Did you know, on average a CV is looked at by a human eye for less than 30 seconds before it is uploaded onto a database? How do you stand out in the crowd?

The look
There is no such thing as a ‘one size fits all’. Your CV is yours and it needs to sell you, but remember that your CV is a selling tool and not your life story.
You do need ALL your contact details on there in a logical order – contacts, profile, career history, education (although you can swap the last two around).

Career History
Start with your most recent role and work back. Make sure there are the following:
Full name of company with weblink - don’t assume everyone knows what your employer does;
Job title and dates at company;
Please put achievements on your CV - just listing duties is not enough.

References
I tend to say references available on request.

Hobbies and interests
Only put them on if they are real, if they are of interest and if they don’t detract from your work life.

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Spell Check
According to studies, up to 80 per cent of people will ditch a CV when they have spotted even one or two errors. And always use English language.

Be Appropriate
Make sure you have an appropriate email address. Not something like 'steve69alltheway@hotmail.com'.

Birchwood Recruitment offers bespoke solutions to finding the right sales and marketing people for the toy sector. 07796 697100, www.birchwoodrecruit.wordpress.com