You can’t wait for your boat to come in, you have to swim out and meet the damn thing...

What is a CV? Noun: a brief account of a person's education, qualifications, and previous occupations, typically sent with a job application.

CV impact. CV’s allow an individual response to the potential employer. They can targeted to an industry or field of expertise. They are not as easy to scan quickly as an application form. They will take an employer time to go through and sort out. An employer may only look at each CV for a short amount of time, a few seconds even, so it has to be stand out and special enough to grab attention.

CV basics: Format Use a basic font like Arial or New Times Roman. Font size between Print it out on plain white paper, no coloured paper or fonts. Make it clear not cluttered and 2 pages maximum. Make sure everything is perfectly lined up.

CV basics: Contact details Your name should be larger than your contact details. Address, telephone number and mobile number. Make sure your address is appropriate!

CV basics: Profile Don’t be humble, it’s not the place to be shy! Don’t go over the top though... Make it relevant and to the point. Only positive information. Personal qualities. Skills. Experience.

CV basics: Profile Your profile is a chance for you to add extra information on why you meet the person specifications of the job description. Show them why they cannot afford to ignore your CV by giving them what they want. It should be short and to the point but contain enough information to tempt the reader to invite you in for an interview.

CV basics: Achievements Include any achievements that you are proud of. Membership of a sports team. Duke Of Edinburgh Scheme. Club affiliations.

CV basics: Education Add education from latest or most recent to oldest. Include Name of School/College and the address. Include the dates you where there. Add the Qualifications starting with the best grades and working towards the worst grades.

CV basics: Work Include the name of the role you had in the company. Include the dates you where there. Insert a brief description of the duties you had in the role.

CV basics: Core Skills This is the time to add those skills that you have that will benefit an employer. Things to include could be: IT skills, Communication skills, Customer Service experience, Teamwork skills, Planning and logistic skills, Organisational ability, Full clean Driving Licence and anything that you think will add a new aspect to your CV that would not fit anywhere else.

CV basics: Interests and Hobbies Best to only include those that make you interesting. Avoid ‘socialising’ and ‘partying’. If you are going to put in ‘reading’ or ‘watching TV’ include what you like reading or what you like watching. For example ‘I like reading Historical Romance novels, Phillippa Gregory is one of my favourite’ or ‘I like to watch Detective Dramas, especially NCIS and Bones’. Use this to make your CV slightly less formal.

CV basics: References You will need two references. They must not be family members or friends. One should be your most recent employer or tutor. One can be a character reference though should still be a professional person like a Doctor or Police Officer, anyone who could sign off a passport photo will do. Warn them beforehand that you are going to put them down. Ask them how they want to be contacted.

CV basics: Do’s and Do not's Don’t lie, expanding on the truth to close a months gap in your work history is okay but never lie to the extent that you cannot back it up, you will be found out. Don’t try to tell them everything about you, save some good stuff for the interview. Do include numbers, saying you increased sales by 75% is better than saying you sold a lot more than expected. Numbers say it better than words. Do highlight the transferable skills you have even if you are missing some of the skills needed for the job.