Oxford

CVs
The goal of a CV and its cover letter is to get you to
an interview: for a speculative application, it is to
encourage the reader to respond positively.
Remember, recruiters usually review CVs very quickly –
perhaps only for 10-20 seconds – so CVs have a certain
style all of their own. The primary challenge is to
make it easy for the recruiter to find exactly what they
are looking for. Focus on their core requirements and
adjust or adapt your CV for each specific application.
There are four key characteristics of CVs that work
well:
RELEVANCE:
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Content is relevant to the
position applied for – this is not
a list of everything that you’ve
done.
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Content highlights your personal
contribution.
EVIDENCE BASED:
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Provide evidence of your
contribution and impact
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Focus on ‘actions taken’
rather than ‘responsibilities’ to
showcase your skills.
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Use numbers, percentages and
values to quantify your impact
and give a sense of scale to
your actions.
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Avoid unsupported assertions or
opinions.
BREVITY:
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Bullet points package
information succinctly.
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Avoid too much context,
excessive detail or unfocused
material that will dilute the
impact of your most relevant
messages.
CLARITY:
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A well laid out CV is inviting to
read and easy to scan quickly.
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Use simple language – avoid
jargon, acronyms and technical
details which may not be
understood or provide too much
detail.
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A standard reverse chronological
format helps recruiters as they
know where to find what they are
looking for.
Stylistically, avoid writing in paragraphs - space is limited and prose makes it
slower to find key points. Also, CVs are (mostly) a record of what you have done, so
completed tasks and activities are written in the past tense.
Aim to create powerful bullet points, with each bullet focused on a single idea.
Consider applying the CAR mnemonic (p.39):.
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Context: the organisation name, your job tile and dates is often sufficient.
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Start bullet points with Action words that highlight skills used, eg, analysed,
created, recommended, managed, led.
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Results can often be linked within an individual bullet point.
APPLICATION ESSENTIALS
Getting ready to create
focused, relevant CVs:
D
1. List for yourself all your
experience, achievements
and key dates, including
educational achievements,
work experience, prizes,
awards, involvement in
societies, sports and clubs, and
your other interests and skills
(e.g. languages; IT skills).
2. Identify the skills and
competencies required for the
role (see previous section).
3. From your list, select your
most relevant examples
that demonstrate the skills
and competencies required
for the role. Remember,
valuable transferable skills are
developed and demonstrated
in diverse roles.
4. Select your format – for
most student applications,
following the standard reverse
chronological format is
recommended (see example
overleaf).
5. Consider the headings that
are most relevant for your
experience and in which order
to present them:
a. EDUCATION will normally
be at the top;
b. WORK EXPERIENCE
rather than just
‘Employment’ or consider
using RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
if you are including
voluntary or unpaid work.
c. Headings such
as ‘POSITIONS OF
RESPONSIBILITY’ and
‘AWARDS’ can also be used
to emphasise other relevant
experience
d. INTERESTS or OTHER
INTERESTS AND SKILLS
should be included to
indicate extra, diverse
talents. Within this section,
you might use subcategories
such as IT Skills;
Languages; Music; Sports.
www.careers.ox.ac.uk 41