The correct way to write a CV can be as subjective as what colour shoes you choose to wear, which football team you support and which car you prefer to drive. 

But, despite this, there are some guidelines which everyone should consider – not necessarily adhere to – but definitely consider if success is to be achieved and having your submission cast aside.

What I am going to write here is purely and absolutely my views on what makes a great CV.  Many will agree with me and a good few will not, although I would like to think that the advice given should allow you to present yourself with a degree of confidence, emphasising the positives and avoiding some of the unusual excesses that some people feel enhance their application. 

Curriculum vitae (which is what we tend to refer to in the UK rather than the rather informal North Americanism of resume) comes from the Latin meaning ‘course of life’ and, according to that current fount of all knowledge, Wikipedia, ‘tends to be organized in a way that presents data about one's self in a compact fashion, with a clear chronology’.

I must admit I like data, I like chronology and I like process (to which anyone who knows me will testify) and, having worked in the maelstrom of recruitment now for over twenty five years, that is a good point to start with a CV.

Call me old fashioned but if I’m going to read something about somebody, I’d quite like to know their name and a bit more about them – where they live and even, god forbid, how old they are – not because I want to discriminate (recruitment is hard enough without making the candidate pool deliberately smaller) but it helps you envisage the person behind the document. 

There is a recent trend to minimise personal information such as not putting home address or home phone number which is all very well as long as there is some contact number and also indication of where you live and, if necessary, where you are able to work. 

There is nothing more infuriating than looking at a CV with no idea where that person comes from and whether they can get to (or move to)  the job for which you are recruiting!

A few factual personal details at the top of a CV, therefore, work for me.  What doesn’t is the subjective self-eulogy of a personal statement so popular with outplacement consultancies and largely scorned by recruiters. 

Being an HR specialist recruiter, I have seen the words ‘change-focussed’, ‘business-oriented’ and ‘well-honed relationship management skills’ more times than I care to remember as well as that wretched phrase ‘conversant with the full gambit of HR disciplines’ – the word is gamut, not gambit! 

Please don’t use personal statements – in the likelihood that you are not going to say anything bad about yourself, they have no value. 

After that, in my quest for knowledge about someone, I also like to find out a bit about their education – university, college and school. 

It never ceases to astonish me the number of people who either relegate this information to somewhere at the bottom of the CV or leave it out all together. 

Believe me, while it is not unique, it is very rare for an employer not to want to know about your academic attainment and so leaving it out altogether immediately raises suspicions that there is something to hide. 

Whatever your academic or appropriate work qualifications are, be up-front about it and don’t ever lie – it's just not worth it and increasing requests for submission of certificates means that you are very likely to get found out.

Then we come to the meat of the CV – the work history which should be both tailored and concise. All of the following are essential - the date you joined a company, the date you left (unless obviously it's your current position), full name of the company (including a short statement about what the company does, size etc. – particularly if is not well-known), job title(s) and a list of achievements (ideally not responsibilities). I also like to see the reasons why the person left the job but this is not generally seen as compulsory, although it does help paint the picture of the person.

Bear in mind, the CV should be two or three pages long (the American preference for one page should be avoided as it leads to the use of smaller pitch in the typing which can make CVs difficult to read). Make sure the information you are submitting is suitable for the length of the document, neither too short nor so copious that it runs into numerous pages.

As to whether you should list every job, I think you should. Vague references to ‘Pre-1995 - a variety of HR roles’ give me no indication of anything. Even if it's just the bare minimum of information, make sure you put something.

And then there is the final part of the CV – the additional information.  Here you can list languages spoken (with a degree of fluency – schoolboy/girl French is really not worth it), ability to drive (hopefully summarised as ‘Full, clean driving licence’ – please note that, in English, the use of the letter ‘c’ in licence as it is a noun not a verb!), details of proficiency in relevant software and a statement that references are available on request (listing the names and details of references means that you lose control of the timing of contact).

What I particularly like is the listing of personal interests – often a contentious inclusion but one that I feel is wholly consistent with the painting of the picture.

After all, I think that the fact that someone undertakes significant voluntary work or plays sport regularly adds another dimension to the understanding of the type of applicant. 

Equally, hobbies and pastimes can be revealing – although I suggest it's best to avoid words such as ‘socialising’, ‘shopping’ and, perhaps, most contentiously, ‘my family’ – remarkably popular and superficially appearing as very commendable but actually do you really want to relegate your family to a mere personal interest, hobby or pastime (however much at times you may feel they deserve such demotion)?

Having said all this, there are some big no-no’s (however much I like to ‘paint the picture’). Whatever the cultural preferences of other countries, please do not send a photograph unless specifically asked – these are almost invariably unflattering and, at best, superfluous.

And definitely do not send photographs of the rest of your family (I can recall from about ten years ago an alarming shot of a recent Christening ceremony with applicant, wife, children and vicar included).

As far as HR CV’s go, please do not use either cartoons, images (believe me, I have seen many) or coloured fonts and definitely do not use any font that is considered too ‘creative’. The CV is a factual relaying of data and should not be seen as the opportunity to display long-suppressed artistic flair.

Finally, it is best to avoid humour – phrases such as ‘play golf (but not too well)’ and ‘DIY (when I get round to it)’ may be very honest but will do little to improve the impression of either your competence or wit. 

So there we are - a brief, and very personal, guide as to what to put in your CV. As I mentioned, there will be some who disagree with some of my sentiments but, hopefully, this should provide you with an appropriate document with which you can present and sell yourself.