Resource: Prepare an effective CV

The primary objective of your CV is to gain an interview either with a potential employer or a recruitment consultant and to create a positive impression about you in the mind of the interviewer before you meet. Your ultimate goal is to secure the position.

Some advertisements have significant response levels - in some cases as many as 200-300 - so you should understand that the initial review of your CV will probably not last any longer than 2-3 minutes. It is vital that it makes a positive impression. It needs to be easy to read, in a professional, business-like style and focus on key achievements. The covering letter needs to be clearly tailored to the description of the position and the candidate specification.

A CV should be informative, thorough and answer any questions the employer may have about you and your experience. A legal CV should contain lots of detail so don’t worry about fitting your CV onto two pages, although avoid writing an essay and ensure the information is relevant.

Personal Information

Start with your personal details. Full name, address, date of birth, contact details including all useable telephone numbers and email address (if appropriate) and any language/IT skills stating your proficiency.

Qualifications

Educational history and professional qualifications should follow, including name of institutions and dates attended in reverse order - university before school results. List grades and passes attained.

Employment History

• Should be presented in reverse date order starting with most recent and allowing sufficient space to detail each seat undertaken.
• Highlight any achievements which may demonstrate your ability, experience and personality.
• Include any additional responsibilities and memberships including any involvement in marketing initiatives, ideas which you may have implemented, projects you have been involved with, involvement in any trainee solicitors groups etc.

Interests

• Ensure that you add any interests or hobbies you have outside of work as this gives clients an idea as to who you really are and what you enjoy doing and may even create a discussion topic at your interview.

Tips

• Ensure that your CV is easy to read with clear headings and bullet points.
• If considering more than one discipline then you should prepare a CV tailored to each of those disciplines.
• Check your CV for any errors.
• Remember that this document will be used by a potential employer to ask you questions at your interview and that honesty is always the best policy.
• When writing your CV consider what skills/experience a prospective employer may be seeking, how you can make these stand out and any examples you can provide to demonstrate them.
  
• Your recruitment consultant should provide you with both positive/negative feedback on your CV and advise you of any changes or improvements you can make.