‘Hide not your talents, they for use were made'. Benjamin Franklin

A great CV is essential to give you the edge and make you stand out from the rest, ultimately helping to secure that interview..

A CV is far more than a piece of paper that lists your job skills, it is a presentation of your professional identity. It not only summarizes what you can do, but it establishes the beginning of your potential relationship with the company you are applying for.

What is a CV?

• The term ‘curriculum vitae' literally means ‘course of life'. However, a CV should not be a list of all your experiences and achievements. It should be a document that demonstrates your suitability for a particular job and company. It should show, in an ordered and methodical way, how your profile matches the employers' needs.
  
  
• Do not underestimate the importance of a strong and easy to read CV as recruiters arguably spend only 20 seconds on your CV.

TOP TiP: DO YOUR RESEARCH

Core Values are particularly important to understand. At the heart of Reckitt Benckiser we have four core values which together describe how we behave to drive our outstanding business performance.

Further Content tips:

• Always send with an interesting cover letter
• Most importantly be clear and concise
• Don't lie about academic qualifications, these will be checked in later stages.
• Focus on what you have personally delivered not simply been involved in.
• Languages - If you can speak more than one language, then why not reflect this in your CV, by duplicating it into another language, this actively demonstrates one of your key assets.
• Work experience. - The key way to make your CV stand out is not only academic achievement but also equally important is work experience. This will also usually be covered in your application form.

TOP TiP: KEEP PAST EXPERIENCE BRIEF AND RELEVANT

An effective way to list your responsibilities in past or present job positions is by the use of bullet points.

• Career objective - Any career objective should be very brief and very strong. This is a good way to show ambition and drive.
• References - Be sure to contact your reference writers beforehand to ask them if they will consent to be a referee for you. Two referees are the norm.

Presentation and Layout:

• Presentation - think about first impression at a glance, therefore use appropriate fonts, use of white space and bullets to help display information in a concise manner.
• Length is an important choice. When someone skims your CV, they may only look at the first page, so if you have more than one page, it is always best to have your most important qualifications listed on the first.
• Format - One of the most difficult parts of writing a CV is formatting it to fit on one or two pages. Keeping a CV to two pages has become challenging with increasing relevant experience and qualifications. However DO NOT reduce the font size to accommodate all your information. Use a basic font style, using 10 pt as a minimum size.
• Do not abbreviate names of schools and employers - they require a formal style and abbreviations may not be generally known by the reader.
• Proof read and double spell check everything.
• Help - Get several experienced people to review your CV to ensure that you have not missed anything important.

Following these tips will help you start in the right direction, set your self apart from the competition, make your mark and take ownership towards obtaining that job you really want!