Choosing the right style of CV

At Rapid CV Writing Services London we have discovered – through talking to our various clients – that there is often a lot of confusion when it comes to choosing the right style of CV. That’s because there are so many websites out there that sell CV templates and if you’re a jobseeker putting together a CV for the first time, or for the first time in a long time, you can often be left in doubt as to which one suits your situation.

Well, the good news is that there are really only three types of CV to choose from and they are the basic/standard chronological CV, the skills-based CV and the combination CV which combines the above-mentioned. The real issue is choosing a style that optimises the most important sections, or – in some cases – knowing when to tweak the CV’s sections to present the most important information first. So, for example, Rapid CV Writing Services might advise a student to elevate their education section to the top to build a skills-based CV while a career PA might choose a combination CV that highlights skills as well as achievements. The message here is that you should develop your CV according to the situation and job application and ensure that the employer is immediately ‘hit’ with relevant information in the first third of the first page of the CV.

But now over to you: keep an open mind when choosing a CV style and remember that it is personal to your circumstances. Be prepared for situations in which you will need to modify the CV for each application and keep in mind that you will need to sell, sell, sell the most relevant portions of your career on the first third of the first page of the CV. If your most recent job is directly relevant to the job you are applying for then you might want to choose a basic/standard chronological CV because it will display your most recent job first; however, if you want to highlight skills and achievements from previous jobs, it might be a good idea to choose the skills-based version because you can literally cherry-pick skills from previous jobs – going as far back as you like – and place them in a dedicated skills section on the first third of the first page of your CV.

If you’re struggling to get to grips with your CV, Rapid CV Writing Services London can give you advice and guidance on creating a professional CV. Just call us on +44 207 183 5467.

Alex Wilson-Campbell, digital marketing professional and job search strategist (rapidcvwriting.com)

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