Best Practice in Writing Your CV

Keep it clear and to the point!

All interim management providers will give you free advice about how your CV should be laid out and what details it should include. The overarching criteria is that your CV should be clear, to the point and contain relevant information about your key achievements within your past senior executive roles. It is advisable to check your CV against the following guidelines:

  • Write a chronological CV - Don't sent a one page summary and expect providers to fully understand your background and experience.
  • Include your most up to date role first - Start with your most recent role and work backwards.
  • Keep the format simple - Avoid overly fussy layouts, or tables and columns. Present your CV in a simple word format and so that it can be easily read and stored by providers.
  • Keep it short - Don't have a CV that is longer than 4 pages. Clients simply won't spend the time reading through overly lengthy CVs.
  • Include your contact details - It is really important that the provider can contact you quickly, so make sure you include your mobile number, home telephone and an e-mail address at the least.
  • Include a profile statement - This is your opportunity to distil in two or three sentences your core skills and experience. It is a key marketing tool and the first statement a client will read.
  • Detail your achievements - List your key accomplishments for each permanent role you have held.
  • Outline your previous roles - Include your title, any reporting responsibilities and any budgets you held.
  • Include details about your employer - Be clear about the part of the business you worked for (state whether it was for the Group or Division) and include a short description of the company's activities and their turnover to give the provider an indication of the scale of roles you have been responsible for.
  • Languages - Only indicate where you are fluent or can converse in a language for business purposes.