What to Include in a CV

If you listen to most people about what to include in a CV they will tell you that you need to include everything about you, your work history, your qualifications, your skills and possibly more. For example, some people will also tell you include details of your age, gender, nationality, marital status, driving ability, IT experience etc.

CV Composition

More tips and advice about what to include in a CV are listed below.

But do you really need to include all of that in your CV?

The short answer to this is no.

Some people end up including more information than is actually needed, and part of the art of CV writing is knowing what to exclude, as well as what to include.

One important thing to remember is that your CV is supposed to entice the employer to read it. If it is too long, too repetitive and doesn't include the right information then the employer will quickly lose interest.

Of course, you need to tell the employer things of interest to them; and frequently this includes information such as your work experience, qualifications and skills. However, it doesn't mean that you need to include every last detail of every last job, and nor does it mean that you need to include every training course you have been on, every grade you achieved at school, or every snippet of information such as whether or not you have children.

What you really need to do is strike a good balance between telling the employer things that they want to hear on your CV, whilst at the same time keeping your CV sufficiently concise; after all, the longer your CV is the less enticing it is to read.

As a general rule of thumb you should include:

-personal details
-personal profile
-work experience (and especially achievements)
-skills
-qualifications

At the same time, you need to be flexible, and in some cases your CV may be more effective if you don't include all of the above.

Other sections which are frequently included comprise:

-interests
-references

Some people also additional sections and information including:

-objectives
-marital status
-gender
-driving licence
as well as other things such as IT skills.

However, these are not always necessary, and the likes of objectives are better replaced by a personal profile

The above help on what to include in a CV is taken from extracts from a detailed CV book by one of our senior consultants.
It is copyrighted and is not for copy or distribution.