A CV is your calling card when looking for a job. It is the first time employers get to learn about you and your skills. It doesn’t matter how good a fit you are for the role: if your CV does not impress you are likely to find yourself falling at the first hurdle.

A good CV sells your skills and experience by setting out your background in a way that is clear, simple and easy to understand. How you present your career history and ambitions are key, so here are five of the most popular CV formats and advice on when to use them:

Chronological

This is the traditional CV format and is extremely popular because it allows employers to see an interviewee’s work history in one place. It is a useful and flexible format that works in almost all circumstances, the exception being where a candidate has periods of unemployment that are difficult to explain. This type of format is the most common, and is particularly useful when you have a solid and complete working history spanning five years or more.

Functional

The functional CV is designed to describe your key skills rather than the jobs you have worked. The functional CV format is typically used by people who:

Have extensive gaps in their employment history, or have frequently changed jobs

Want to take their career in a new direction and change industry

Want to highlight skills learned early in their career that might get missed if a chronological format is used

Have little or no work experience (for example, graduates)

Because this format is often used to cover a patchy employment history, some interviewers may view such CVs with suspicion, so be very careful should you choose to use it.

Achievement

An alternative to the functional CV is to use an achievement-based resume, highlighting key achievements in place of skills. This can help show your suitability for a role if you lack direct work experience.

Combination

This one combines the very best of the chronological and functional formats by listing employment in order of date but concentrating heavily on the skills learned during each period of work. This can be a useful compromise if you are concerned that the other formats will cause you problems.

Non-traditional

With the explosion of digital and creative industries over recent years, CV formats have become more and more imaginative. However, a highly creative CV format is only suitable for creative and artistic sectors, such as marketing, design or journalism, where it will definitely make you stand out from the crowd and increase your chances of getting the job. It also demonstrates design skills and creativity in a way that a potential employer can see and feel.

Infographics are a popular tool for taking large amounts of information and presenting them in a visually engaging way, so they can be an unusual but winning option.

Whichever format you choose, you will not get a job on the back of your CV alone. If you are invited to an interview your CV has done its work. It is now over to you to go and nail the job.

Bryn Davies is the director of the Job Search Bible.

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