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CV Layout

If your CV is poorly presented, chances are that nobody will bother to read it. Here's some tips on how to present your CV both professionally and attractively.

Don't let this go any further, but I've reached the age where catching a glimpse of myself in a mirror first thing in the morning isn't a cheery experience. It's as though make-up artists from the Lord of the Rings wait until I fall asleep and spend the night producing a look that might be characterised as Orc with an attitude problem. The fact is, these days Middleton au naturel is a babe magnet to whom the iron filings of sexual attraction show a studied indifference. On the other hand, give me the time to doll myself up and I can walk freely in public places without scaring all but the most sensitive of souls.

You can probably see where this is leading in the context of high impact CVs. Elsewhere in this book we've looked at the importance of getting the language and tone of the CV right. But it's just as important for the look and layout to be easy on the reader's eye.

THE KEY TO A GOOD-LOOKING CV

Your CV should be typed, of course. A handwritten version might show you're a quirky individualist, but most recruiters will regard you as somebody who either can't use or can't be bothered to gain access to a computer. Neither of these will endear a candidate to a company.
Use quality paper, typically white, which photocopies the best. There are those who swear by using tinted paper in the belief that this helps their CV catch the eye. Most recruiters, however, swear with equal force that this doesn't make a blind bit of difference. Whatever you do, don't go down the fluorescent pink route - it looks pug ugly and it's as though the paper is impregnated with a whiff of desperation.
Avoid front covers and fancy bindings. A recruiter wants to read your CV, not unwrap it! Pretentious packaging will almost certainly condemn your CV to the reject pile.
Don't send out poor-quality photocopies of your CV, as this will give the impression that you're mailing your CV en masse and aren't too bothered who employs you.
Keep the content uncluttered. Edit it so that every line adds value. By ruthlessly excising extraneous information, you give yourself the opportunity to wrap lots of white space around the text. This looks good and is very handy for the recruiter to make notes on.
Use bullet points, bold type, spacing, etc., to make the CV look as attractive and readable as possible. That said, don't ever just have a single bullet point, as this will look sloppy and inattentive.
Unless your CV is sponsored by Specsavers, keep your font size at around the 11 or 12 point mark. I've seen so many CVs where the writer has reduced the font size in order to cram as much information as possible into two sides of A4. It's not a pretty sight and predisposes the reader to earmark you for a 'no thanks' letter.
Watch out for typos and grammatical areas. Perhaps I'm old-fashioned, but my response to the person who scrawled 'You loosers' (sic) over the portrait of David Beckham at the Royal Academy in London, in response to the England football team's defeat in Euro 2004, was to castigate their spelling ability rather than applaud the sentiment expressed.


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