Even when you are not job seeking it is important to have an up-to-date CV that accurately reflects your skills and experience. Your CV should always be at the ready. You never know when an opportunity may present itself to you. So how do you create a great CV?

Step 1: Personal Details – what should I include in my CV template?

It is recommended to place your name, physical address, phone numbers and email address as a header/footer on your CV. This means if the pages of your CV are separated after being printed, they can be re-assembled. You may not see this as being necessary but I recall many times in recruitment where 3+ consultants would be printing out all the CV’s relating to their advertised roles and the printer tray becoming overloaded and some pages falling onto the floor. Or someone retrieving their own printing and in doing so disturbing the flow. Unfortunately unless the recruiter was vigilant at checking they had all the CV’s some could be missed.

You are not obliged to include:

• Your age 
• Date of birth
• Ethnicity
• Marital status
• If you have children or their ages
• Place of birth – although this is useful if you were not educated in NZ

You should include in your CV template:

• Full name
• Current physical address
• Current postal address if different to physical
• Phone numbers you can be contacted on during business hours
• Email address – if you provide a work address recruiters are discreet but the words CV, referee, new role etc will be in the body of the email
• The most suitable time of day to be contacted and medium (e.g. between 1-4pm on mobile) 
• If you are not a NZ resident / citizen – when your work permit expires 
• If English is your second language – your native language and any other languages you speak
• Voluntary work you perform – the organisation, role title (e.g. telephone counselor, Project K mentor etc) and dates you worked for them
• Brief list of interests

Step 2: Employment History - how much detail is needed in the CV template?

The last 5 years of your work history are the most important. It is essential the information you provide in your CV is specific, succinct and accurate. You need to sell yourself but the detail does need to reflect what you actually did not what you would have liked to have done.

For roles that you held more than 7 years ago – just simply list the: organisation, dates, title and a brief description of what you did if it is not self explanatory (i.e. waitress) rather than a list of tasks from your position description.

You should include details of all your employment even if you do not feel it is relevant to this particular role. Recruitment agencies and employers do like to know your employment background as it gives them a feel for who you are. You never know when that 1 years experience in hospitality, banking, mining etc will make you more attractive to a prospective employer.

Break the detail into 2 sections for each role – ‘responsibilities’ and ‘achievements’.

The responsibilities are the actions / tasks or activities you performed in the role. Referring to your position description is often an easy way to complete this.

You may see your achievement as being small but a prospective employer may see the value it added to your organisation and/or to your learning and development. For example president of the social club, team trainer, created procedures manual etc.

Something I recommend is to have 2 CV templates – a long and short format CV.

The long will include all your referee details, list of responsibilities for every job you have held, all voluntary work, education / training, awards / certificates and most importantly dates you held the positions.

The short CV template is a maximum of 4 pages long.

Step 3: Role Titles – can I change the title if it doesn’t really reflect what I did?

Do not change the title to make it more sexy, descriptive or important.

When a reference check is performed your employer will be asked to confirm your role title. They will also be asked to confirm your responsibilities – which are cross checked with your CV and what you say at interview.

Step 4: I’m a student and looking for my first job – what should I include in my CV template?

Personal details as above, any part time employment, holiday jobs, voluntary work or intern assignments you have held.

Under the heading of Education, ensure you break it down into Secondary and Tertiary (polytechs, university, night school etc). List the secondary school(s) you attended and the highest qualification you achieved at that school.

Step 5: Referee Details

You are not obliged to include the details of your referees on your CV. However, it is important to keep these recorded somewhere and up-to-date.

If you are successful in obtaining an interview for a position you will be asked to provide 2 possibly 3 referees - people who you reported to directly.

If you can, you should list your most recent employers. In most cases employers from 5+ years ago will not be able to comment on who you are now and the experience you gained since leaving them.

If you do not feel comfortable using your current manager as a referee, think about another manager who you have worked closely with and trust. Disclose your reasons for not contacting your current manager to the recruiter or HR advisor.

It is important to maintain contact with your referees – find out when they move on how you can make contact with them.

Do not expect the recruiter or HR advisor to track them down for you.

It is in your best interest to advise your referees when you are looking for a new role or have given their details out to be contacted.

There is nothing worse than the recruiter or HR advisor calling you to say the referee had no idea you had given out their details and were not prepared to discuss your working relationship! Believe it – it does happen, as a recruiter I experienced this on a number of occasions.

Don’t be afraid to list your overseas employers, with the cost of toll calls decreasing every year organisations are more willing to phone if the role was significant enough. Alternatively provide an email address.

In a sales / account management / relationship management role you are able to provide 1 client as a referee. They need to be someone you worked with closely and for a considerable length of time.

If you are a student and have only held part time or short term positions do ask your manager if you can provide their details as a referee and even ask them to write a reference for you. Keep the original at home and include a copy with your CV.

If you have no work experience you can provide a ‘character reference’. This is someone who has know you for some time but is no relation – such as your Principal, Scout Leader, church leader or an adult friend of your parents.

About the author

With Tracy you can be sure that your career goals, whether you're changing jobs mid career or later in life, will be met with a customised career coaching programme. Coaching opens the mind to alternatives, new thinking, solutions and different ways of approaching situations. It is also a time of reflection, self-evaluation and big picture thinking.