How to Present a Graduate CV

Employers are looking for Graduates who have the potential to succeed within their organisation given the right training and
opportunities to shine. In light of this, your graduate CV needs to highlight your potential to become a valued employee, using the solid foundation you have already achieved through academic achievements, key competencies and transferrable skills.

Recruiters are keen to understand what drives you to pursue your chosen career. By including details of how you have developed your interest through relevant work placements, research projects and general employment details, you can show what you have to offer and entice your target employer to find out more.

It is important to show your passion and interest for the area you plan to work in. This can be illustrated through your elected degree modules, work placements, voluntary work and other interests.

Demonstrate your motivation by detailing any key experience which has developed and used the skills which will be relevant to your desired job.

Name and Contact Details in a Graduate CV

Avoid writing "Curriculum Vitae" at the top of your Graduate CV - it is obvious to employers what the document is so you do not need to state the obvious. Instead replace this with your name in a larger font. This will help the recruiter to remember it. Your personal contact details should follow this before going into the main body of your CV.

Profile of a Graduate CV

It is important to include a targeted, concise and well written profile to illustrate your skills, experience and future potential to prospective employers. This paragraph should sum you up as an individual, detailing what you have to offer and what motivates you within your chosen career. Your profile should make it easy for employers to see what your main selling points and experience are.

Objective of a Graduate CV

Outline in one or two lines your objective for applying to the target organisation in the context of your overall career ambitions, skills and experience.

Education Section within a Graduate CV

As a new or recent graduate, your focus to date will have been primarily your education and so you will not be expected to have an extensive work history. Therefore, unless you have been employed in a relevant role since graduating, it is advisable to detail your academic history and qualifications directly after your profile section.

List your University, years of attendance, degree title and relevant modules. If you haven’t yet graduated, indicate when you are due to finish the course.

Summarise older qualifications in a similar manner, however avoid listing GCSE subjects and grades, it is sufficient to indicate that you have, for example, 9 GCSEs. Leave off any irrelevant awards and achievements, listing everything can make candidates seem immature, and also leaving some things off gives you new information to add at an interview.

Work Experience Section of a Graduate CV

This section can be included to cover all paid or unpaid work experience which may be of interest to a potential employer. You can use your work experience to illustrate transferrable skills which will be useful to your target employer, even if it is not directly relevant to your chosen field. For each role, use key achievements to illustrate key competencies such as customer service, team work, communication and interpersonal skills, organisation, time management and the ability to learn quickly and work hard.

Your graduate CV will be more compelling if you can evidence your claims with specific examples of what you did and the benefits of your actions. Talk about what you achieved rather than your team as a whole. Make your statements SMART wherever possible – Specific, Measurable, Action Orientated, Realistic and Time-Based – detailing for example the amount of money you saved, the size of budget you handled, the number of clients you served, over what specific time period and with what benefit to the organisation as a whole. For instance, it's easy to state you have experience in sales, but employers will take more note if you say you were responsible for a 10 per cent growth in overall sales over a six month period.

Don’t include reasons for leaving jobs in your CV, although honesty is the best policy you should leave explaining this until you are asked. For one thing, it doesn’t add anything to your CV and can take up valuable space which you could be using to sell your key attributes.

You can break your experience down into relevant and other work experience, with relevant experience featuring first on your CV.

Although it is important to document any work experience you do have, don't worry too much about a lack of employment experience. As stated above, as a graduate you are not expected to have worked extensively, your focus to date will have been your academic studies. What you need to draw out is your employability - how have you used your initiative; examples of successfully handling pressurised or difficult situations; dependability; and your ability to adapt and react to changing environments.

Additional Information

An additional information section can be used to outline skills, experience and memberships not covered elsewhere in the CV. Languages, IT skills, professional affiliations and relevant extra-curricular interests can all be covered in this section.

Cover Letter to Accompany a Graduate CV

Always send your new CV with a covering letter explaining why you are applying for the role. Without a covering letter, your CV may end up straight in the bin. At a basic level, your cover letter is a courteous and polite introduction to your Graduate CV. A good cover letter will show that you have researched and understood the role you are applying for and that you have an idea about how the company operates and its vision for the future. By doing your homework you can make your cover letter come alive by showing your enthusiasm, motivation and positive attitude.

Graduate CVs Hints and Tips

• Your CV is your personal sales brochure – it should be easy to read, interesting, and memorable.

• Your most relevant experience, qualifications and skills must feature on page one of your CV.  The harsh reality is that it is likely to end up in the bin if it does not grab the reader’s attention within the first few seconds.

• Graduate CVs should be between one and two pages in length.

• Check, check and check again for spelling, grammar and punctuation.  Don’t rely just on spell checks, this will not pick up real words which have been used in error (for example man instead of main).  A CV with these basic errors can ruin your chances of selection, making it easy for another candidate with similar skills and a word perfect CV to be picked over and above you.

• Use well defined sections to make it easier to read and understand.

• We recommend using black type and an easily legible simple font like Arial, Tahoma or Verdana on your CV, they are easier to read than the old fashioned or wacky alternatives.

• Print and present your CV on two sheets of high quality 100gsm white or off-white paper.

• Avoid including irrelevant details such as your height, weight, date of birth, gender, marital status, primary school education, religious affiliation or sexual orientation.

• Tailor your Graduate CV and cover letter to each position you apply for, making your documents relevant to each job and employer.