Guernsey-based global recruitment agency Firstcall is here to help with good advice for employees struggling to choose what to include and exclude from their CV when applying for a job.

Whether opting for a career change, applying for your first job or looking for career advancement, writing and formatting a CV is not a simple task. It must be succinct, concise and tailored to purpose. It also needs to have an easy to read layout and style, with the exception of a more artistically designed and laid out CV if you are applying for a specifically creative role.

As rule there are industry standard details to include in a CV, with the layout in the following order laid out below:

Contact Details - full name, full address, telephone & mobile phone numbers, email address, date of birth and local residential status. Sometimes people include a thumbnail picture of themselves, but unless you are applying to an agency or employer where your appearance will be the most important factor (such as for modelling or acting work), this will not normally be expected.

Personal Statement - this should be around 4-5 lines maximum length, tailored to the specific role and industry in which you are seeking employment. Promote yourself here, mentioning the specific key attributes and skills that make you perfect for the position you are applying for, that will make you stand out from other applicants. Employers like candidates that show a confident demeanour, so make sure to add emphasis to your strengths and unique selling points here.

Education & Qualification - this needs to include education from secondary schools upwards, mentioning the name and location of the institution, the level of study you reached, the subjects/modules studied and the grades you obtained.

Employment - the name and location of your past employers, including the date range you worked for them, your ultimate job title there, bullet points of your responsibilities and duties, plus any achievements and accreditations you received there.

Reason For Leaving - at Firstcall we highly recommending including your reason for leaving your previous role in your CV, as this is likely to be a main point of questioning during interviews.

Courses - relevant professional courses that you have undertaken should be included on your CV, even if they did not lead to a qualification, as the more relevant training you have had the more appealing you will be as an employee.

Work Experience/Volunteering - if you have previous work experience during your education years, this is always useful to include, especially if it is relevant to the field you are applying for a job in. Also mention any volunteering you currently do in the local community, as this always looks favourable on a CV, showing that your local community matters to you and that you are willing to sacrifice your free time for a good cause, and willing to put in extra work.

Hobbies & Interests - highlight all of your main hobbies and activities, to build a picture of what you are interested in outside of work. This provides insight into your personality, to prospective employers determine if you might be a good fit for their company.

References - usually previous employers, or if this will be your first job then academic and personal referees instead. Include the name and title of your references, and their address, email or telephone contact details.

The important thing to bear in mind is that you should always tell the truth on your CV, as a lie will always come back to bite you, no matter how small. This counts doubly so for Guernsey, where it is very likely that you will have acquaintances in common with an employer or their staff.

Online profiles at websites such as LinkedIn are very common in the current day and age, so ensure that any professional online public profiles you have contain accurate and current information, and that they depict a positive image of you, as a prospective employer may check your CV to them.

Most important of all, make sure that you proof-read your CV and spell-check it for errors before you print and send it anywhere. If you make errors, then do not notice them, on something as important as a CV then it suggests to an employer that you will make errors and be inattentive in your work too.

Firstcall offer guidance and assistance in compiling CVs, so if your CV is outdated then be sure to contact our highly professional, impartial and friendly team at our discreet offices. We will reinvigorate your CV and help you to stand out from the crowd and be noticed when applying for a job. We can help you with other aspects of the application process too, such as preparing for the interview and finding vacant positions in the first place.

So if you need help, make us your Firstcall.

If you would like assistance from the experts then full contact details for Firstcall and all of their recruitment specialists can be found on their feature page here at thebestof Guernsey.