment consultants. We are on hand to help you find the right job.