Components of a Good CV

Curriculum Vitae

· PERSONAL DETAILS:

• Name, address, telephone, DOB, e-mail. Make sure name is big and bold and stands out from page

· EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS:

•  Most recent first. State years of study and qualifications gained eg:

2008-2012: University College Dublin.
                 BSc(Hons) Physiotherapy

grade achieved

Thesis Title

•  Don’t get carried away writing exam results. Just state what exams you did, especially when talking about school. State school and ‘Leaving Cert’ / A-level, no need to list every subject and grade
• Don’t go back any further in time than secondary school, no need to list primary school

· EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:

•  State dates and relevant places on employment. No room on CV for things like bar work when applying for a physio job. State things like health care assistant, nursing home work, team physio, previous physio posts eg:

             - Jan10th – 15th 2012: Irish Junior Volleyball Squad
               Irish team physiotherapist for the European Qualifiers in the Faroe Islands
             - June – Oct 2011: Physiofusion, 16 Warner’s Lane, Dublin 6
               Physiotherapy assistant and instructed a weekly osteoporosis class

· CLINICAL EXPERIENCE:

•  State clinical area, clinical site, dates of placement, experience gained – keep brief ie only a line or two
• ? use table format to save space while allowing for adequate delivery of information
•  Remember CV should only be approx 3 page MAX so you don’t want to use up too much space, important to keep brief

· CERTIFICATION:

•  Any classes or workshops you have gained a certificate for eg

2011: Neurology Workshop with Grainne McKeown
Sports Traumatology including CPR/AED with Santry Sports Clinic

•  Again state in chronological order: most recent first
•  Sports Coaching course

· ACHIEVEMENTS:

•  Scholarships
•  Academic awards
•  Head boy/ head girl at school, senior prefect
•  Sporting achievements eg cups won, international/ provincial / county honours
•  Music grades

· HOBBIES

· REFERENCES:

•  One from UCD, one from previous placement. Always give 2 referees and state ‘further references available on request’

v NB: CV should be no longer than 3 pages, MAX. You want it to be as short and concise as you can. It should be as relevant as possible to the job you are applying for ie take out irrelevant info and talk up relevant info for each job. Page layout is very important; it should look neat and tidy and look good on the page. It should appear organised and flow well, while getting your point across clearly.
Sign and date CV.