James Innes is the Managing Director of The CV Centre, the UK's leading CV consultancy. James founded The CV Centre in 1998 and has built the company to its current position as UK market leaders in the field of CV consultancy. James regularly delivers presentations to recent graduates and also contributes widely to newspapers and magazines in both the UK and France.

About the author

Acknowledgements

How to use this book

Part 1 Laying the foundations: getting the basics right 

1. Why are CVs so important? 

2. Aesthetics and presentation: looking good on paper 

3. Content and style: what to say and how to say it 

4. Structure: which type of CV is right for you? 

Part 2 Building your CV: section by section 

5. Personal details 

6. Professional profile 

7. Objective 

8. Education and qualifications 

9. Career history 

10. Key skills 

11. Achievements 

12. Other details 

13. Interests and activities 

Part 3 The 15 most common CV writing mistakes 

14. How to avoid them! 

Part 4 When the usual rules don't apply … 

15. Ten solutions for ten potential problems 

16. Special cases - professions where the rules are different 

17. CVs and résumés - looking for work abroad 

Part 5 Tailoring your CV 

18. How to adapt your CV for every application 

Part 6 LinkedIn 

19. LinkedIn 

Part 7 Looking at the whole picture 

20. Cover letters 

21. Interviews 

22. Your new job 

Part 8 CV and cover letter examples and templates 

23. Twenty-one CV examples to help you write yours 

Part 9 My five top tips to make your CV stand out 

24. How to make your CV stand out! 

Further reading and resources 

Appendix A: 250 action verbs 

Appendix B: 50 positive adjectives 

Appendix C: 222 commonly misspelled words 

Index