CV Instructions

 

The Curriculum Vitae, or CV, is the term used in the UK in place of ‘resume’. Putting your CV together can seem like a daunting task, but we’ve got some tips designed to get you started:

Tips for your CV:

  1. Update your CV regularly.

  2. Have a professional email address (e.g., your first and last name)

  3. Look at all of your experiences - there can be value in all sorts of activities. For example, a part time job as a sales assistant can provide experience of customer service skills, numeracy, teamwork and interpersonal skills.

  4. For more academic experience, think about what you have learned on any courses: how you have managed project work or research experience; how you worked in group situations; and the techniques or equipment you may have used.

  5. Make the most of your experience by using action verbs when describing your duties and responsibilities. E.g., if you answered the phone you may have “handled enquiries from clients and suppliers”.

  6. List computer skills you have, identified by program application or operating system and the level, for example, Excel – Advanced. Depending on your intended industry, you may also want to add any editing software and social media platforms.

  7. Fraternities and sororities can provide good experience, but they do not exist in the UK, so you will have to provide more practical information about what skills you have gained from your society.

  8. If listing language skills, only list those you would be comfortable using as part of your internship.

  9. Don’t forget to use spell check! And have someone else review it!

Do NOT include:

  • An objective (this is not a part of the British CV)

  • Work experience irrelevant to the placement type you seek abroad

  • References from the US or “references upon request”

  • A photograph

  • High school information

Formatting Checklist

Once the content of your CV is complete, you’ll need to format it so that its appearance will be professional and appealing. Here are some tips to get you started:

☐ Set paper to A4, the UK/European size – feel free to have narrow margins

☐ Keep your CV to one page. If you are finding it hard to fill one-page, elaborate on your volunteer experiences or extracurricular activities that shows off your skills The section headings should be: Education, Work Experience, Activities, Skills and Interests. Work chronologically backwards from today in each section

☐ Ensure that you write your job title and then list your responsibilities, not what the company does

☐ Use one font, with appropriate spacing and font sizes, especially when trying to fill up the page

☐ Give dates in months and years, e.g., July 2018-September 2018, rather than summer 2018

☐ All margins, bulleting and alignment must be consistent throughout the document

Submitting Your CV

Please upload a Word version of your CV to the EUSA Student Gateway in the following format: LastnameFirstname.doc (e.g., WinstonMarie.doc).

The following CV samples may give you an idea of how to use these tips and apply them to your own CV.