CV Order

Therere is  a very definite CV Order that you should apply.

Employment History section of your CV should always be in reverse chronological order.  That is most recent job first.  Why do people insist on doing it the other way around?  Your CV should aim to get you an interview.  You are not going to do that if the potential employer first has to read about how you joined the greengrocer as delivery boy for three months after you left school.  He wants to read about what is most relevant, and, in 99% of cases, that means most recent.  If the reader has to plough through fifteen years of irrelevance he will have lost interest long before he gets to the information that will secure your interview.  If he loses interest, your CV will be meeting with good old file 13 again.

CV Pitfalls

Incidentally, I hope you are beginning to see how many trap doors there are for your application to fall through.  I know I keep repeating it, but it is so important, everything you do must be aimed at making it as easy as possible for you to get the job.  For giving you the advantage over the competition.

If you have written your CV in reverse chronological order like good little job applicants and the reason for doing so is that the most recent jobs are the most relevant and therefore important…..it follows that you should write in more depth about your recent employment experience. Agreed?

Good.  So the write more about your current and recent experience.  As you go further into the past, and experience becomes less relevant, write less about it.  Hey, that’s an easy one.  Seriously though, anything over five years ago is probably not relevant, so just one small paragraph will normally do.  If it’s over ten years ago the company, dates and position will normally be enough. Remember what we talked about in chapter two, the pace of change and all that.  Ten-year old experience is more than likely outdated by the changes that have taken place in the workplace, if by nothing else.

Curriculum Vitae

As always, there are exceptions. If you developed a certain skill the job you are applying for requires, then obviously mention it.  However, the general rule is as above, unless special circumstances prevail.  If you do go into great detail about jobs ten years ago, you’ll end up with a twenty six page epic that will end up you know where, and contribute to the downfall of the rain forest and global warming.